All Hail the Power

At the beginning of this Premier League campaign there were major doubts surrounding the form and superiority within the game of Phil Taylor. At the halfway point of the group stages The Power has, once again, firmly quashed those doubts.

Defeat in the quarter finals of the PDC World Championships set the ball rolling for the Taylor doubters while an 8-2 defeat to Adrian Lewis in the Premier League opener compounded the idea that his powers were waning.

However, in typical Phil Taylor style, having reverted to his old darts, he is now back atop of his perch as the king of darts. He currently tops the Premier League table with six wins from seven games, he won the first major tournament of the season, the Players Championship Finals, then recorded the highest ever three-dart average in a televised final at the RTL7 International Masters.

Despite beginning the tournament at odds-against prices Taylor is now the strong 4/7 betting favourite to win his sixth Premier League title at Wembley Arena in mid-May.

Another player who has enjoyed a renaissance in this year’s Premier League is the popular Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld. There were fears amongst his fans and darts enthusiasts that Barney’s time at the top of the game was coming to an end, but he now looks to be working his way back to his best and can certainly more than mix it with the top players once again.

Having begun the tournament as one of the rank outsiders in the betting, he has now shortened to odds of 7/1 to win an event that he has notoriously struggled in.

Second favourite in the betting is Scotsman Gary Anderson. After a blistering start that saw him win his opening four games at a canter, defeat to Taylor in week five has set him on a losing streak of three in a row. He is now quoted at odds of 9/2 in the Premier League winner betting.

World champion Adrian Lewis has had an inconsistent campaign to date, beating Taylor on the opening night before losing to the out-of-sorts James Wade in week two. Yet he has done enough to occupy an all-important top-four position at the midway point. Similarly to Barney he is also quoted at odds of around 7/1 for the Premier League title.

It has been a fascinating and exciting Premier League tournament to date. And it promises to get even better as the finish line approaches and the points on offer become more and more crucial to each player’s respective campaigns.