This week, the second phase of the PDC Premier League of Darts will continue once again at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. The first phase saw last year’s Champion, Glen Durrant and former World Champion Rob Cross eliminated from the tournament, with the eight remaining players going on to compete in Phase 2.
The first set of games in Phase 2 were played a couple of weeks back and this week, we see the players back in action, not only to complete the second phase set of games, but to also play the semifinals and final later on this week to decide who is the 2021 PDC Premier League Champion.
Darts betting has been very popular for many years now in the UK and the good news is that if you are a bet365 Sport customer then you can enjoy plenty of great betting on the games taking place this week. Not only does the site offer an extensive range of pre-match betting on the games, but its In Play betting service for darts is second to none.
There’s lots of great betting to enjoy if you are based in the United States too, especially in the
state of Pennsylvania where BetRivers PA offers an outstanding range of bets across many different sports markets including the NBA Playoffs, as well as this weeks top darts action from the UK too!
So with that in mind, let’s quickly recap how things stand after the first part of Phase 2 of the Premier League of Darts 2021 as we recap how those opening games went, and take a look at the current standings ahead of the final week of action.
Premier League of Darts Phase 1 Part 1 Roundup
Monday 5th May – Night 10
- Jonny Clayton 8-5 James Wade
- Jose de Sousa 8-3 Gary Anderson
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-8 Michael van Gerwen
- Peter Wright 5-8 Nathan Aspinall
Tuesday 6th May – Night 11
- Nathan Aspinall 6-8 Dimitri Van den Bergh
- James Wade 7-7 Jose de Sousa
- Gary Anderson 8-3 Peter Wright
- Michael van Gerwen 8-5 Jonny Clayton
Wednesday 7th May – Night 12
- Peter Wright 1-8 Jose de Sousa
- Michael van Gerwen 8-3 James Wade
- Jonny Clayton 8-6 Nathan Aspinall
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-8 Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen produced three wins on the bounce to take over at the top of the table from
Nathan Aspinall after the latter lost his last two matches in the second phase. Two defeats for Dimitri Van den Bergh allied to strong performances from Jose de Sousa, Jonny Clayton and latterly Gary Anderson, who won his last two games to drag himself off the foot of the table, has set up an intriguing final four set of matches this week.
No player has yet qualified for the playoffs and any of the eight players still competing in the tournament could make it through to the last four. Which sets up the games taking place this week perfectly.
Premier League of Darts Phase 2 Table
After the first three games in the second phase (12 games in total), the current PDC Premier League table is as follows (leg difference shown in brackets):
- Michael van Gerwen – 17pts (+21)
- Nathan Aspinall – 15pts (+15)
- Dimitri Van Den Bergh – 15pts (+7)
- Jose De Sousa – 14pts (+12)
- Jonny Clayton – 14pts (+4)
- Gary Anderson – 12pts (0)
- James Wade – 11pts (-1)
- Peter Wright – 9pts (-16)
*Rob Cross and Glen Durrant were eliminated after the first phase (9 games).
There are four more games in the Second Phase to be played this week by each player, after which the top four players will go forward into the Playoffs. Two semifinals (1st seed v 4th seed and 2nd seed v 3rd seed) will be played before the winners of those matches contest the final.
This Weeks Premier League of Darts Schedule
Monday 24th May – Night 13
- Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
- Jose de Sousa v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
- James Wade v Peter Wright
Tuesday 25th May – Night 14
- James Wade v Nathan Aspinall
- Jonny Clayton v Jose de Sousa
- Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen
- Peter Wright v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Wednesday 26th May – Night 15
- Jonny Clayton v Peter Wright
- James Wade v Dmitri Van den Bergh
- Gary Anderson v Nathan Aspinall
- Jose de Sousa v Michael van Gerwen
Thursday 27th May – Night 16
- Gary Anderson v James Wade
- Nathan Aspinall v Jose de Sousa
- Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jonny Clayton
Friday 28th May – Playoffs
Semifinals – Best of 19 legs
Seed 1 v Seed 4
Seed 2 v Seed 3
Winners of both the above games will face off in the Best of 21 leg Final.
Premier League Darts Tips – Night 13
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Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
This is a crucial game in terms of moving into the top four as 5th takes on 6th in the table in the
opening match of the night. Both players won two and lost one of their opening three games in Phase 2 and with Clayton two points ahead of Anderson, the Scotsman will not want to see that gap increase to four points.
To me, this is a must win game for Gary Anderson, but one that Clayton won’t want to lose and I think it will be a very close one as a result and as a result, I am backing the draw here at 4/1.
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Jose de Sousa v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Van den Bergh may be ahead of de Sousa in the table, but the Portuguese star made a better start to the second phase of the tournament, winning two of his three games so far, compared to just one for Van den Bergh. This is another very close game and it is a tough one to call as they are both contrasting players.
If Van den Bergh is hot, then he will win. However, if he is not on his A-game, then I think the consistency of de Sousa will see him win. In these games, consistency usually is the winner, so I am backing de Sousa to snatch a very narrow win here at 7/5.
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Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
Second takes on top of the table in what is undoubtedly the tie of the night. Aspinall has lost two
of his last three games in the tournament and that has allowed van Gerwen to climb up to the summit on the back of three straight wins in phase 2.
On his day, van Gerwen is almost unplayable and Aspinall will know he will have to up his game considerably, as he did in the first phase to stand a chance here. I am sure he will but I don’t think it will be enough as I am backing van Gerwen to win here at 5/6.
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James Wade v Peter Wright
The bottom two players in the table battle it out in the final game o fthe night and it is really a must-win game for both players even at this stage. Neither has won a game in Phase 2 so far, with Wade picking up a draw and two defeats and Wright losing all three of his games in this part of the tournament.
On their day, both these players can beat anybody but their form on the opening three nights wasn’t great however I feel Wade is in the better form of the two at the moment and I think of the two he is the man to back. Take James Wade to win at 5/4.
