Tournament | Premier League Darts |
Timetable | May 12th at 19:10 |
Prediction | Cullen, van Gerwen, and Price to win |
Odds | 1.90 (Bet €100 and win €190 if Joe Cullen wins his first match) |
Bookmaker | betway |
There are plenty of big darts tournaments that take place throughout a darting season, but there is one that is bigger than them all and this is the Premier League of Darts. This is one of those trophies that all darts players want to hold aloft at one stage in their darting career - those that do also get to take home a cheque that is worth a staggering £275,000. We are now on Night 14 of the Premier League of Darts betting season of 2022, and below we are going to give you our predictions for the matches as well as who we think will go on to win the trophy at the end of the tournament.
🎯 The Matches on Night 14
Below we shall look at the quarter-final games that will take place on Night 14 of the 2022 Premier League of Darts. We will give you our opinion as to who will win each match and pick up vital points. Night 14 will take place at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on the 12th of May, so if you are in the area on that day, try to pick up some tickets if you are after a night of top-class entertainment.
1️⃣ Joe Cullen v James Wade
The first match on Night 14 will see Joe Cullen play against James Wade, and if you take a look at some of the odds that are being offered by top bookmakers, then you will see that the bookies really do not know which way this match will go. For instance, Bet365 has odds of 1.90 for both players, while Betway has odds of 1.91 for both players. Other top bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and Coral have Cullen as the favourite, but only by the barest of margins.
So, what do we think will happen here? Do we think that it will be as close as the bookmakers are thinking? Well, let us first take a look at the head-to-head record between the pair as doing this can help when it comes to placing bets on outcomes of dart matches. Well, over the last five years, they have played each other on seven occasions, and Cullen is leading the way 4-3. How have they fared against each other in this year's competition? Well, they met on Night Two and Cullen won the match 6-3, while Wade got revenge in the semi-finals of Night 8 by winning 6-2. They also met in the final of Night 10, and Wade won a close match 6-5.
So, both players have a very close head-to-head record and Wade is leading the way in the 2022 Premier League of Darts with two wins to one, which gives us a clear indication as to why the bookmakers think this will be a close game. Taking the above into account, we think the same, but we are going to predict a winner here because we do not like to sit on the fence. We think that Cullen will edge a very tight match.
Our Joe Cullen vs James match prediction: Joe Cullen to win.
2️⃣ Gary Anderson vs Gerwyn Price
The second match of Night 14 will see Gary Anderson play against Gerwyn Price, and the latter is the favourite to go on and win this game. The top sports betting sites such as BoyleSports, Ladbrokes, and Unibet have him at odds of 1.57 to win, while they have given Anderson odds of 2.37, or there abouts, to go on and make it to the semi-finals.
So, would we go with the bookmakers for this match? Well, like we did above, let us now take a look at the head-to-head record between the pair. Well, they have played each other 14 times in their careers, and it is Price that leads the way with eight wins to six. How have they fared against each other in the 2022 Premier League of Darts? They first met on Night 2 of the competition, and Price won the match 6-3, and this is actually the only time that they have played against each other in this year's tournament.
With all of the above in mind as well as how each player has performed to date in the 2022 Premier League of Darts, we would go with the sports betting sites for this one. We believe that Price will come out on top, so this is where our money would be.
Our Gary Anderson vs Gerwyn Price match prediction: Gerwyn Price to win.
3️⃣ Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
The third match of Night 14 sees Michael van Gerwen take on Peter Wright, and the former is the favourite to be victorious in this match. Bookies such as Bet365 and William Hill have given him odds of 1.57 to win the match, while Wright has been given odds of 2.38 to make it to six legs first and book a spot in the semi-finals.
So, do we agree with the sports betting sites for this game? Well, let us first check out their record against each other over the years. Well, in the last five years, they have played against each other 25 times, and the Dutchman leads the way with 16 wins to Wright's nine. The first time they met in the 2022 Premier League of Darts was on Night 2, and van Gerwen eased past the adopted Scot 6-1. They then met in the final on Night 4 and van Gerwen thrashed Wright 6-0, while van Gerwen also beat him 6-3 in the semi-final on Night 9.
