2015 Premier League

Devastator

I don't know if this is maybe too early but I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking who will get a PL spot next year and the talk has been floating about last few tv tournaments aswell.

So is anyone going to any of the nights? This will be first year I've not gone to the Belfast night, the ways life is leading I didn't want to make any plans too far in future but depending on how things play out might be there.

For any twitter users Betway are offering 4 tickets(opening night I think) if you predict the 10 PL contenders just use #lovethedarts.

I went for MVG,Taylor,Lewis,Wade,Anderson,Barney,Chizzy,Wright Jenkins & Bunting.

I personally don't think Barney has done enough to warrent a place but as defending champion he must be a cert for a wildcard place. I also think Wade's return to form makes him a cert and he can back it up with a high ranking. Jenks is a crowd favorite, if he has a good WC I hope he gets back in because he's been playing better again recently

les succulent ducks

Manchester United will win the league......

Devastator

https://twitter.com/betway/status/542688564245712897

buster180

Barney will get a place he sells tickets and is the current premier league holder. If it was down to me he would be dropped from it his attitude is up his own ar*s at the best of times.

I can see Wade getting back in, and the other place will be between King, Thornton and Whithlock

I have a these nine down as in no matter what, MVG, Taylor ,Lewis, Wade, Anderson, Barney, Chizzy, Wright & Bunting.

Firewalkwithme

MVG,Taylor,Lewis,Wade,Anderson,Barney,King,Wright, Whitlock & Bunting.

Jenkins would be an outside shot. If there is a surprise finalist in the Worlds like Wright last year then they will be in.

gramar

I's say Thornton out and Wade in for definite.

I don't think Wright or Whitlock have done enough and King at least probably deserves a shot on form although I don't think he's that popular. It's a bit of pantomine though so maybe he'll be in as the bad guy. Jenkins and Bunting are outside shots but wouldn't mind seeing them there.

KevIRL

Just don't care anymore. The bloated format is just not interesting

Kingp35

It's definitely the worst tournament of the year for me and goes on for far too long but it's needed to bring money in for the PDC.

Healio

Michael Smith in with a squeak, if he gets a good run going? You get the impression sky are trying to really big him up over the last year.

KevIRL

Kingp35 wrote: »

It's definitely the worst tournament of the year for me and goes on for far too long but it's needed to bring money in for the PDC.

Your predictions competition is the only thing that makes it interesting (hint hint)

Steven81

Taylor, MVG, Wade, Lewis, Wright, Anderson, Barney, Thornton, Bunting and another.

Chizzy. Whitlock, Newton to possibly lose cards

Devastator

Think Wade's performance against Bunting may count him out now, he didn't put up much of a fight at all.

Next few days will be interesting to see how the 1/4 finalists play. VDV's speed would be exciting for PL format but I don't think he'll stand a chance against Taylor and he's too inconsistent. If Bunting beats Barney he's probably got a place based on how's he played all year and moving up the rankings so fast

BOHtox

Van Der Voort would be a real crowd favourite. Fast darts, 180s, his entrance song, his ability to generate an atmosphere etc.

ebbsy

BOHtox wrote: »

Van Der Voort would be a real crowd favourite. Fast darts, 180s, his entrance song, his ability to generate an atmosphere etc.

He is doin ok here.

sc86

van de vort no chance

bunting will be in
newton out

wade be in and whitlock out

BOHtox

My choice would probably be:

MVG
Taylor
Lewis
Anderson
Wright
Wade
Barney
Chizzy
Bunting
Van Der Voort

Losing out are Thornton, Whitlock and Newton. All had a poor Worlds and the bottom 3 last year in the premier league

sc86

thornton had a poor worlds?

he got further than chizzy and same as van der voort?
vdv hasnt a hope, way to far down rankings

mdwexford

BOHtox wrote: »

My choice would probably be:

MVG
Taylor
Lewis
Anderson
Wright
Wade
Barney
Chizzy
Bunting
Van Der Voort

Losing out are Thornton, Whitlock and Newton. All had a poor Worlds and the bottom 3 last year in the premier league

Lol at saying Thornton had a poor Worlds and picking Vdv ahead of him.

BOHtox

Chizzy had a good premier league the last time out. I think he got the most 180s of anyone in it. Thornton had a poor premier league and I'd replace him with the more popular VDV.

sc86 wrote: »

thornton had a poor worlds?

he got further than chizzy and same as van der voort?
vdv hasnt a hope, way to far down rankings

Yet you advocate Bunting who is even lower than the rankings.

