A Rotterdam double header greets us this week in the 2018 Unibet Premier League of Darts and, with some players playing three games this week, it should shape the season heading towards the finals.
The extra night was added to the schedule after the earlier cancellation of the Exeter event in March due to snow storms. Games will be played over two nights (Thursday morning and Friday morning Australian time) and we’ll provide a condensed preview with our tips for both nights for you here!
2018 Unibet Premier League – Week 11 Night 1
Michael Smith and Gary Anderson will kick off the first night of action in a cracking game, with Anderson backing up twice to play Rob Cross later in the evening. I’m loving the form of Michael Smith this season as he’s really stepped up his game to a whole new level. He’s also playing great in the tour events with another final this past weekend in Germany. He’s arguably the form player of the year, but it remains to be seen whether he can consistently challenge the top tier guys.
Rob Cross and Daryl Gurney should be another great match. Both players are in great form with Gurney undefeated in his last six matches, including a win over Cross in Week 8. Gurney isn’t doing a lot wrong, so I think this can go the distance. Watch out for a lot of maximums as well. I would love to take the over 6.5 180s, but at the moment, can only find 7.5 which is a bit thin.
It’s a big couple of nights for Raymond van Barneveld in front of his home town fans and he comes up with a winnable game against Simon Whitlock. Both players have had mixed form and Barney is currently on a four-game losing streak yet finds himself favourite here. It’s hard to have confidence in either so I’d rather hit the unders on their averages and hope for a scrappy game.
Peter Wright picked up his second win of the season last week against Barney. His only other win was against Michael van Gerwen who he comes up against here. MVG is on an eight-match winning streak and showing no signs of slowing down. Wright can lift and bring his A-game here but I think MVG gets it done comfortably so happy to play him at the game handicap.
The final match of the evening will see Rob Cross take on Gary Anderson. This will be a cracker! The bookies can’t split them and neither can I. Surely this goes the distance? You could spec on a draw, or take the over 11.5 legs line.
2018 Unibet Premier League – Week 11 Night 1 Betting Tips
Michael Smith under 97.5 average vs Gary Anderson - $1.83 at Sportsbet
Rob Cross vs Daryl Gurney over 11.5 legs – $2.25 at William Hill
Daryl Gurney over 3.5 180s - $1.89 at CrownBet (take over 6.5 match 180s if you can find it!)
Raymond van Barneveld average under 95.5 vs Simon Whitlock - $1.83 at Sportsbet
Simon Whitlock average under 95.5 vs Raymond van Barneveld - $1.83 at Sportsbet
Michael van Gerwen -2.5 games vs Peter Wright - $1.72 at Neds
Rob Cross vs Gary Anderson over 11.5 legs – $2.10 at William Hill
2018 Unibet Premier League – Week 11 Night 2
Michael Smith will again kick off proceedings for night two as he comes up against Simon Whitlock. Assuming Smith had a tough night the previous night against Gary Anderson, he’ll want to ensure he bounces back and grabs two points here and I think it’s a great bet.
Daryl Gurney has another tough ask backing up against Gary Anderson. Gurney has been very solid with his scoring throughout the season, but he’s going to have to take his chances against Anderson here. Again we’ll look to back Gurney’s scoring power with plenty of 180s.
Rob Cross comes up against Peter Wright and this looks a good spot for Cross to continue his run. Wright hasn’t shown his best this season and assuming he lost to MVG the previous night, Wright’s season is pretty much already over. Cross is at about the right price, so there's not a lot of value, but I like him to get the victory.
The Dutch fans have been waiting for their favourite sons to clash as Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld go at it. I expect Barney to lift for this one, and hopefully put in a strong showing. I don’t have confidence in Barney thought, so will have to sit this out from a betting perspective.
Simon Whitlock and Daryl Gurney back up for their second match to round out the evening. It’s another tough game for Whitlock. Not that there are any easy games in the Premier League, but I think Whitlock is probably satisfied enough with his season already and might find points hard to come by from here. On the other hand, Gurney has found his feet in the Premier League and has a hunger to prove he’s a top four player. Gurney’s scoring power should be too strong for Whitlock here.
2018 Unibet Premier League – Week 11 Night 2 Betting Tips
Michael Smith win vs Simon Whitlock - $1.91 at Ladbrokes (BEST BET)
Daryl Gurney vs Gary Anderson Over 6.5 180s - $1.66 at CrownBet
Rob Cross win vs Peter Wright - $1.80 at Ladbrokes
Raymond van Barneveld vs Michael Van Gerwen – No Bet
Daryl Gurney win vs Simon Whitock - $1.91 at Ladbrokes
Daryl Gurney most 180s vs Simon Whitlock - $1.75 at CrownBet
