Daryl Gurney v Mensur Suljovic
Mensur will wonder just how he got a victory against Rob Cross from 5-1 down on night one of the Rotterdam double header, but he did so with amazing finishes of 136 and 120 at the death. That victory will allow him to play with a bit more freedom here as he is guaranteed a slot in the next phase and will want to make the most of playing two nights in a row.
What drama! Voltage has the power pulled…
Rob Cross led 5-1. Then the real Mensur Suljovic stood up, winning 7-5! #Scenes! #LoveTheDarts #PremierLeagueDarts https://t.co/EWocafWgIM
— Unibet (@unibet) March 27, 2019
The fact that Gurney was the man to eliminate RVB from his Premier League career, and getting the job done on night one so emphatically, says to me that this could be the game of the night. Both Mensur and Daryl will be swimming in confidence after their wins and Superchin will be loving how he performed against Ray. His first dart was much improved and his energy was pin point, so he should cause the dangerous Austrian problems.
This could well be another close one, but you have to give the edge to Gurney who seems to be a little streaky in this campaign and has the beating of anything Dutch in this competition, be that an opponent or venue. Everything happens in threes, so a win against MVG a week ago, a win against RVB and another Dutch venue win wouldn’t shock me at all.
Peter Wright v Gerwyn Price
Gezzy was in the same position with Bully Boy in Rotterdam that he was with MVG at the weekend in Leverkusen. He had a two-darter to get a result and he couldn’t take either shot, resulting in a heart wrenching, close defeat to Michael Smith. Gezzy has had a much better PL than his debut season but he isn’t getting enough points out of games. He is definitely being put through the wringer and his confidence has to be sapped somewhat.
Speaking of confidence being sapped, that’s exactly how Wright will feel after a 7-1 defeat to MVG on night one. He was visibly struggling with the atmosphere in the Ahoy arena, as his thin, light dart was deviating off course quite often. Do not be shocked if a change of equipment is used on night two to negate this.
Both players looked uncomfortable with the breeze on stage. Gezzy handled it better, but Wright has an ace in the hole, and that is his ability to adapt. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him bounce back and compound the misery of the Welshman.
With the elimination of RVB confirmed, they can both think about playing for the entire stretch now, but expect them to ramp up the intensity as points are now at a premium for O2 qualification. I think Gezzy has more chance of 180’s here as I expect Wright to use heavier darts on night two.
Rob Cross v Jeffrey De Zwaan
Cross will be more than livid that he didn’t complete the job against Suljovic on Wednesday night. After starting like a train, he suddenly lost the ability to score and take his doubles out. We did see that Rob has the ability to bounce back after a defeat to MVG in Dublin, but in this instance, he has less than 24 hours to take stock and rebound. In this loss we did still see some swagger and confidence early and I think he will see this as a small road block on his way to the next game, which he will target to make a statement. For his sake, if he blocks a double, he will have to find better paths to an open bed, because twice on night one he was snookered by blockers and suffered as a result.
In Jeffrey De Zwaan, we have the final contender and a very sporadic and unpredictable one at that. When Jeffrey performs he is immense in every darting sense, but he doesn’t have a B game yet and when his A game doesn’t show up he can look very ordinary. I am sure that will be fixed in years to come and consistency will come with experience, but in this here and now he will have to find that top performance if he is to worry Rob, even after his loss last evening.
There could be a lot of 180’s in this match as both players throw very rhythmic and fierce, so expect that treble 20 to get a darting black eye more than once.
Cross to win -3.5 legs – 41/20
Raymond van Barneveld v Michael van Gerwen
On the final night of Raymond van Barneveld’s PL career, he couldn’t ask for a more difficult, yet apt opponent. It is fitting that he has had the Dutch torch taken from him by the man in green in the last few years, but he will genuinely pass it to him on this second night on home turf.
There will be very little in the way of sympathy from MVG, seeing as Raymond has broken his heart plenty in the past, namely this very game a year ago where they tussled in the Ahoy. Michael will take much pleasure from compounding the misery of Ray and not many people are going to back against him.
Tonight in #Rotterdam, for one last time in the #PremierLeague #PremierLeagueDarts #RVB #BarneyArmy #Unibet180 pic.twitter.com/8LFIAwd2Tq
— Unibet (@unibet) March 28, 2019
Raymond’s struggles were plenty on Wednesday. He looked like his eyes were strained, which was odd considering he’s worn glasses a lot lately and he didn’t use them in this match, plus his rhythm was all over the place. He doesn’t seem to have a definitive speed to play lately and that indecision is causing his inconsistency.
This could be an ugly end to this storied PL career because I think MVG could punctuate a win here with something stronger than the super kick seen from Shawn Michaels when he ended the career of Ric Flair. This isn’t Wrestlemania, but MVG will want to piledrive his advantage home to stay atop the standings, after Cross gave him the chance to climb the ladder.
A big win for MVG is the only bet here.
James Wade v Michael Smith
James was another victim of the reported draft on stage, but you wouldn’t think it considering how he played. He showed an inordinate amount of composure considering what he was hit with by Dimitri Van den Bergh. The Belgian whacked in finishes of 140 and 121 at key times to deny James the chance to win the match, but when all is said and done, Wadey will be happy with a point when he thinks about the positions he found himself in. Against Smith though, he will have to hold his throw better as he was broken more times than a piece of meringue scaffolding.
Smith showed his real mettle in a gritty 7-5 win over Price. In a strange twist of fate, where Gezzy missed two darts for a result for the second game in a row on tour, Smith had another pop at a 90 outshot for a couple of points and this time he got it. Previously, he missed two shots at double 15 to take out Ratajski to win in Leverkusen in the last 32, so this proves he is ready to battle no matter how strong the deja-vu. The bullseye at the end was most definitely inspired by his little boy’s birthday wish and he will want more points to mount a forward push for the play-offs.
Based on what went on last night, you have to fancy Wade because he was playing at a much higher standard and showed amazing courage in his 1-pointer with Dimitri. I think Wade will hit hard no matter what Bully Boy brings. I can’t see anything else but 12 legs here.
UniBets of the night
1 – MVG king of the oche – Only 6/4 but still a no brainer.
2 – Cross and De Zwaan – Over 6.5 180’s at 8/11 is extremely likely knowing their likelihood of battering that 60.
3 – 33/10 for either Gurney or Suljovic to have a bullseye finish. I see this game having plenty of chances for this as these guys don’t make mathematical mistakes when approaching the finishing zone.
