Adrian Lewis To Sign Off In Style

The Premier League Darts continues this Thursday with the final round of Phase Two matches to look forward to.

The Tournament So Far
The remaining play-off issues were decided in Newcastle last week as Phil Taylor failed to win for the sixth time in a row to miss out on the knock-out stages of the Premier League for the first time in his career. Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld secured their top four places and there was another defeat for the table-topping Michael van Gerwen, allowing Dave Chisnall to close the gap to one point.

Phil Taylor v James Wade
Thursday’s final round of Phase Two games in Brighton kicks off with a tie between two fancied players who have been thoroughly disappointing. Phil Taylor started reasonably well, but has lost his form completely since Elimination Night, whereas you have to go back eight matches to find James Wade’s last win.

Neither has anything to play for, and both are hard to read at the moment, but with Taylor odds-on, Wade looks a touch of value at 9/4.

Raymond van Barneveld v Stephen Bunting
The Raymond van Barneveld bandwagon finally came to halt last week with a draw against James Wade, but his recovery from a dreadful start to the competition has still been remarkable. He’s won five of his last seven in this competition, and has a dominant recent record against Stephen Bunting, who has struggled badly in his first Premier League campaign. Bunting was thrashed 7-1 by Dave Chisnall last week and I can’t see him having any joy against his resurgent opponent on Thursday. Back van Barneveld at 17/20.

Adrian Lewis v Gary Anderson
Adrian Lewis took forever to get going in this year’s Premier League and his brief revival was ended with a brace of defeats two weeks ago in Birmingham, but he has shown glimpses of his best form in the second half of the tournament and I think he can pull off one last victory. Gary Anderson secured his play-off place by beating Phil Taylor last week, but he’s been hit and miss in his last few outings and he isn’t one to rely on at odds of 11/10.

Back Lewis to sign off with a win at 7/4.

Michael van Gerwen v Dave Chisnall
The last match on Thursday night’s bill could be a dry-run for the Premier League final as the best two players in the tournament go head to head to see who will top the table. Dave Chisnall’s record in the second phase has been stronger than van Gerwen’s, which suggests he could be backable at 3/1, until you remember that he’s lost his last seven against the Dutchman. Add in the fact that neither player has been at his best in recent weeks and this becomes a hard match to call.