Premier League 2007 - Week 2

Kingp35

So the second round of matches in this years Premier League are on this Thursday.

Here is an article I wrote about the nights games:

Colin Lloyd V Raymond Van Barneveld

Colin Lloyd had a very disappointing opening match in the Premier League as his fight to regain his form continues. Lloyd averaged a very disappointing 86.84 in his match against Manley and he struggled throughout the entire match. He us usually a very good 180 scorer but it took him until the final leg of the match to hit his first and second maximums. His highest finish of the night was 76 as he struggled to hit his finishing doubles. Lloyd really has to find some form from somewhere as he has failed to do anything on the big stage for the past 12 months now.

Barney put in the best performance of the night last week as he beat Adrian Lewis, who was on top form himself. Barney started slowly as Lewis sped into a 2-0 lead but Barney upped his game and finished on a 97.65 average to win the match 8-5. He managed to hit 4 180's during the course of the game and his highest finish was 91. On this sort of form its hard to see anyone beating Barney as he looked at his fluent best

Verdict: With barney being in such good form of late its very hard to look past in this one. Lloyd had a very poor performance last week and continues to struggle with his form where as Barney was his usual brilliant best. I expect Lloyd to improve but he wont improve enough to beat Barney. Barney to win

Roland Scholten V Terry Jenkins

Roland Scholten put in the second best performance of last week as managed to get a draw against Taylor. Scholten has always been a great scorer but his doubles have let him down in the past. This wasn't the case last week as Scholten hit two big finishes, a 146 and a 126, and looked reasonably solid on his doubles throughout. He only managed to score three 180's, which is probably slightly less than expected but he did manage to have a three dart average of 95.51 which was the third highest of the night. If Scholten can hit his doubles like he did last week then expect good things from him.

Terry Jenkins is a very consistent player and he proved that again last week despite losing his match. He always averages in the mid 90's and last week was no different as he averaged 94.67. Terry also managed to score the most 180's of the night as he scored five and he also managed to get the highest finish of the night as he finished 157. Sadly for Jenkins he had major problems with his doubles when usually this isn't the case. He struggled from the off with that 157 finish being the exception. If he had hit his doubles then he would easily have had the best average of the night. Improvement in his doubles is what's needed.

Verdict: This is a very hard match to call. Jenkins was excellent on the scoring last week but his doubles let him down. Scholten was unusually good on his doubles. If Jenkins can improve his doubles, and I think he will, then he will win the match. Jenkins to shade it.

Phil Taylor V Dennis Priestley

Phil Taylor's performance last week was one of the worst I have seen from him in quite some time. Amazingly he was only averaging 88 after 4 legs. He did manage to drag that average up to 94.48 but that is still about 5 points down from his usual average. He seemed to be having trouble with his first dart as it constantly landed just above the treble bed forcing him to go for cover. As a result he only managed two 180's, which was less than his opponent. His highest finish was only a 71, which is very unlike Taylor. He produced his best leg of the match in the final leg to snatch a draw but he was lucky to get this in the end. Improvement is needed all round from Taylor this week.

Dennis Priestley put in his usual determined performance last week to win his first ever Premier League match. He was very consistent with his scoring as he hit 21 100+ scores, which was the highest of the night and he also managed to score two 180's. Although his average was a full 2 points less than his opponent at 92.46, it was still a very respectable average. What won Priestley the match was his finishing. Every time he got a shot at double top he seemed to hit it with his first dart. If he can keep up that sort of form then he will be a very tough player to beat. His highest finish was a 93, which again is very respectable.

Verdict: Taylor will be hurting after last week's poor performance against Scholten and he will have hit the practice board hard in the last week. Taylor should be overwhelming favourite for this but Dennis Priestley is one of the few men who always gives Taylor a close match. Still I think Taylor will win this but it will be close. Taylor 8-5

Peter Manley V Adrian Lewis

Peter Manley put in a poor performance last week despite the fact that he won his opening match. He got the worst three dart average of the night with a very disappointing 84.68. Manley usually averages in the 90's so he was a full 5 points down o his usual standard. He failed to hit a single 180 although Manley has never been known for his 180 scoring as he uses a very fat dart, which makes it harder for him to squeeze three darts into the treble. His double scoring was what won him the match as he managed to hit 2 90 finishes and he had the best checkout percentage of the night. Still though if Lloyd had managed to hit his doubles then Manley would have lost easily. He needs some serious improvement on his scoring.

Adrian put in an excellent performance in his first ever game in the Premier League. He managed to get the second highest average of the night as he averaged a very good 97.02 with his scoring being consistently good. He managed to hit 3 180's in the course of the night but what let him down was his double scoring. Lewis is well known as being a bit of a bottler and when the pressure is on he messes up. Last week so no different as he struggled on his doubles in the important legs and his highest finish of the night was only a 68. If Lewis can get come consistency and manage to hit his doubles in the important legs then he may yet be a dark horse for this tournament.

Verdict: After his excellent performance last week and Manley's disappointing one, Lewis is my clear favourite for this match. He will know that he needs a win badly to get himself off the mark and I think his superior scoring will be too much for Manley to handle. Lewis to win this match, and to score more 180's than Manley.

Enjoy the Darts

Carrickman

Colin Lloyd 6-8 Raymond van Barneveld

Roland Scholten 6-8 Terry Jenkins

Phil Taylor 7-7 Dennis Priestley

Peter Manley 4-8 Adrian Lewis

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