Week 10

Published at: http://www.overtimeonline.co.uk/?p=16078

This week’s fixtures (player on the left will throw first):

• Dave Chisnall v Raymond van Barneveld
• Peter Wright v Gary Anderson
• Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton
• Phil Taylor v Adrian Lewis
• Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright

After Wes Newton and Simon Whitlock were eliminated last week, the remaining eight players enter the race to reach the Premier League play-offs. Van Gerwen, Wright, Van Barneveld and Lewis currently occupy the top four spots.

In Cardiff, Newton was eliminated for the second successive year after throwing away a 4-2 lead against Dave Chisnall. Despite already being eliminated, Simon Whitlock arguably put in his best performance of the season. The Aussie landed checkouts of 170 and 116 in a draw with Michael van Gerwen.

Week 10 in Sheffield sees the second set of round-robin fixtures begin. Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld play twice, as Barney opens proceedings against Dave Chisnall before Peter Wright plays Gary Anderson. The pair also face each other in the final game of the night. Reigning champion van Gerwen will be looking to bounce back with a victory after only a point last week. The Dutchman did well to come back from 6-2 down though, and will fancy his chances against Robert Thornton on Thursday.

The most anticipated game of the night is expected to take place at around 9.30pm. Stoke rivals Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis face-off, with both players in different kinds of form. Taylor is on the up after a shaky start but Lewis can’t seem to find any consistency this year, despite his UK Open win.

Dave Chisnall v Raymond van Barneveld

After an eight-game run without a win, Chisnall defeated Wes Newton 7-5 in Cardiff, ensuring his safety from elimination. He faces a much tougher test this week against the Dutch legend, Raymond van Barneveld. Chizzy has hit a massive 43 180s so far this season, but despite his terrific scoring power, he will need to improve on his doubles when he faces van Barneveld, who is proving hard to beat.

After five straight draws, van Barneveld has admitted that he’s in “draw-mode” at the moment. However, he hasn’t been playing particularly poorly and the Dutchman currently sits in third place after a good season. He did well to come back from 4-1 down to Adrian Lewis last week and against Chisnall, Barney’s consistency could prove to be the difference between a draw and a win.

Peter Wright v Gary Anderson

The second clash in Sheffield is a repeat of last week’s exciting opening game. In Cardiff, Wright edged a close 7-5 victory which probably should’ve ended in a draw but Gary Anderson missed three darts at a double to move 6-5 ahead. Peter Wright is playing with so much confidence at the moment and has been changing his darts all of the time. Snakebite plays twice this week for the first ever time, so will need a strong opening performance against his Scottish rival

Gary Anderson comfortably survived any elimination scares and will be happy with his Premier League campaign so far. However, with only eight points, the Flying Scotsman needs to start moving up the table if he wants a play-off spot. After recently becoming a father, Anderson’s mind may wander a little on Thursday evening, and if it does, Peter Wright will be there to punish him.

Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton

Top takes on bottom here as Michael van Gerwen looks to remain in first place. In Cardiff, MVG came up against Simon Whitlock who had nothing to lose. The Dutchman had to battle back from 6-1 to earn a point, finishing with a 164 checkout and a 103.6 average. Mighty Mike will be desperate to get back to winning ways after admitting that he wasn’t sharp enough against Whitlock.

Robert Thornton suffered a sprained ankle after a nasty trip on stage during his 7-4 defeat to Phil Taylor. The Thorn only narrowly survived relegation and needs a win this week if he’s to stand a chance of making the play-offs in May. With MVG likely to go all out in search of a victory, Thornton looks set for a difficult test.

Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis: Are we in store for another classic?

Phil Taylor v Adrian Lewis

This fourth versus fifth encounter is likely to be a lot closer than the last time these two Stoke legends met. Adrian Lewis thrashed Phil Taylor 7-3 back in week two but a resurgent Phil Taylor is in much better form now. His comfortable win over Thornton last week made it four games unbeaten for The Power. The six-time Premier League champion is playing well and has a good chance of getting revenge over Lewis.

By his own admission, Adrian Lewis wasn’t himself in last week’s game against Raymond van Barneveld. Hitting only one 180, Jackpot could only manage a point meaning that he has drawn four of his last five games. Lewis also has a poor season average, with just 94.6. Only one point separates these two but Taylor dominates the head-to-head records, with 45 wins out of 57 meetings.

Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright

This will be the second game of the night for Barney and Snakebite, so depending on previous results, both men may settle for a draw. The last time these two met, Peter Wright denied van Barneveld two points after taking out a 161 finish to snatch a 6-6 draw. Both players have made strong starts to the season but endurance will definitely play a part here, and this may be hard to call. Two wins would put Wright at the top of the table, so he could edge Thursday night’s final game.