From the above, we can see that not only does van Gerwen have a much better head-to-head record against Wright, but he has also beaten him easily in the three matches that they have played in the Premier League of Darts 2022. Thus, with this in mind, we are inclined to go with the bookmakers here and back the Dutchman to win and progress to the semi-finals.
Our Michael van Gerwen vs Peter Wright match prediction: Michael van Gerwen to win.
4️⃣ Michael Smith vs Jonny Clayton
The fourth and final quarter-final match on Night 14 will see Michael Smith take on Jonny Clayton. The latter is the favourite to get the victory here with bookmakers such as BetVictor and Betway giving odds of 1.61 for him to win. The same bookmakers have given Smith odds of 2.30 to win this game and advance to the semi-finals.
So, before we go ahead and tell you whether we would back what the bookmakers say, we would like to take a look at their head-to-head record. Well, they have played against each other 13 times in their career, and Smith is leading the way with eight wins to Clayton's five. In the 2022 Premier League of Darts, they have played against each other four times, and Clayton has won three of those matches.
Thus, taking this into account as well as how both players have been performing at this year's tournament, we are happy to back the bookmakers here, and would put our money on Clayton to win the game.
Our Michael Smith vs Jonny Clayton match prediction: Jonny Clayton to win.
🏆 Overall Winner of Night 14
So, if our predictions from above all turn out to be correct, then Cullen, Price, van Gerwen, and Clayton will be the four players that are taking part in the semi-finals on Night 14. If our predictions are indeed correct, then the semi-final line-up on the night would be Cullen vs Price and van Gerwen vs Clayton.
From these semi-final line-ups, we believe that Price and Clayton would be the two players to come out on top and make it to the final on Night 14. This would be a tricky game to call between the two Welshmen as they have both been playing pretty well as of late. They have met once before in this tournament, and Clayton came out on top with a 6-3 win, while they are currently tied in their head-to-head record at five wins apiece. If this does end up being the final, then we would put our cash on Clayton to come out on top.
💯 Odds: Overall Winner of the 2022 Premier League of Darts
Above we gave our opinion as to who we believe will be victorious in their quarter-final games on Night 14, and who we feel will be the champion on the night. Now, we shall have a look at the player that we believe will go on and win the main title, while greatly improving their bank balance at the same time.
⭐ Michael van Gerwen Odds
Even those of you among us who are not big fans of darts will have heard plenty about Michael van Gerwen, that we are pretty sure of. This is because he is talked about regularly as he is one of the best players that the darting world has ever had. Throughout his distinguished career, he has lifted all the main trophies more than one time, but it is safe to say that he had a really poor 2021. The first trophy that he lifted was in 2012, and right up until 2021, he had lifted at least one major trophy every season. In 2016, he had a stunning season, where he lifted a total of nine titles.
In the three major darts events from 2022, the UK Open, The Masters, and the PDC World Championship, he was eliminated in the fifth round, quarter-finals, and the third round. After this trophy drought, he will be eager to lift the 2022 Premier League title aloft. Despite his poor form heading into this competition, he has been playing quite well, and he currently sits in second place in the table with 28 points. We can pretty much say that he will qualify for the Play-Offs, and the bookies have him as their favourite to win.
In the following table, you can see the odds that they are offering him to go on and lift this title for the sixth time:
2.75 | 3.25 | 3.25 | 3.00 | 3.25 | 3.25 |
⭐ Jonny Clayton Odds
It is fair to say that van Gerwen had a very poor 2021 and not the best time of it in 2022 either, but the same definitely cannot be said for Jonny Clayton, since he won four titles in 2021. The competitions that he won were the World Series of Darts, The Masters, The Premier League of Darts, and the World Grand Prix. He also made it to the last four of the 2022 Masters. Currently, he is sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League of Darts table with 34 points to his name, which is six more than van Gerwen in second. He will definitely be playing in the Play-Offs, and will be quite confident that he can retain the title that he won in 2021.
