Michael Van Gerwen vs Daryl Gurney
As we come to the conclusion of Premier League Darts 2019, we have to salute the players who have stepped up in this campaign and used their previous experience to make themselves more threatening, and better equipped for title challenging. Gerwyn Price, Mensur Suljovic and Daryl Gurney have all had better PL seasons than in 2018, so they all have to be praised.
In Gurney’s own words, he said during his 8-3 win over Michael “Bully Boy” Smith, he had never been so focused, and that showed with an accomplished display that had heaps of pressure on it. In the previous game, The Iceman had done his bit against Peter Wright and the response from Superchin was mammoth.
He knocked Gezzy out of the playoffs with arguably his best performance of the whole four-month stint. The question now is, can he do the triple over MVG in this Premier League and give himself the chance of more big stage glory.
If Gurney is to do that, he will probably have to have the game of his life, and I for one am not going to rule that out, but he is playing someone who can lift his game to a level that Daryl hasn’t done before. MVG chose to stay in the UK this week and play the weekends Pro Tour action in Barnsley.
He didn’t come away with any victories, but he did put in displays that suggest his game is in a good place. His loss on Sunday was to all-time great Robert Thornton and on Saturday to eventual champion Glen Durrant and they played outstanding, so it had nothing to do with Mighty Mike's ineptitude.
I think Michael having this competitive action will strengthen his hopes of retaining his Premier League title and he will be in a different sort of mood to anyone else come Thursday night. In both games that these guys had this campaign, I tipped MVG.
Daryl fully deserved those two victories but this time I think MVG goes into Hulk mode, which we saw a little of last week against Mensur Suljovic, and playing first is ideal for Mike, so he wins for me, with a lot of 180s along the way from both.
-jpg.jpg "Unibet Premier League: MVG to pick the perfect time to get revenge over Gurney 1")
Rob Cross vs James Wade
This game is a repeat of last week's final game in Leeds, and in the vibrant Yorkshire city we saw a typical sweeping up job from James Wade. Wade was already in the playoffs come that game, and he looked like he played with no pressure and simply tried to spoil Cross’ chance of topping the league phase. He did just that, and I think a sneaky part of him really enjoyed being a party pooper as he knew that getting that victory, it would plant a seed of doubt in the mind of Voltage come The O2.
James Wade has taken part in the playoffs many times, but he has never lifted this trophy at The O2. The one time he did it was at Wembley Arena in 2009, and he has many memories of Phil Taylor denying him more glory since then. He is a totally different player now, and has matured sufficiently which makes him the ultimate dark horse for this title. His form suggests he is revving up for something big and he will have no fear of Rob on Thursday after beating him last week, or even the likes of Gurney and MVG whom he beat convincingly in the PL this year.
Cross decided to withdraw from the weekend's Pro Tour events and concentrate his focus on the O2. I think that was a wise choice as he has showed small signs of tour fatigue lately, and doing things at this own pace for a few days is just what he requires.
This game will boil down to one thing, and one thing only. Nerve!! We know that both players have it, but in this semi-final which is a slightly longer format, there will be a pivotal moment where one of them takes the initiative and doesn’t look back. Of the players on show, I think Cross may be the most vulnerable, but if he can come out and show The Machine that he is willing to get loud and boisterous and get really gritty, he will have enough to take James out. If he doesn’t show energy early, it will be worrying if you are backing Rob.
OK, where do I stand on this then? I think this game goes deep and is nicked late by James. I really want Rob to win this game as he has had a fabulous season, only just losing out on top spot to Michael Van Gerwen, but Wade screams spoiler right now and he may just pip this one by the odd leg.
UniBets of the night
1) It's all about the 180 count in the first game of the night. Over 8.5 total in this match is surely a certainty based on how these guys are playing. 4/6 for that to happen.
2) I think both Rob Cross and James Wade win legs on the bull, so back them both. You can get 3/1 on Rob getting a bullseye out, and 11/4 for James.
Latest outright odds
Van Gerwen 1/2
Cross 4/1
Wade 7/1
Gurney 11/1
