Premier League Darts: Predictions for Night 12 and the Overall Winner

When it comes to entertaining and prestigious darts events, they definitely do not come much better than the Premier League of Darts Betting. This trophy is one that all players want to get their hands on at least once during their career, and this should really not come as much of a surprise since the winner earns himself a huge cheque that is worth a staggering £275,000. We are now on Night 12 of the competition, and below we are going to give you our prediction for the matches as well as who we think will go on to lift the title.

📑 Format of the Tournament

We know that there is a chance that some people who are reading this are new to the world of darts, which is the reason why we are now going to spend some time explaining the format of the competition. If it vital that you know the format that is being used for any sporting event before you go ahead and start placing money on it. If you are already familiar with the format of the Premier League of Darts, then feel free to skip this section and move down to the predictions.

At the start of 2022, the Professional Darts Corporation, known as the PDC, stated that the tournament would be using a new format. This tournament used to be a Round Robin tournament, but now there are eight players that participate in knockout darts on every night. Therefore, each night will be made up of seven games, and each game will be the first to six legs, or the best of 11.

For the first seven nights, spread out over seven weeks, the players will take on the other seven players in a quarter-final game, and then play each other once more on nights 9 to 15. Night 8 and Night 16 will be played according to the league standings at that current moment in time. With regard to points, the player that goes on to win their quarter-final match will be rewarded with two points, while the runner-up will receive three points and the winner of the night will get five points.

When all of the 16 nights have been played, the four players at the top of the table will qualify for the Play-Offs, with the player who finishes top playing the player that comes fourth, and the player who finishes second playing the player that comes third. The two winners will then compete against each other in the final for the right to lift one of the most prestigious trophies in the sport and claim a staggering prize pot.

🏅 The Players That Are Playing in the 2022 Premier League of Darts

The old format of this tournament would see the top four players from the PDC Order of Merit, after the World Darts Championship had finished, be joined by another six players who were invited to take part. However, at the beginning of this year, when the PDC announced that they were going to make use of a new format, they also announced that the number of players taking part would drop down to eight from ten.

The eight players who are participating in the Premier League of Darts 2022 was announced at the start of February, and it was declared that the top six players in the PDC Order of Merit would be joined by Joe Cullen and Jonny Clayton, who is the reigning champion after he beat Jose de Sousa in the 2021 edition. In previous competitions, there used to be what was known as "Judgement Night" and also a relegation system, but these have been eradicated for the 2022 tournament.

🎯 The Matches on Night 12

Below we shall take a look at the quarter-final games that will take part on Night 12 of the 2022 Premier League of Darts. We will provide you with our prediction as to who we believe will win each match. This round of matches will take place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. So, if you are going to be in the area and fancy a great night of entertainment, then you should definitely think about going.

1️⃣ James Wade vs Michael van Gerwen

The first match of the night will see James Wade take on Michael van Gerwen, and by checking the odds you will quickly see that the Dutchman is the favourite, by some distance, to win this game and advance to the semi-finals. Top sports betting sites such as Bet365 have van Gerwen at odds of 1.50 to win this match, while the Englishman has been priced at odds of 2.63 to win the game. Other top bookies such as PaddyPower and BetVictor are offering similar odds.

So, do we agree with the bookmakers here, or do we think that Wade will cause a bit of an upset? Well, when you take a look at their head-to-head record, you will see that the Dutchman is way out in front with 15 wins to Wade's four. These two players met before on Night 5, and van Gerwen came out on top with a 6-5 win, so it was a closely fought contest. They also played against each other on Night 8, and this time Wade came out on top 6-2, while they met in the final on Night 9, with van Gerwen winning 6-1. Then, on Night 11, they met in the semi-final, and the Dutchman won 6-3.

So, these two players have met four times in this year's competition so far, and van Gerwen has won three of the matches. We are expecting a close match on Night 12, but we think that van Gerwen will have a little too much for Wade and will go on to win the match.

2️⃣ Gerwyn Price vs Joe Cullen

The second match of Night 12 will see Gerwyn Price take on Joe Cullen, and the top sports betting sites such as William Hill have Price as the favourite to win the match. They have priced him at odds of 1.53 to win, while they have given Cullen odds of 2.50 to be victorious. You will find that other top bookies such as Betway and Bet365 are offering the same odds.

So, do we think that the bookies will be right for this match? Well, let us first take a look at their head-to-head record. A quick look at their previous matches shows that Cullen actually has the upper hand when these two players meet - they have played 12 times, and Cullen is leading the way with seven wins to Price's five.

These two players played against each other in the semi-finals on Night 2, and the Englishman prevailed 6-5. They were due to meet in the quarter-final stage on Night 5, but Price could not compete due to hand injury, so Cullen was given a 6-0 walkover. They played against each other in the quarter-finals on Night 8, and Cullen won the match 6-3. So, with all of the above in mind, we would be tempted to put our money on Cullen to go on and win this match.

