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Premier League Darts: Round 2 Matches

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Our darts man David Croft got off to a promising start in the new Premier League season. He predicted Phil Taylor would slip up somewhere and the great man obliged at the first hurdle

Well I said that Phil Taylor 100% record would go in this year Premier League Darts and in my column a fortnight ago I hinted that it might go as quickly as his first match. It seems I was right as Phil and his new darts slipped to defeat against the [3.75] chance for the title, James Wade.

A lot has been made of Taylor's decision to change his darts with fans sceptical of the move and Unicorn, his darts manufacturers, keen to point out that it wasn't their idea. For me, even though I felt it wasn't the most sensible of ideas, it wasn't the new darts that cost Phil, it was his troubles from double 16 downwards that allowed Wade to win, one of those nights that every player suffers from time to time.

So will The Power bounce back against Adrian Lewis in night two tonight down in Plymouth? It's a tough question as I believe this match will be a lot close than the Betfair market suggests. I was really impressed with Adrian Lewis on the opening night in Glasgow. He was clinical in the first 7 legs against Terry Jenkins, didn't miss a thing, and then managed to eventually hold his nerve as Jenkins fought back to win through 8-5. It took some bottle, especially as Jenkins was very much the crowd favourite after bringing his darts to the oche in a sporran! Lewis will need to up his average. Even in defeat against Wade, Taylor was scoring better than his former protégé but he'll take a lot of confidence into this match and is a much better bet than the [4.2] on offer. For value alone I'm siding with Lewis to hit the jackpot with an 8-5 scoreline, which you can back at [13.5]

As for Terry Jenkins, he has to contend with James Wade this week. Despite what can be a very short format where shocks can happen I think you can lay Jenkins with confidence at [5.8]. He admits that he's been struggling a bit of late and that the match against Adrian Lewis was also a struggle. Typically of him he expects his form to return, though I can't see it happening tonight.

Up in Glasgow Peter Manley blew his chance to open up with a victory against the PDC world champion John Part. Part took out the bullseye to earn a point with a 7-7 draw but Manley will kick himself for a poor final leg. Even at this early stage he might need an extra point or two to avoid picking up the wooden spoon. The man they call one dart has recently signed a sponsorship deal with a company that make pork scratchings but pigs will fly if he reaches the play-offs in the Premier League this year. His match against Wayne Mardle tonight could be a battle to avoid the wooden spoon. I expect Mardle, under less pressure than in his opening fixture against Ray Van Barneveld, to take it. He should have put the Dutchman under more pressure in Glasgow and with chances in 5 of the first 6 legs should have been ahead at the first break; not level. He paid the price then, but tonight at a price of [2.38] he should open his account. I like the price of [8] for an 8-4 correct score.

The final match pits the current world champ against the 2007 winner and if John Part can produce a few more 157 finishes like he managed against Manley, Barney will struggle. It's always a risk backing John and as long as I've still got some of my winnings left after tipping him to win the world title, I'm leaving this one alone. He's available at [3.8] which is tempting and his average in week 1 was better than the Dutchman's so I expect the Canadian to have plenty of support. Don't be shocked if he produces an upset.

So 4 matches to pick from and, as I've got a hunch about three of them, I'm tempted to have an acca. The trouble is, I can't find a price for a Lewis, Wade, Mardle win, but it's [14.99] if I back all three and let it ride which I might just do.