17 Aug 2020
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Gary Anderson v Gerwyn Price
A successful night for Gary Anderson saw him jump into the top four qualification spots and he’ll certainly want to kick on from that with that just his third win from seven outings. He’ll face Gerwyn Price who still has just one win from seven matches in this tournament after losing to Nathan Aspinall last night, while the Welshmen has now lost 12 of his last 27 matches dating back to early March and with just one point separating himself (5 points), Rob Cross (5) and Daryl Gurney (4) in the Premier League table, these next two nights will prove to be crucial in avoiding that feared elimination spot.
The Flying Scotsmen seems to be on a role of late having reached the final of World Matchplay just last month, beating all of James Wade, Simon Whitlock and Michael Smith, while he backed that up with a another victory over Bully Boy on Tuesday night. Furthermore, he’s beaten the Iceman in both their meetings this year (10-2 & 6-3) as well as their solitary fixture in this competition back in 2018 and he gets our backing again.
Nathan Aspinall v Daryl Gurney
Four victories from Nathan Aspinall’s seven matches means he’s avoided elimination and puts him right in contention to reach the semis as he trails the leading two Glen Durrant and Michael van Gerwen by just one point. Only top five players in the Order of Merit rankings Rob Cross and Peter Wright have got the better of him thus far, while he even beat Mighty Mike in Cardiff back in February. The Englishmen has three titles to his name already this year and although he crashed out in the last 32 of World Matchplay, that was to eventual winner Dimitri van den Bergh.
The same can’t be said for Daryl Gurney. He currently props up the Premier League table with four defeats from his seven outings so far, while his solitary victory came against challenger Chris Dobey last night. Indeed, he’s failed to beat any of the other eight players in this tournament with his only other points coming against fellow relegation battlers Voltage and The Iceman.
The Asp holds the favourable 2-1 record in their head-to-heads since May last year too and we can’t see this one going any other way then to the world number six.
Rob Cross v Michael Smith
We’re a little surprised to see Michael Smith priced up as favourite for this one given he’s yet to win a title in 2020 and managed a best result of one quarter-final from his five Summer Series tournaments. Furthermore, he crashed out in the group stages of PDC Home Tour in both group attempts in April and May respectively. He may have reached the semis of World Matchplay last month but the only player he faced inside the top 14 in the Order of Merit rankings was Gary Anderson who he lost to and that has been a recurring theme for him.
Rob Cross has had Bully Boy’s number over the years with him a remarkable W15-L3 dating back to their first meeting in 2017, including all six since the start of 2019. Of course, four straight defeats doesn’t bode too well for his chances in this one, but the current price is representative of that form and with such a dominance over this opponent we can’t but help fancying his chances to cause an upset.
Glen Durrant v Michael van Gerwen
Five months on from Night Six in Liverpool and Michael van Gerwen has restored his dominance at the top of the Premier League table after hammering Rob Cross 7-2. Mr Premier League has won this tournament in each in each of the last four campaigns and after a few hiccups back in February and March when losing to The Asp and Bully Boy, he’s been back to winning ways since. However, he has lost half his most recent six matches which is uncharacteristic of him, including a 11-4 hammering in World Matchplay by Simon Whitlock.
Glen Durrant could only hold out for a draw against Peter Wright last time out, but he’ll take that against the world number two. Indeed, two quarters and a semi in his most recent six tournaments is certainly alright going, while he seems to keep surprising people in this competition with his sole defeat coming back in February to Nathan Aspinall. Furthermore, he has an 100% record from his two meetings with Mighty Mike and although he may be pressed to make that three, he at least holds value in the handicap market.
Glen Durrant +2.5 Handicap At 19/20
Peter Wright v Jeffrey de Zwaan
The challenger for the evening is Jeffrey de Zwaan. The Dutchmen hasn’t advanced past the last 16 in any of his last 15 tournaments, passing the last 32 just once and comes here off back to back defeats to 107th in the world Robert Collins and Glen Durrant. The latter against Duzza was a 10-3 thrashing and even though he averaged 96.71 in that clash, it had nothing on the world number 13 who hit a whopping 106.93.
Peter Wright knows a thing or two about hitting the high averages as he managed a 99.96 when drawing with Durrant last night, while he hasn’t hit below the Black Cobra’s recent average of 96.71 in nine matches now, tonning up in three of the last seven. Moreover, he’s won two of their three meetings since the start of 2019 and we can see this being a fairly comfortable night for the reigning World Champion given his form. A win, runner-up and two quarters from his five Summer Series tournaments proves his form and this should be a very tough night for the 24-year-old challenger.
Peter Wright -2.5 Handicap At Evs
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