Premier League Darts Odds and Betting Preview

MANCHESTER, UK - The 2012 edition of the Premier League darts starts on Thursday, with a select field of eight players set to do battle over three months as they compete for the £125,000 first prize. Phil Taylor has dominated this event since its inception in 2005, having won five times, and 'The Power' is the general 7/4 favourite to win again this year.

Taylor lost some of his air of invincibility in the past year, losing in the second round of the PDC World Championships to Dave Chisnall, although he did just win the World Cup of Darts for England, in partnership with the current double World Champion Adrian Lewis. England beat Australia in the final, but it was an unconvincing victory, with both teams missing a host of chances. Taylor will have to up his game if he is to triumph in the Premier League for the sixth time.

The joint second favourite for the event is Adrian Lewis, who has ironed out some of his consistency issues recently, proving this by retaining his world title last month. He also performed well in the Grand Slam last year, reaching the semi-finals, and was runner up in this event, losing 10-4 in the final against Gary Anderson. 'The Jackpot' Lewis is at 9/2 with Blue Square.

Last year's champion Gary Anderson is also a best priced 9/2, this time with Paddy Power. He was also in action in the World Cup, representing Scotland, but was knocked out in the second round. He made the quarter-finals of the World Championship at the Ally Pally in January, and reached the final of both the World Championship and the Grand Slam in 2011. He is very consistent, which should stand him in good stead for this tournament, but may not be able to raise his game to the same level as Lewis and Taylor.

James Wade is the last of the four automatic qualifiers for the Premier League, and he is a 15/2 chance with Boylesports. Wade looked to be cruising to the World Championship final as he led 5-1 against Lewis, but he crumbled to lose the match 6-5 to the eventual champion. 

Simon Whitlock is the most fancied of the Wildcards, and he is a 15/2 chance with Betvictor. Whitlock had a tremendous World Championships, making the semi-finals despite suffering from a lack of match practice due to a broken leg, before losing to Andy Hamilton in an epic match. This will be his third appearance in the Premier League, and he will be looking to improve on his semi-final of 2010.

The next Wildcard is Raymond van Barneveld, who recently made the semi-finals of the World Cup in his defence of the title he won in 2010. He and team mate Vincent van der Voort lost out 5-1 to the Australians, but Barney's 4-0 defeat of Paul Nicholson in his singles match could signal a return to form for the Dutchman. He is a five time semi-finalist here, and is a 20/1 shot with bet365.

The last two players are Kevin Painter, and World Champion finalist Andy Hamilton, who are both at 25/1 with Paddy Power. This will be both players first appearance in the competition.

The pick of tomorrow's matches is undoubtedly the match up between master and student Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis, and Taylor currently heads the betting for the match at 5/6 with bet365. Lewis is a best priced 21/10 with Sportingbet, and the draw is a 9/2 chance with Paddy Power.

The other matches tomorrow are Hamilton and Wade, where Wade is a 4/6 favourite with Boylesports; Whitlock and Barneveld, where Whitlock is 4/5 with betvictor and Barney is at 9/4 with Paddy Power; and Painter vs Anderson, where Anderson is a best priced 8/15 with Paddy Power.

There are matches in the tournament every week, and it will be broadcast from 1900 GMT on Sky Sports 1.

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