He is the second favourite to lift the title with the bookies, and below you can see the odds that they are offering for Clayton to retain his title:
3.25 | 3.25 | 3.25 | 3.00 | 3.25 | 3.25 |
⭐ Peter Wright Odds
Peter Wright is another player who can be very happy with the performances that he put in during the 2021 season. Across the season, he managed to win the World Matchplay, the Players Championship Finals, as well as the PDC World Cup of Darts. Then, he made sure that his 2022 got off to a flier by winning the PDC World Championship title. Thanks to his most recent performances, he is ranked as the best darts player in the world. He is yet to lift the Premier League of Darts title, but we are pretty sure that he will do so before he retires from the sport.
At this moment in time, he is sitting 4th in the table with 20 points to his name, and he has a five-point gap over Cullen in 5th place. He will want to pick up some points in the few nights that remain so that he can secure a Play-Off spot for himself. The bookmakers currently have him as the third favourite to win he title, and the odds that they have for him to win the title can be seen below:
5.00 | 4.75 | 4.50 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 4.50 |
⭐ James Wade Odds
James Wade is one of those darts players that seems to have been playing for a really long time, and during his career, he has managed to win 10 titles. Last year, he lifted the UK Open trophy, while he also made it to the semis of the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts and the World Cup of Darts. In 2022, he took part in the UK Open and the PDC World Championship, where he made it to the quarter-finals in both tournaments. He is a very fierce competitors and knows the feeling of winning the Premier League of Darts since he won it back in 2009.
Wade is sitting in third in the Premier League of Darts table with 25 points under his belt, and it is very likely that he will book himself a spot in the Play-Offs. What are the odds that the best bookies are offering for him to go on and lift the title for the second time? Well, have a look at the table below and you will see:
6.00 | 5.50 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 5.50 | 6.00 |
⭐ Gerwyn Price Odds
Gerwyn Price used to play rugby, but he gave that up in 2012 to concentrate on his darts career, and we are pretty certain that he does not regret swapping the mud for the oche. Last year, he won the PDC World Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts, and was a semi-finalist in The Masters, the UK Open, and the PDC World Cup of Darts. At the moment, he is the second best darts player in the world.
When it comes to the 2022 Premier League of Darts table, he is in 6th place with 13 points, seven points off of a Play-Off spot. This means that he has an uphill battle to earn a place in the last four, but the bookies still, due to his quality, give him a chance to win the title.
17.00 | 17.00 | 17.00 | 15.00 | 17.00 | 17.00 |
⭐ Joe Cullen Odds
Joe Cullen is a very talented darts player that really does have the talent to beat the best players on the circuit, although he will probably be the first to say that his 2021 was a poor campaign. His best finish in 2021 was a losing semi-finalist in the European Championship. However, he put his poor 2021 campaign behind him at the start of 2022 by winning The Masters. Now that he has his first big title under his belt, we truly believe that he has belief that he can go on to win the Premier League of Darts title. However, to do tis, he has to land a spot in the Play-Offs, and will have to overcome a fie-point deficit.
The bookmakers do not really give him much of a chance of being able to overcome such a gap, as you can see from the odds in the table below:
26.00 | 26.00 | 26.00 | 26.00 | 26.00 | 26.00 |
⭐ Michael Smith Odds
Michael Smith, it is fair to say, is one of the best players on the circuit at this moment in time, and this is highlighted by the fact that he is the third best player in the world according to the rankings. However, despite the fact that he has plenty of talent, he has not yet one any big darts event, and always comes undone right at the end. For instance, he recently was the runner-up at the UK Open and the PDC World Championship, so it would seem that he has some kind of mental block when it comes to getting himself across the finish line. We think that all he has to do is land one big title, and more will flock in.
