Can Chris Dobey Go Nine Straight in Premier League Week Two?
Night Two of the Cazoo Premier League takes place in Cardiff International Arena this Thursday. The location means this is a local event for Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price. Price’s hometown is just 20 miles from the venue.
This pair were beaten in their opening games last week in Belfast. Clayton, while dispatched 6-2 by Dimitri Van den Bergh, probably played the better darts. His 101 average was superior to the 91.3 posted by Price in his 6-4 defeat by Nathan Aspinall.
Gerwyn Price may have little to celebrate about if Chris Dobey arrives in Cardiff still riding on the crest of his wave. ©Mikal Schlosser/PDC
But neither Van den Bergh nor Aspinall made the final. Instead, Chris Dobey met Michael van Gerwen and caused a major shock by taking the scalp of the Dutchman, five Premier League points, and the £10,000 nightly prize.
To underline the enormity of this result, the best betting sites offer Dobey at 14/1 to win this Thursday’s Premier League fixture. Nevertheless, there should be no doubting the merit of last week’s victory. Now unbeaten in eight matches, Dobey registered a 160 and 170 finish in the final to chin an in-form van Gerwen who recorded a better three-dart average.
What Are This Week’s Best Bets?
Using odds on offer at the leading darts betting sites, here is our idea of the best punting value amongst this Thursday’s Premier League matches.
Michael Smith v Jonny Clayton
Clayton was woeful on his checkouts when beaten by Van den Bergh last week, but his scoring was high. Smith lost no caste in defeat when giving second best to van Gerwen. He also averaged over 100.
The new world champion should have too much firepower for Clayton and can overcome a 1.5-leg deficit in the handicap market. Smith will need to win by a 6-4 scoreline or greater to repay supporters at odds of 5/6. None of last week’s four first-round matches went to a 6-5 scoreline.
Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright
Peter Wright did followers of this column a turn when registering more 180s than Chris Dobey a week ago. The Scotsman lost the game, but his average was a whopping 103. More high scoring is predicted by Wright, while Aspinall has not been too shabby around the treble-20.
The obvious call is bet365’s 5/6 on over 5.5 match 180s. Of course, an 11-leg game would increase the likelihood of a glut of maximums. The odds on a match that features 9.5-plus legs is 10/11. It is also something to consider.
Gerwyn Price v Chris Dobey
Dobey beat van Gerwen for only the second time in 14 meetings last week. Allied to his win in the Masters, the 32-year-old should be full of confidence. Conversely, Gerwyn Price may be asking himself questions.
A DREAM DEBUT FOR DOBEY! 🌴
ABSOLUTELY MAJESTIC FROM DOBEY AS HE WINS ON NIGHT ONE WITH A HUGE 160 FINISH! 💥
Chris Dobey tops the Premier League table on the opening night of action, defeating Michael van Gerwen in a deciding leg to clinch the final in STYLE! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/KOoSobnOY6
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 2, 2023
Price produced the lowest average of the night in Belfast and registered only one 180. Consequently, we believe Dobey should never be 6/4 in this face-off and can take his unbeaten sequence to nine.
Michael van Gerwen v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Van Gerwen was successful with fifty percent of his checkout attempts in all three games last week. He also registered the night’s highest average of 106. Dobey needed his 160 and 170 checkouts to beat the Dutchman in the outstanding contest.
There is no love lost between him and Belgium’s Van den Bergh. Two legs separated them in last week’s Premier League semi-final, and the scoreline in the semi-finals of last month’s World Championship was 6-0.
Fifteen previous meetings between this pair have seen Van den Bergh prevail just once. But it is still hard to back van Gerwen at his match odds of 3/10 in a short-format game. With no obvious bet, our suggestion is to play for fun stakes and – as our William Hill sports review found – shortsbook’s 9/2 about this pair drawing in the 180s match bet market.
