July 5, 2022
1983 World Darts Champion Keith Deller MBE delivers his outright selections for the 2024 Premier League and delivers his five best bets for Thursday's opening night of action in Cardiff.
Keith Deller delivers his FIVE Best Bets for the opening night of the 2024 Premier League Darts:
Gerwyn Price - Night One Winner @ 4/1
I've got a feeling that Gerwyn Price is going to deliver the goods in Cardiff on Night One of the Premier League.
Now, it's not a regular thing that Gerwyn has the vast majority of the crowd on his side, but that will be the case on Thursday when he toes the oche back in his home country.
He doesn't get many opportunities to perform in front of his own fans, but when he does he often delivers!
It was on Night Two that the Premier League roadshow touched down in Cardiff last year, and Gerwyn prevailed on that occasion, beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in the final.
I'm backing him to go the full distance once again by scoring heavily but more crucially finding those doubles when it really matters!
Rob Cross -2.5 handicap v Peter Wright @ 11/10
Rob Cross has won six of his last night matches against Peter Wright, including an emphatic 7-0 whitewash the last time the two players met last year, and I'd be backing 'Voltage' to dish out more punishment on Night One.
Peter has been struggling of late - he can't buy a win at the moment and he looks incredibly out of sorts, and I am expecting Rob Cross to come through the opening quarter-final of the night.
Peter's scoring power seems to have gone AWOL, he's struggling with the doubles, whereas Rob Cross has been performing superbly well.
Rob Cross to win the match -2.5 on the handicap is where I would be looking.
Gerwyn Price to beat Nathan Aspinall 6-3 @ 5/1
Gerwyn Price won this game 6-3 in the final in Cardiff in 2023 and I am expecting him to get his first points on the board this time around with another success.
6-3 or 6-4 is where my money would be going in terms of an outcome, but given the fact that Gerwyn has won three of the last five matches between them 6-3, I think there is some obvious appeal with that scoreline.
Over 8.5 Legs looks a decent shout as I don’t see this being a total blowout, as does 2+ 100 Checkouts in the Match as both are good combination finishers.
But, in terms of my best bet for this match, then I do like the 5/1 on offer for Gerwyn to replicate his 2023 6-3 success over Nathan in Cardiff.
Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith - Over 9.5 Legs @ 1/1
There could be some value to be had on the 180 markets here, as MvG will always chip in with two or three whilst Michael Smith is a prolific treble 20 scorer.
I also think there is an opportunity we see a bullseye finish in this match too – Michael is a rat-a-tat player, likes to move around the board and always backs himself on the bull, and Michael, too, likes to take out those big combination shots.
Michael Smith didn’t quite enjoy the year he would have hoped after winning the World Darts Championship in 2023, but he will want to really set his stall out early in the Premier League.
He will face a confident opponent in MvG however, fresh from his success in Den Bosch, and whilst I think it will be a close affair – going Over 9.5 Legs – I am expecting the defending Premier League champion to progress to the semi-final.
Luke Littler v Luke Humphries - 9 Dart Leg in the Match @ 25/1
A bit of a left-field shout, but hear me out with it!
This is the third time that these two have met already this year, with both players winning one match apiece, and both being very close affairs.
Luke Littler v Luke Humphries is going to be a fixture that we will see played out so many times in the years ahead. It's a blockbuster game, and I am sure we will see many finals between the two.
Is something magic in the air though? Luke Littler has been sensational since making the switch to the PDC main tour and he's already hit a perfect leg in the Bahrain Masters in January.
Could we see perfection landed again in Cardiff? I wouldn't be ruling it out, and given the price of a 9-Dart Leg in this match has been BOOSTED to 25/1, I think there is real appeal.
