Darts: Aspinall and Wright Can Put on a 180 Show in Exeter
On Thursday, seven exhausted darts players will take to the stage to contest week five of the Cazoo Premier League. Many played in Barnsley days before last week’s league fixture in Dublin. Contenders, except for Chris Dobey, then took one or two flights to play in the Baltic Sea Darts Open in Kiel, Germany, less than 48 hours later.
Michael van Gerwen won last week’s fixture in Dublin. If anyone is used to endless traveling and a pitstop hotel lifestyle it is him. ©Michael Cooper/PDC
More flights and/or an exceptionally long car journey will now deliver the world’s finest darts players to Exeter. Given the grueling schedule, it is impossible to determine which players could suffer from fatigue.
At least Dobey should have had a few nights in his own bed. It is a luxury that may give him the edge against Dimitri Van den Bergh when they clash in the third match of Thursday’s Premier League card.
Michael van Gerwen vs Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen (MVG) jumped to the top of the league table with a stumbling 6-5 mini-final win over Gerwyn Price in the Irish capital last week. When this couple met in week two of the league – in Cardiff – Price prevailed by a 6-5 scoreline.
What can we expect when the pair meet again in the first match on Thursday’s card? Another close match looks inevitable. But, as MVG has the better stats – more 180s, a finer checkout percentage, and a superior three-dart average – he is the logical choice.
DELIGHT IN DUBLIN FOR MvG! 🟢
Sheer darting drama 🤯
Michael van Gerwen survives SEVEN match darts to win his first night of 2023 Premier League action, topping the table in the process!
WOW 💥#PLDarts pic.twitter.com/GkDf81A7gF
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 23, 2023
Price has played in four seasons of the Premier League and missed the event in 2021. MVG has been on tour for 15 solid years, and he has never missed a Premier League or played inconsistently since 2013. If anyone is used to endless traveling and pitstop hotel lifestyle it is him.
So, MVG – who was beaten in the first round of the Baltic Sea Darts Open – to win by a small margin is the bet selection. Correct score 6-5 and 6-4 MVG victories are offered at 11/2 by the best darts betting sites. Our suggestion is to back both outcomes.
Nathan Aspinall vs Michael Smith
Smith sits second in the league, a single point adrift of MVG. He has, unlike Aspinall, won a nightly final. Strikingly, Aspinall has been significantly better at 180 scoring than this week’s rival. However, his checkout percentage is exceptionally poor – just 30.7 percent.
Aspinall produced his best darts of the Premier League season when beating Smith 6-4 in a week two semi-final match. His three-dart average in that confrontation was a mouth-watering 105.4.
The stats suggest Aspinall should not be 13/8 to win this race to six games. The price is surely too big. But 11/5 about the underdog registering the most match 180s is a gift horse. Aspinall is averaging 3.1 maximums per Premier League match. Smith’s average is 2.3.
Dimitri Van den Burgh vs Chris Dobey
Dobey did brilliantly to win the opening league fixture, but he has not won a match since. There have only been two 6-1 spankings this year, and Dobey was on the receiving end of one of them – in Glasgow on week three.
Van den Burgh has the better of Dobey on every key Premier League stat, and he beat him on their previous two encounters 6-1 and 6-2. Dobey may benefit from his weekend off, but he might be suffering from a lack of confidence following a purple patch.
A quick kill is predicted here – meaning the bet suggestion is to take the 5/6 best darts betting sites offer on a match that features under 9.5 legs.
Jonny Clayton vs Peter Wright
Peter Wright has failed to win any of his four Premier League matches. Clayton was a big fancy last week and did this column a turn when beating Nathan Aspinall. But the Welsh player is seventh in the league and has yet to reach a nightly final.
Despite the lack of a match win, Wright does possess higher averages and 180 scoring ratios than Clayton. Bet365 says he is 5/6 to produce the most match 180s on Thursday. But, with Wright having an exceptional head-to-head record against Clayton – including success in their last three showdowns – he is also a tempting proposition at 5/6 to win this match.
On this occasion – as Clayton produced just a handful of 180s in the Baltic Sea Darts Open at the weekend – the scales tip in favor of the 180s market.
