Premier League Darts Tips: Another title for insatiable Taylor

Darts / Alex Lee / 19 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Poweing on and on and on...

"Mark my words, Taylor will take the trophy – it’s just a matter of how quickly he does it."

Phil Taylor has dominated darts in a manner which is incomparable across the sporting spectrum. Alex Lee expects the Power to prevail again this evening.

It's been a long 14 weeks for Jenkins, Whitlock, Webster and Wade as each of the above have crashed out of the Premier League Darts with barely a whimper. For Raymond van Barneveld, Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis, however, time must have flown as all four made the semis in relatively comfortable fashion. The real test comes tonight at Wembley Arena where the Premier League Darts Champion of 2011 will be decided.

When you think of individuals who have dominated their sport for a long period of time the names Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Jahanghir Khan and Daley Thompson immediately spring to mind. Let me tell you this: none of them are fit to adjust Phil Taylor's flights. 'The Power' has been the best darts player in the world for over 20 years now, and has proved this on countless occasions. Although at the age of 50 he is considerably older than both his potential opponents this evening, his hunger for success is every bit as keen as it was when he first claimed the World Championship in 1990.

While his semi-final opponent Adrian Lewis has a beautifully fast and effortless style, Taylor is calmness personified when all hell is breaking loose around him. Lewis' temperament remains questionable, despite his awesome victory over Anderson in the PDC World Championship final in January. Taylor, of course, had crashed out to a pumped-up Mark Webster in the quarters and will be treating tonight's Premier League showdown as no more than a stepping stone to another World Championship title in 2012.

The recommendation in the Taylor/Lewis semi is therefore to Dutch Taylor at 8-2, 8-3 and 8-4, which still pays out at much better than even money and represents much better value than the rather parsimonious [1.15] about a Taylor win. A brave man might even want to lay Taylor @ [1.15] in the hope that Lewis takes the first leg before falling away.

The other semi is a much closer proposition altogether and, like a car with a faulty SatNav, could easily go either way. The big consideration is whether Anderson can match his showboating 180s with some consistent finishing. If he can, he'll meet Taylor in the final. If not, it'll be Barney v The Power in the best-of-19 shoot out. The recommendation here is to back 8-6 either way with a view to trading out.

Mark my words, Taylor will take the trophy - it's just a matter of how quickly he does it.

Recommended Bets
Back Taylor in the winner market @ [1.36] or better
Dutch Taylor to beat Lewis 8-2, 8-3 and 8-4
Back 8-6 Barney/8-6 Anderson in the other semi with a view to trading out in-running