Smith is currently in seventh place in the table with 12 points to his name, but since he is eight points adrift of the Play-Offs, it is not likely that he will make it to the final four and get a shot at the title. This is reflected in the odds that the top sports betting sites are offering for him to win, and they can be seen in the table below:
51.00 | 51.00 | 67.00 | 41.00 | 67.00 | 67.00 |
⭐ Gary Anderson Odds
Gary Anderson is yet another name that seems to have been floating around in the darts world for a long period of time. However, although he has been on the darts circuit for a long period of time, he probably will be one of the first to admit that he has not picked up as many trophies as he would have hoped for. At the moment, he has nine titles under his belt, which is pretty decent, but someone with his kind of quality really should have won a few more. His last major title was in 2019 when he lifted the PDC World Cup of Darts, so he will be eager to add another title to his trophy cabinet soon.
However, he will not be adding the 2022 Premier League title as he has left himself too much to do to make it to the Play-Offs. He is 11 points adrift of fourth place, and below are the odds from top bookies for him to go on and win the title:
251.00 | 251.00 | 251.00 | N/A | 251.00 | 201.00 |
📑 Format of the Tournament
We know that there is a really good chance that some of you who are reading this prediction article will be quite new to the world of darts, which is why we shall take a few minutes to have a look at what the format of this tournament is. Whenever you are betting on a sporting event, it is very important that you know what format is being used before you jump in and put your hard-earned cash on it. If you already know the format that they use in the 2022 Premier League of Darts, then feel free to skip this section, and head on to the next one.
At the start of 2022, the Professional Darts Corporation, also called the PDC, stated that the Premier League of Darts would be using a different format this time around. This tournament used to be played as a Round Robin event, but now the eight players play knockout darts on each of the 16 nights, with one night being played each week. This means that each night there will be seven great dart matches to enjoy, with each match being the first to six legs or the best of 11.
For nights one to seven, the players will play against the seven other participants once in what we can practically call a quarter-final match. Then on nights nine to fifteen, they will take on the other seven players once more. On Nights eight and sixteen, the line-ups for the "quarter-finals" will be played according to where each player is situated in the league table at that current moment in time. With regard to the points that are available, the player that wins a quarter-final match will earn themselves two points, while the player who finished second on the night will earn three points, and the winner of the night will get five points.
When all of the nights have been played, the top four players in the table will go through to the Play-Offs, with the one that finishes first taking on the one that finishes fourth, and the one that finishes second playing the one that comes third. The two victors from the semi-finals will then play each other in the final to see who earns the right to lift the beautiful trophy and claim the huge cheque.
🏅 The Players That Are Competing in the 2022 Premier League of Darts
The old format of this tournament would see the best four players from the PDC Order of Merit, after the World Darts Championship has taken part, be joined by six additional players that were sent invitations to enjoy. However, at the beginning of 2022, when the PDC announced that they would be using the Round-Robin format, they also announced that the number of players taking part this year would be eight, instead of the usual 10.
The eight players that would be playing in the Premier League of Darts 2022 was announced at the start of February, and the PDC declared that the players would be the top six from the PDC Order of Merit , and that they would be joined by Joe Cullen and Jonny Clayton. Clayton is the Premier League of Darts reigning champion since he beat Jose de Sousa in last year's event. In previous competitions, there would be a "Judgement Night" and a relegation battle, but these were removed for the 2022 tournament.
🏁 Our Overall Winner
So, from the eight players above, who do we think will go on to win the Premier League of Darts 2022? Do we feel that the sports betting sites are right and that van Gerwen will lift his sixth title, or do we think that Clayton will defend the title he won last year in 2021?
Well, after 13 nights of action, Clayton is sitting at the top of the table with 34 points and is all but guaranteed a spot in the Play-Offs, while van Gerwen would have to fail miserably and have other results go against him in order to not make the Play-Offs. We feel that the other two positions will be filled by Peter Wright and James Wade, and if the positions stay as they currently are, then Clayton will play Wright and van Gerwen will play Wade. Out of these matches, we feel that Clayton and van Gerwen will make it to the final, and then it really is a toss up between the two as to who goes on and wins the title. We would back the Dutchman to use his vast experience to edge the match and win his sixth Premier League of Darts trophy.
Our outright winner: Michael van Gerwen.