PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS BETTING WEEK NINE

Scottish darts crowds tend to produce a unique atmosphere and tonight will be the first week this year that the Premier League travelling circus ventures north of the border.

Raymond van Barneveld seems to be the biggest benefactor of the raucous Scottish atmosphere and up against the unlikeable Adrian Lewis you can bet your bottom dollar that the crowd will be on his side tonight. That could be the difference in this evening’s opening game and although Barney’s form has been very hit and miss this year I like the look of the 2.6 (13/8) that is available on Betfair for the Dutchman to win this match.
The second game of the night offers the crowd another opportunity to side with a non-Englishman, this time in the shape of Simon Whitlock. The man known as The Wizard will take on the terribly out of sorts Terry Jenkins. Jenkins is a likeable character and won’t feel the wrath of the Glaswegian crowd as much as Lewis will, however, all outside factors aside The Bull just isn’t anywhere near being on top of his game at present. Whitlock at odds of 1.9 (10/11) looks to be the only bet here.
Third up is an all-English affair between Ronnie Baxter and league-winner-elect Phil Taylor. In the first meeting between these two players Baxter stormed out of the blocks and took a stranglehold on the match with a 4-0 early lead. Then, just as quickly as he had gone ahead, he relinquished the initiative and ultimately lost 8-6 and in doing so provided a prime example of the mental barrier that some players need to overcome in order to actually beat Taylor.
Baxter is playing well and could conceivably cause Taylor some problems once again, but in all likeliness he won’t have enough to take victory. There is no value in the match odds market where Taylor is a 1.2 shot, but I do like the 5/2 that Skybet are offering on Baxter to win the race to three legs.
It’s getting to the do or die stage for many of these players and tonight promises to be another hotly contested night of darts action.