3️⃣ Michael Smith Versus Gary Anderson

The third match taking part on Night 12 will see Michael Smith taking on Gary Anderson for a spot in the semi-finals. The favourite, according to top bookmakers such as Coral, Bet365 and Betway, is Smith, who they have all priced at odds of 1.61 to go on and win this match. On the other hand, Anderson has been priced at odds of 2.30 to go on and be victorious.

So, who would we put our money on to go on and win this match? Well, a look at their head-to-head record shows that these are two players that have been evenly matched over the years. They have played each other 19 times to date, and Anderson leads the way 10-9. These two players played against each other on Night 5 of the 2022 Premier League of Darts, and the Englishman came out on top with a 6-1 scoreline. They then took on each other again in the final on Night 6, and this time the Scotsman won 6-4. At this moment in time, we think that Smith is throwing better darts than Anderson, so we would back him to come out on top.

4️⃣ Jonny Clayton Versus Peter Wright

The final quarter-final of Night 12 will see Jonny Clayton take on Peter Wright, and top bookies such as Bet365 have Clayton as the favourite to win this match. They have priced him at odds of 1.73 to win, while they have given Wright odds of 2.10 to be victorious. Other top bookmakers such as BoyleSports and Unibet have given similar odds.

So, who do we think will go on to win this game and advance to the quarter-finals? Well, when it comes to their head-to-head record, the adopted Scotsman has 10 wins to Clayton's 7. This pair also met in the final on Night 1, and Wright came out on top in that match 6-1. They then played against each other again on Night 5, and this time it was the Welshman who came out on top 6-5. On Night 8 and Night 11, they also found themselves playing against each other in the semi-finals, and Clayton won 6-4 and 6-5. Thus, with the above in mind, we think that Clayton will prevail in this game, although it will be close.

🏆 Overall Winner of Night 12

So, if our above predictions turn out to be correct, then Michael van Gerwen, Joe Cullen, Michael Smith, and Jonny Clayton will be the players taking part in the semi-finals, on Night 12. If our predictions are correct, then the semi-finals would see van Gerwen play Cullen and Smith play against Clayton.

From our predicted semi-final match ups, we believe that van Gerwen and Clayton will go on to progress to the final. Thus, Clayton and van Gerwen would be battling it out for the top points on Night 12, and this would be quite a tricky match to call. They have played each other five times in this year's Premier League of Darts, and the Welshman is winning 3-2 in the head-to-head record. We would probably not bet on such a match because it is too hard to call and the odds will not be all that great but, if we had to, then we would back the Dutchman.

💯 Odds: Overall Winner of the 2022 Premier League of Darts

Above we have provided you with our opinion as to who we think will win their quarter-final matches on Night 12 as well as the player that we think will go on and win the night. Now, we are going to have a look at who we think will go on and lift the Premier League of Darts trophy this year and significantly boost their bank balance while doing so. You will also be able to compare the odds from the best betting sites for each of the tournament players.

⭐ Michael van Gerwen

Even those among us who have only recently started paying close attention to darts will have heard a lot about Michael van Gerwen, that we can be pretty sure of. This is because he is considered by many to be one of the sport's greatest ever players. He has won all of the major darting events on more than one occasion, but his 2021 season is one that he will want to forget. He earned his first big title in 2012, and right up until last year, he had won a major title each campaign. His best year was 2016 as he managed to win a staggering 9 titles that year.

In the two main events that have taken part in 2022, he was knocked out in the first round and in the fifth round. Thus, he entered the 2022 Premier League of darts in some poor form, but he has been playing pretty well so far and currently sits second in the table. At the time of writing this prediction, he is the favourite with the bookies to win the trophy. In the following table, we have provided you with the odds that top bookies are offering for him to go on and win this tournament.

3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00

⭐ Jonny Clayton

While van Gerwen had a 2021 to forget, the same cannot be said for Clayton, since he managed to win four titles – he won The Masters, Premier League of Darts, the World Grand Prix, and the World Series of Darts. This year, he played very well in the Masters, but he was knocked out in the semi-finals. At this stage in the competition, he sits at the top of the table, and will be quietly confident of being able to retain the title that he won in 2021.

So, what are the odds that the top bookmakers are offering for him to manage to retain his title that he won last year? Well, check out the table below, and all will be revealed.

4.00	3.6	4.00	3.75	3.75	3.75

⭐ Peter Wright

Peter Wright is another player that will be happy with how his 2021 season went - he won the World Matchplay, the Players Championships Finals, and the PDC World Cup of Darts. Then, he even went and got his 2022 season of to a flier by being victorious in the PDC World Championship. Thanks to the way that he has been playing lately, he is ranked as the world's best darts players. He has yet to win the Premier League of Darts, but it is a tournament that he will be desperate to add to his trophy cabinet.