Devastator

I'm sorry BOHtox but your wrong to say others deserve a place above Thornton. Thornton didn't concede a set until he played MVG. You said Chizzy had a good PL & Thornton a bad one....there was only 1 point difference between their final standings! Oh yeah you were right about Chizzy having most 180s, 64 in fact! Thornton on the other hand only had a mere 63!!!

Thornton also was won 3 players championships in a row during the last year, don't think any other player has managed that in a while.

My original predictions have not changed a lot but I would put Thornton in above Jenkins and probably Wade aswell at this point.

mdwexford

BOHtox wrote: »

Chizzy had a good premier league the last time out. I think he got the most 180s of anyone in it. Thornton had a poor premier league and I'd replace him with the more popular VDV.




Yet you advocate Bunting who is even lower than the rankings.

Bunting has been earning prize money for 11 months.
He's been killing it since he switched.

He clearly is a top 8 player in waiting, he's a 180 machine, throws fast and is a World Champion, he is pure box office.

sc86

BOHtox wrote: »

Chizzy had a good premier league the last time out. I think he got the most 180s of anyone in it. Thornton had a poor premier league and I'd replace him with the more popular VDV.




Yet you advocate Bunting who is even lower than the rankings.

hes had a much better year than van der vort and is a world champion and alot more consistant

are you secretly van der vort

DEFTLEFTHAND

Barney certainly seems to think Bunting should in the premier league anyway after last night. I never saw any winner dedicate their entire post match interview to their opponent like that.

Devastator

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Barney certainly seems to think Bunting should in the premier league anyway after last night. I never saw any winner dedicate their entire post match interview to their opponent like that.

yeah it was kinda creepy I thought. I thought Bunting was embarrassed by it until they tried to talk to him and he was blubbering away to himself and hardly holding it together

ArmaniJeanss

BOHtox wrote: »

Yet you advocate Bunting who is even lower than the rankings.

1 year ranking whilst everyone else is based on two years.
Multiply his current points by 2 and he is 7th in the world.
Even a 33% fall off in his game next year (i.e. multiply his current score by 1.66) would put him Top 10.

http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/Rankings.aspx

Johner

King would have been in with a chance but for his poor showing in the worlds.

BOHtox

mdwexford wrote: »

Bunting has been earning prize money for 11 months.
He's been killing it since he switched.

He clearly is a top 8 player in waiting, he's a 180 machine, throws fast and is a World Champion, he is pure box office.

I agree he's a great player and I would absolutely have him in my Premier League. Although I'd give VDV a shot too.

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

1 year ranking whilst everyone else is based on two years.
Multiply his current points by 2 and he is 7th in the world.
Even a 33% fall off in his game next year (i.e. multiply his current score by 1.66) would put him Top 10.

http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/Rankings.aspx

I'm saying rankings don't or shouldn't matter when selecting these wildcards.

Listen, lads. It's called a wildcard for a reason. There's a reason it's not the top 8 of the world playing. There has to be an entertainment factor. There has to be controversy. VDV, and Bunting minus the controversy to be fair too, provide all of that. I want VDV standing up there hitting 180s against Taylor, he did draw on legs with him there a few days ago. It won't be everyone's choice but he's definitely mine!

Devastator

The PL might be announced during the finals late, Bristow has gave out that he & Deller know the wildcard picks.

Chris Mason reckons Wade is guaranteed a place back

Devastator

Devastator wrote: »

The PL might be announced during the finals late, Bristow has gave out that he & Deller know the wildcard picks.

Chris Mason reckons Wade is guaranteed a place back

:rolleyes:I can't understand Bristow talking or typing aparently he was making a joke that him & Deller were the wildcards....all together now teeheehee:o

Anyway word is Barry Hearn will announce the premier league details after tonights final

KevIRL

Sky WC - rvb and bunting

Copper_pipe

Wright
Chisnall
Huybrechts
James wade

PDC wildcards

KevIRL

Pdc WC - wright, chizzy, hybrechts, wade

Scorpion Sting

Kim Huybrechts is a bit of an odd one.

KevIRL

Wow don't think many saw hybrechts in there.

Delighted no Hamilton or thornton

BOHtox

Huybrechts is a bit of an odd one. He has a savage missus though. Happy with those who were relegated. Huybrechts has it in him and I'm delighted he can show it on a world stage.

Will I Amnt

Happy to see Huybrechts in, well capable of mixing it at that level.

