The eagerly anticipated 2017 Premier League Darts explodes into action tonight in Newcastle as the world’s 10 best players battle it across half-a-dozen European countries over four frenzied months.
But, come the month of May only one man will stand alone as the 13th league champion, and let’s not forget the cushty half-a-million that will be plopped into his bank account!
MVG For Number Three?
The main man. The big cheese. The defending champion.
Fresh from his second success at the World Championships Michael van Gerwen will be gunning to retain his Premier League crown, and it will surprise absolutely no one that Mighty Mike tops the ante-post betting at a slim 8/15.
MVG has a superb record at the PLD. The 27-year-old has hoisted the coveted trophy on two previous occasions, 2013 and 2016, while he’s remarkably reached the final in each of his four appearances.
Power To Victory?
Phil Taylor has a record six Premier League titles crammed in his jam-packed trophy cabinet, but he’s out at 14/1 to add another in 2017, and first since 2012. The darts icon may no longer dominate the sport, but at this price is definitely worth backing each-way.
The Power has stormed through to the final in eight of the 12 years since the tournament’s inauguration in 2005 (W6 L2), and he’ll no doubt take some inspiration from tennis legend Roger Federer, who recently roared to success at the Australian Open as a 22/1 outsider.
Major Players
Behind MVG in the betting is Gary Anderson (5/1) who also has a brace of league successes under his belt. Right now, the Scotsman can lay claim to being the best of the rest, and should be right in the mix come May.
Other players worth checking out are Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis, while the 2014 champ Raymond Van Barneveld simply can never be ruled out at a tasty 33/1.
Let’s Play Darts!
Stat Attack:
- Defending champ MVG has made the final in each of his 4 PLD appearances, winning 2.
- Phil Taylor has won 6 of the 12 editions, reaching the final in 2 others.
- The Power has featured in every edition to date.
- Only 5 men have ever won the tournament and all 5 players feature in 2017 (Gary Anderson x2, RVB, & James Wade are the other 3).
- There have been 7 9-dart finishes, but only 1 since 2012.