At this stage in the competition, Wright is third in the table and will be quite confident of making it to the Play-Off stage of the tournament. But, what chances do the best bookies give him of going on to win the whole competition for the first time? Well, check out the table below and see:

4.00	4.33	4.00	4.00	4.33.00	4.00

⭐ James Wade

James Wade is a player that seems to have been on the circuit for ages, and throughout his whole career he has picked up 10 titles. His last big title came in 2021 when he won the UK Open. Also, in 2021, he managed to make it to the semis of the PDC World Cup of Darts and the Grand Slam of Darts. This year he has made it to the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship and the UK Open. He knows what it is like to win the Premier League of Darts as he won this competition back in 2009.

Wade is currently in fourth place in the table, with a five-point gap over Cullen in fifth place. So, what are the odds that the top sports betting sites are offering for Wade to win his second Premier League of Darts title? Well, check out the table below and see for yourself.

8.00	8.00	8.00	8.50	8.00	8.00

⭐ Gerwyn Price

Gerwyn Price used to play rugby professionally, but he decided to give that up and focus on playing darts instead. We think that it is fair to say that this is a decision that he will not be regretting. In 2021, he won both the PDC World Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts, and made it to the semis of the The Masters, the UK Open, as well as the PDC World Cup of darts He is currently ranked as the second-best darts player in the world.

He is the fifth favourite to win this tournament, and has quite a bit of work to do if he is going to make it to the Play-Offs since he is currently in sixth place, seven points behind the final Play-Off spot. The odds that all the best bookmakers are offering for him to become the champion can be seen in the following table:

9.00	10.00	9.00	9.00	9.00	9.00

⭐ Joe Cullen

Joe Cullen is a very talent player that has more than enough talent to beat anyone on his day, although he will be the first to admit that he had a pretty poor 2021 - he best performance of last season was a semi-final finish in the European Championship. However, he put 2021 firmly behind him at the start of 2022 by going on to win The Masters. Now that he has his first major title in the bag, he will feel that he has the talent to go on and add the Premier League title to his trophy cabinet. However, first he has to overcome a five-point gap to make sure that he will be playing in the play-Offs.

If you are the type of sports bettor that loves a bit of a risk and like to place money on players that have an outside chance of winning, then we guess that you are curious to see the odds that are available for him to go on and lift the Premier League of Darts trophy. If you are, then feel free to check out the table below:

13.00	15.00	15.00	15.00	15.00	15.00

⭐ Michael Smith

Michael Smith is one of the best players on the circuit at the moment, and the fact that he is ranked as the third best player is a testament to this. However, despite his quality, he has yet to win any big darting event, always falling right at the last hurdle. For instance, he recently finished second at the UK Open and the PDC World Championship. He seems to have some kind of mental block when he reaches the final, but all that he needs is to win one title, and we are pretty certain that more will come flooding in.

Smith is 12 points adrift of a Play-Off spot, so it is highly unlikely that he will go on to win this title. With just five nights remaining, it is highly unlikely that he will be able to overcome such a deficit and qualify for the Play-Offs. This is reflected in the odds that the top bookies are offering, as can be seen below:

34.00	41.00	34.00	41.00	34.00	34.00

⭐ Gary Anderson

We are sure that you have heard of Gary Anderson before as he is one of those darts players that has been around for quite some time. However, although he has been on the circuit for many years, he will probably be one of the first to admit that he has not been as successful as he would have hoped. At the moment, he has nine PDC titles under his belt, which is not bad, but someone with his quality should have won a few more. His last PDC title came in 2019 when he was victorious in the PDC World Cup of Darts, so he will be eager to add another title to his collection.

However, he will have to wait as he is not going to be winning the 2022 Premier League of Darts title - he is currently 13 points adrift of the Play-Offs, and below are the odds on offer for him to win the whole competition:

101.00	126.00	101.00	N/A	126.00	N/A

🏁 Our Overall Winner

So, from these eight players, who do we think will go on and lift the 2022 Premier League of Darts title? Do we feel that the bookies are right and that van Gerwen will collect his sixth Premier League title, or will Clayton go on to defend his title?

Well, after 11 nights of action, Clayton is sitting at the top of the table with 26 points, while van Gerwen is right behind him with 25 points. Something catastrophic would have to happen for both of these players not to qualify for the Play-Offs, while we feel that the other two spots will be taken by Wright and Wade. If the positions stay like they are, then we think that Clayton and van Gerwen will meet in the final, and we think that van Gerwen would just edge the match to claim another Premier League of Darts title.