Following the unsavoury scenes in Glasgow last Thursday the Premier League arrives at the Brighton Centre for what will hopefully be a comparatively sedate affair.
Unpleasant as the actions of a select few were at the SECC last week it has to be said that it has been coming. Get a large group of 20 to 30-year-old men together in a big arena, fuel them with copious amounts of larger and its inevitable that now and again things are going to boil over.
Scotland, and particularly Glasgow, has a bad reputation for drunkards but the fact of the matter is that this could have happened at any one of the 14 venues that the Premier League visits. Barry Hearn and the PDC have created a monster, now they must learn how to contain it.
Ironically the Scottish ‘fans’ did more to hinder Gary Anderson’s chances than embellish them as the Scot became more and more embarrassed at his compatriots’ actions. His notorious fragile mental state was, understandably, exposed and Adrian Lewis managed to keep his head, while all those around were completely off theirs, and take the two points.
The task for Anderson now is to try and shake off last week’s incident and get back to winning ways after losing two Premier League games on the bounce. Unfortunately for him he comes up against an in-form Raymond van Barneveld this Thursday.
It has been pleasing to watch the Dutchman’s return to form in recent weeks and the Barney we see today in comparison to the one we saw in this competition 12 months ago is unrecognisable. Although not back to his very best he is once again, at least, competing with the very best.
He reached the final of the RTL7 International Masters at the weekend where Phil Taylor once again thwarted him – more on that in a moment – and if Anderson isn’t on top of his game – or perhaps even if he is – Barney can take the points here. At odds of 7/4 with Titanbet he is certainly worth the risk.
Back to Monday night’s RTL7 International Masters final and we couldn’t complete this blog entry without mentioning Taylor’s brilliant three-dart average of 113.60, the highest ever in a televised final. Having switched back to his old darts The Power’s form has been imperious and rumours of his decline have once again been emphatically dispelled.
Recommended Bet:
Back Barney to beat Anderson @ 7/4
Sport: Football