Premier League Darts semi-final encounters
The Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts semi-finals and final will take place at Wembley Arena on Sunday night.
Four men are in the hunt for the £125,000 top prize; Phil Taylor, James Wade, Simon Whitlock and Mervyn King. Wade is the defending Premier League champion, and he plays Australian sensation Whitlock, while Taylor takes on King.
Simon Whitlock v James Wade
Whitlock has been a revelation in this year’s Premier League. He finished second in the league format, winning seven of his 14 matches. He beat Wade in week 13 8-4, but Wade beat him in week 6 by the same scoreline being 4-1 behind. Whitlock has been checking out the huge scores, and has had a checkout success of 80% three times so far in this competition.
Whitlock was runner-up to Taylor at this year’s PDC world championship, beating Wade in the quarter-finals and Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals. Since making the switch from the BDO, the rival body of the PDC, the Australian has enjoyed his time. Only last week he won his fourth Pro Tour title of 2010 in Salzburg, Austria. Taylor denied him back-to-back Players Championship victories last Sunday by beating him 6-4, in which Whitlock began the match with a nine-darter. He is the form player, and after ending the league format demolishing King 8-2 with an average of 104.6, he is relishing the chance to play Wade again.
“I love playing James and we seem to have great matches, but hopefully I can keep up this form and go all the way. I'm obviously delighted with my form, I was surprised to finish second in the league. But now I'm in the semis I want to win it,” said the 41-year-old.
Defending Premier League champion Wade has not been playing to his best form, starting the competition in the worst possible way. He lost his opening three matches, and went through the first five without a win. He defeated King in last year’s Premier League final to become champion. He beat Terry Jenkins 8-5 in his final league match to confirm his place in the last four.
“It's really up for grabs in the play-offs. I'm starting to come into a little bit of form and we'll see what happens at Wembley now. Winning the Premier League last year was my biggest ever success and obviously I want to repeat that. I've got the opportunity to win £125,000 on Sunday and if people don't think I'm up for that they must be nuts. Simon's playing brilliantly but suddenly the pressure is on him to perform on the big stage. I'd love to prove everyone wrong and defend my title,” said Wade.
Phil Taylor v Mervyn King
This is a repeat of the amazing semi-final showdown from last year’s tournament, with King beating Taylor on the night 11-7. Fireworks are to be expected. In the 2009 Premier League Darts league format, Taylor claimed King tried to blind him when he threw his dart above him while he was picking up his flight. Both players didn’t speak to each other after the match during the interviews. Taylor and King first met in week five, sharing the spoils in a 7-7 draw, but in week 12 The Power hammered King 8-1. He remained unbeaten in the league format, winning 12 out of 14 games and finishing as the runaway leader at the top of the table.
“I don't think about being unbeaten, it's about getting through to the semi-final and winning the thing. I enjoy the tough matches and that's what you practice for, to be tested in matches, and that's what the fun is in the game. It wasn't so much about finishing top, I'm after the Premier League trophy. I want to win this back and I'm after it big-style,” said Taylor.
After winning the first four editions of the Premier League since its launch in 2005, the 15-time champion of the world wants revenge on King centre-stage. “I couldn't have wished for a better draw because I want to repay him for last year. I don't dislike him, I like playing Mervyn because he's a character. I’m sure I’ll have 99.9% of the crowd on my side. Mervyn will have to turn up and play well because I'm confident and know I can go up two or even three gears if I have to,” said Taylor.
King scraped into the semi-finals on leg difference at the expense of Ronnie Baxter. He was left to wait to see if he had made it to Wembley Arena after suffering a heavy defeat to Whitlock on the final night of the league format. As the finalist from last year, King knows he has to play well. “I need to up the ante if I want to get past Taylor. He is playing some great darts at the moment and is a pleasure to watch if you're not playing him. But I know if I find my A-game on the night I can beat him.”
The Power is the overwhelming favourite to reclaim the Premier League trophy, and the other three players will have to be at their very best if they are to stop Taylor from hitting the bullseye on Sunday night.
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