PREMIER LEAGUE!!!
Such an exciting time to be alive
Mensur vs Whitlock
Unfortunately one of the least exciting fixtures, Whitlock lost his head during his GSOD game vs Berry van Peer and never found it, poor at the Euros, poor at the players, poor at the worlds, poor at the masters - he didn't fare well in his last PL appearance years ago and after an impressive climb back into the top 10 he has a lot to prove and doesn't seem to be handling it very well. Mensur is super reliable these days, very hard to beat, does throw a wobbler from time to time but rarely seems to bottle it and as big of a stage as this is he's very experienced and loves the big rowdy crowds, he doesn't need to play his A-game to win matches these days, and defo doesn't need to play his A-Game to beat whitlock here. 10/11 looks huge and if you can get 11/10 then I'd be looking to pawn stuff.
I'm gonna predict... 7-3 Mensur!
Smith vs Anderson
I've defo noticed a pattern where Gary has an excellent record over his proteges. Smith will have a lot to prove here after his performance last time he got the nod, and whereas his form last year really picked up he didn't set the world alight in a major tournament (except the Cross game, which he missed darts to win.) He really needs a good start and Gary is not exactly a nice fixture to kick off a campaign, this is bread and butter to Gary now. However his game looked good at the masters Gary but his back did not, 1 best of 12 game thought it's tough have any idea really how it will affect him. Smith form really improving lately and he's had some really good performances vs Gary in recent months and with the doubts over Gary's back I think i'd like to oppose him in some way here. Smith draw-no-bet 5/2 for me. Should be a great game.
I'm gonna predict... 7-5 Gary
Gurney vs Barney
Been there, done that for RVB and the start of it all for Gurney. He's a legit top 8 player nowadays Gurney dont think anyone can argue with that, but his form did drop after his GP win and he wasn't up to much at the Masters so he'll feel like he has something to prove here. I understand why the market has moved like this and made Barney a clear favourite, especially after how good Barney looked at the masters, however for me, Gurney is too strong and Barney too unreliable to allow recent form to move the prices away from the mean like it has. Barney has never really started the year that strong and we know he likes to take time off after the worlds, he's travelled from Milton Keynes back to Holland on monday then back today so not sure if he'll have been practising this week much. I don't really love it but I think at 8/5 Gurney win is the bet here. If Gurney brings it and Barney keeps his form from the weekend this will be a cracker!
I'm gonna predict... 7-4 Gurney
Cross vs MVG
The big one!!! One thing for certain is that MVG will wanna win this game like he wants to breathe, he will be LIVID about how its all worked out, he missed 6 darts to beat Cross and with Taylor retiring and Cross new WC, #3 in the world and chasing his #1 spot down, even with his masters win there isn't a huge amount of MVG stocks on sale right now and you can tel he HATES it. Cross didn't look all that impressive at the Masters and admitted that he didn't do much work after his WC win as he was enjoying time with his family. Cross had massive hurdle after massive hurdle last year and took every one in his stride so i doubt this will be any different for him. If MVG were to win this 7-2/7-3 I don't think it would knock Cross much off his stride but if Cross won it would absolutely devastate MVG. Think outrights look OK and when there was some 4/5 MVG knocking about I would have gotten involved, I can't see 3/1 Cross ever being a terrble and i would certainly rather lay mvg at 8/13 than back it, no bets I could enthusiastically advocate here but I seriously cannot wait to watch it!!!
I'm gonna predict... MVG 7-4
Price vs Wright
Big game for both players here, Wright doesn't really need to prove anything as far as his place as a top 8 player goes, his form since early '17 when he was blistering has been really patchy. He did final 2 majors, win a euro tour and the world series during that period so can't exactly claim he been poor. He's given players he should be beating far too many chances to beat him and hasn't really dominated a game in ages. Price has a LOT to prove here, he certainly wasn't an auto pick for this PL and hasn't got many big performances and/or results against the big boys in his locker. He has been putting up better and better performances of late though and the inconsistencies i his game are tidying up a little. For these reasons I would think a little poke on a Price win @ 3/1. I certainly wouldn't wanna go too hard here as I think Price could easily bottle it here if it gets close. Could be a really interesting game this one as they both love a scrappy one!
I'm gonna predict... Price 7-4
Let's go!