Darts guru Ben Levene (@benlevene96) looks ahead to week thirteen of the Premier League of Darts.
Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith| Thursday 3rd May 2018, 20:40 | Sky Sports
Michael Smith has come of age since the turn of the year. The signs were evident at the latter end of 2017 at the Grand Slam against Gary Anderson, and the World’s versus Rob Cross. Bully Boy has all but secured his place at the o2 later this month.
He’s produced astronomical stuff in patches, as was the case last week when averaging almost 105 in a 7-1 win over Peter Wright. He hit 7/10 attempts at doubles on that occasion, hitting 122, 126 and 128 checkouts. That’s an almost unsustainable level of performance.
Later that evening Smith lost 7-1 to Michael Van Gerwen, hitting just 1/9 throws at double. Therein itself lies the issue. We have no idea what Smith will turn up. He’s no doubt performing as well as ever, but he’s a rhythm player and is therefore hard to gauge. His last five Premier League averages read 96, 96, 98, 105 and most recently 96. If he doesn’t bring his a-game, then it’s difficult to justify favouritism when the darts are against him.
Daryl Gurney is throwing well at the moment. His scoring power means he is always in with a shout. He’s tough to beat and has lost just three of his last ten Premier League matches.
Gurney is looking like he’s close to the mid 2017 form that saw him make a real impact on the tour. He valiantly averaged a ton when drawing with Michael Van Gerwen last Thursday.
Just two of the last 14 legs Gurney has lost in the last two Premier League game weeks have been in greater than 15-darts. So hold your throw against a firing Superchin, you’ll need to finish in five visits or fewer. Runs to the quarter-final and last 16 in Wigan at the weekend indicate his game is in a good place.
Gurney has the throw in this encounter and is the value in the Draw no Bet market as the outsider at even money.
Best Bets
Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith – Daryl Gurney Draw no Bet (1/1 Betfair)