Poor Uncle Tom

BOHtox wrote: »

My choice would probably be:

MVG
Taylor
Lewis
Anderson
Wright
Wade
Barney
Chizzy
Bunting
Van Der Voort

Losing out are Thornton, Whitlock and Newton. All had a poor Worlds and the bottom 3 last year in the premier league

My god, that was close, 9 out of 10, well done....

Johner

What has Huybrechts done all year apart from dance around on the stage and lose to Taylor? Semi finals of the Grand Slam? He didn't go far in any other tournaments did he?

mrmorgan

delighted for bunting, sky getting two picks, thats some corruption ha

KevIRL

Why wouldn't sky get picks? They are the driving force behind the PL.

Its a bloated $hite competition anyway and by week 8 or 9 any interest in it will be gone. Grand way to idle away a few hrs on a Thursday night, but that's it really

Degag

Really think the PL would be a lot better if they went back to 8 players. Not sure what Chisnall or Huybrechts have done to deserve the place.

robman60

Huybrechts was a strange choice alright, but I enjoy watching him play. I think the likes of Peter Wright (who fully deserves his place) dress ostentatiously and try to get the crowd going in a bid to get Premier League places. This isn't the case with Wright as I said but Huybrechts probably got the place because he caused some controversy with his celebrations, and controversy is entertaining and gets people talking darts.

Personally I don't see why Chisnall is deserving of a place. I've never been a great fan of his really.

briany

robman60 wrote: »

Personally I don't see why Chisnall is deserving of a place. I've never been a great fan of his really.

Maybe he's seen as a steady player. It's a weakness of the PL that there's always one or two players who turn out to be damp squibs and provide little reason to watch their matches after a while. PDC don't just want players who are big personalities, they also need guys who are able to put up a solid game week in, week out.

Devastator

Devastator wrote: »

I went for MVG,Taylor,Lewis,Wade,Anderson,Barney,Chizzy,Wright Jenkins & Bunting.

So the unexpected Huybretchs got in instead of Jenkins from my origial lineup. I didn't see that coming and tihnk there are more deserving players that have been left out. I think Kim's a great player and think he could be challenging for finals over the next few years but I hope the PL has not come to quick for him. We've seen it with others who have lost all form and found it hard to recover after a poor showing in the PL, I hope it doesn't happen to him but I think with the confidence he seems to display he might be ok.

I know I predicted Chizzy at the start but I really thought his poor showing in the worlds would count him out.

PDC are now pushing the PL to a younger competition which is good news for any young up and coming players or anyone maybe thinking of switching to PDC. Any of the older boys, if not automatic picks, may not have a look in anymore

Devastator

A few selected PL night fixtures

Betway Premier League Fixtures
Night One, Thursday February 5
First Direct Arena, Leeds
Dave Chisnall v Peter Wright
Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis
Kim Huybrechts v Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor
Stephen Bunting v James Wade

Night Four, Thursday February 26
Odyssey Arena, Belfast
Kim Huybrechts v Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
Stephen Bunting v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Peter Wright

Night Eight, Thursday March 26
3Arena, Dublin
Adrian Lewis v Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson v Stephen Bunting
Peter Wright v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Kim Huybrechts

Devastator

Kick off this Thursday folks

Anderson can be got at 6/4 to beat Taylor for any gamblers. I know he said hes not been practicing much since the worlds but Taylor's had a rough time of it and I think he said his mothers funeral is tomorrow so he'll have hardly put much time on the board.

Dave Chisnall v Peter Wright
Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis
Kim Huybrechts v Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor
Stephen Bunting v James Wade

Iron Hide

Not sure why Huybrechts is there ahead of VvdV or Michael Smith, both are better players imo and much less infuriating to watch. Huybrechts has a nine darter of a missus though

PTH2009

Iron Hide wrote: »

Not sure why Huybrechts is there ahead of VvdV or Michael Smith, both are better players imo and much less infuriating to watch. Huybrechts has a nine darter of a missus though

Yeah darts players are looking bastards when it comes to women. The average man is better looking than some of the darters Mvg is not a poster boy the best looking darts player must be wade

KevIRL

Ya, this conversation has taken a strange turn

Joeseph Balls

Bit OT lads, but im going to the Dublin night. What hotels are near bar Jurys and The Maldron?

KevIRL

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Bit OT lads, but im going to the Dublin night. What hotels are near bar Jurys and The Maldron?

The Gibson. Can't get nearer.