A delayed start to the competition notwithstanding, a very busy week of some of the best sporting
action of the year kicks off on Monday night with the start of the PDC Premier League darts.
Current Premier League champion, Glen Durrant is one of ten players competing in this event, which has reverted back to having ten fixed players for the opening phase of the tournament. The tournament, which is usually played throughout the winter and spring, will see its first five matchdays take place from the 5th to 9th April next week.
There then follows a break before the second part of the opening round of matches takes place between the 19th April and 22nd April, the latter being the infamous Judgment Night, after which the bottom two players are eliminated from the competition.
Phase 2 of the tournament then begins on the 5th May to the 7th May with the second part of Phase 2 being played from 24th to 27th May.
The playoffs and finals then take place on the 28th May drawing the competition to a close.
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Let’s now check out the players competing in this week’s events before we take a look at the fixtures set to be played across Monday to Friday next week for the first five match nights of action.
PDC Premier League 2021 – Competitors
All games will be played at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes for all phases of the tournament. The ten players competing in the event are as follows:
- Gerwyn Price (Current World Champion)
- Michael van Gerwen
- Peter Wright
- Rob Cross
- Nathan Aspinall
- Gary Anderson
- Dmitri Van den Bergh
- Glen Durrant (Current Premier League Champion)
- Jose de Sousa
- Jonny Clayton
Of these players Aspinall and Durrant are making their second appearance in the PDC Premier League Darts tournament while de Sousa, Clayton and Van den Bergh are all making their first appearance. Gary Anderson has made the most appearances in the event with ten, with Michael van Gerwen making nine and Peter Wright eight.
Premier League 2021 Fixtures
Monday 5th April
- Nathan Aspinall v Glen Durrant
- Rob Cross v Jose de Sousa
- Peter Wright v Jonny Clayton
- Gerwyn Price v Gary Anderson
- Michael van Gerwen v Dmitri Van den Bergh
Tuesday 6th April
- Gary Anderson v Jose de Sousa
- Jonny Clayton v Glen Durrant
- Dmitri Van den Bergh v Nathan Aspinall
- Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
- Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
Wednesday 7th April
- Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
- Glen Durrant v Dmitri Van den Bergh
- Peter Wright v Gary Anderson
- Nathan Aspinall v Gerwyn Price
- Jose de Sousa v Jonny Clayton
Thursday 8th April
- Dmitri Van den Bergh v Peter Wright
- Jonny Clayton v Rob Cross
- Jose de Sousa v Nathan Aspinall
- Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen
- Gary Anderson v Glen Durrant
Friday 9th April
- Gary Anderson v Jonny Clayton
- Peter Wright v Rob Cross
- Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
- Gerwyn Price v Glen Durrant
- Dmitri Van den Bergh v Jose de Sousa
After Friday’s games there will be just four more First Phase games to play for each player, which will be played from the 19th April to 22nd April inclusive.
On Judgement Night on the 22nd April, the two bottom ranked players in the table will be eliminated from the tournament with the eight remaining players competing in Phase 2. At the end of Phase 2, only the top four players will progress to the playoffs and finals on the 28th May.
What Are The Odds To Win The Tournament Outright?
As you can see from the image taken from bet365 Sport’s tournament odds page, Michael van Gerwen is the 9/4 favourite to win the title once again ahead of the World Champion Gerwyn Price at 12/5 with Peter Wright a 5/1 shot. These three players are some way ahead of the remaining players in the tournament.
In truth, that does represent a good idea of how the top tournaments have gone over the last few months with van Gerwen, Price and Wright being at the sharp end of most. Jonny Clayton’s good form cannot be overlooked, while Gary Anderson and Dmitri Van den Bergh’s talent and ability to score highly means that they are also players no to be underestimated.
Rob Cross, who despite being ranked fourth in the world is very much out of form at the moment, is the rank outside for the event at 40/1.
Glen Durrant and Nathan Aspinall are both tempting at 20/1, especially when you consider Durrant won this event last season, while the other newcomer, Jose de Souza has seen his good form over the year see him prescribed odds of 16/1 for the tournament.
Who Do We See Winning The Event?
In truth, I think the winner of this event will come from any of the top three rated prospects in the
tournament. Van Gerwen on his day is still very much the man to beat and there are signs that he is getting back to his best. There will be many fans who will take those odds on the Dutchman as often he has started tournaments in the past as the odds-on favourite.
Part of the reason he doesn’t this time is the form of Gerwyn Price, who as World Champion has to be considered as one of the favourites here. Price wasn’t a fan of this tournament initially but now he is World Champion, he will want to prove that he deserved that accolade with a solid performance here too.
Peter Wright is another star who has won this title previously and who will be looking to get back into the winner’s circle once again if he can find his best form. He certainly has the talent to land the victory.
For me though, it is between van Gerwen and Price and I think that I am going to back the Dutchman here so it is van Gerwen for me at 9/4 to land the win.
