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The Premier League Darts is a yearly tournament organized by the Professional Darts Corporation or PDC. It is one of darts’ major tournaments. This year’s tournament is the 15th edition of the Premier League and is sponsored by Unibet.
The tournament is currently ongoing having started last February 7, 2019 at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England and will end with the playoffs at the O2 Arena in London on May 23, 2019.
After 12 rounds of action, here is the current leaderboard for the 2019 Unibet Premier League Darts tournament:
| Rank | Name | Points | Win | Draw | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Van Gerwen | 19 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Rob Cross | 18 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | James Wade | 15 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 4 | Gerwyn Price | 15 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | Mensur Suljovic | 15 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | Daryl Gurney | 14 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Michael Smith | 9 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 8 | Peter Wright | 9 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
Last year, Michael Van Gerwen defeated Michael Smith 4-1 in the final to win the 2018 Unibet Premier League. Gerwen is favored to win the title again this year.
Here are the odds to win the 2019 Unibet Premier League Darts. Odds taken from Bovada as of 5/1/19:
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Michael Van Gerwen | -200 |
| Rob Cross | +450 |
| James Wade | +1000 |
| Gerwyn Price | +1200 |
| Mensur Suljovic | +2000 |
| Daryl Gurney | +2200 |
Who Are The Favorites?
Michael Van Gerwen remains as the betting favorite to win the 2019 Unibet Premier League Darts competition. The 30-year old from Boxtel in the Netherlands is the #1 ranked darts player in the world today and is the youngest winner of the PDC World Championship when he won in 2014. After winning the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts, he has won all of the PDC’s major tournaments at least once in his career.
When we talk about the Unibet Premier League, Mighty Mike has won the event in the last three years and has been victorious in four out of six career appearances in the Premier League, finishing as runner-up in the two years he didn’t win. This year, Van Gerwen is on top of the Premier League standings after Week 12 matches last April 25, 2019.
Rob Cross is the #2 ranked darts player by the Professional Darts Corporation. Known as Voltage, the 28-year old from Pembury, Kent in England was the PDC World Darts Champion in 2018 and won the World Championship in his first appearance, barely 11 months after joining PDC competition.
In his first Premier League appearance last year, Cross was beaten in the semi-finals by Michael Van Gerwen. Cross is currently second to Gerwen in the 2019 Unibet Premier League standings and he is just one point behind Mighty Mike in the leaderboard.
James Wade is the 10th ranked darts player in the PDC Order of Merit. The 36-year old from Aldershot, England became the youngest player to win a major PDC tournament when he won the World Matchplay in 2007. That record has since been broken by Michael Van Gerwen in 2012 when the latter won the World Grand Prix in 2013.
Wade won the Premier League in 2009 but has not placed higher than 5th place ever since. Wade did not play in the Premier League in 2018 and 2014. He is currently ranked third in the standings with 15 points.
Gerwyn Price won the Grand Slam of Darts tournament in 2018 and is ranked 7th in the PDC’s Order of Merit. The 34-year old from Wales was also the runner-up at the 2017 U.K. Open and the winner of the 2018 International Darts Open.
Price made his maiden appearance in the Premier League last year and finished 10th. This year, Price is currently 4th in the standings with 15 points after 13 games played so far.
Who Wins?
Michael Van Gerwen has dominated darts in recent years. From 2015-2017, he won 20 out of 29 major PDC tournaments held and was runner-up in two and did not play in one. Last year, Van Gerwen won three out of 10 major tournaments and was at least a semi-finalist in another four. He has started 2019 on a tear by winning two out of the first three major tournaments held and is currently the leader in the 2019 Unibet Premier League, an event he’s won in the last three years.
When it comes to darts betting, Van Gerwen has been a perennial favorite. He was the pre-tournament favorite in the 2019 Unibet Premier League and has kept that lofty billing after 12 rounds of competition. In the current tournament, Van Gerwen has a record of 8-3-2 after 13 matches. He’s lost just once ( to Michael Gurney 5-7 in week 7 ) since Week 4 when he dropped a 3-7 contest to James Wade. Van Gerwen defeated Rob Cross 7-2 in week 3 and 8-2 in week 11.
Van Gerwen leads the Premier League with a total of 86 legs won and just 53 legs allowed. His differential of 33 legs is the highest in the competition and is twice higher than the next competitor. Van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price are the only players not to have lost yet in the second phase of competition.
Prediction: Michael Van Gerwen
