I never understood when someone told me a few years ago that, ‘Thursdays are the new Fridays,’ until now. Thre Premier League of Darts has just been truly incredible.

Week 3 sees a repeat of the World Championship Final while the tournament Favourite gets another crack at an old foe who is rolling back the years.

Phil Taylor showed great class to hit a 9-darter and recover against Painter last week.

A passionate 'Power' as he hits a 9-darter

Taylor remains odds on at 11/8 to Win it All

Phil Taylor sits joint top of the league and after Lewis’ draw last week, he is clearly the bookies favourite to win it all. A match-up with a rejuvenated Raymond van Barneveld poses a bit of a problem though.

The World No. 1 is chalked up at 4/11 to defeat the Dutchman but it might be worth considering the draw, priced at 6/1. ‘Barney’ has already drawn both his first matches and against top opposition as well. He will not be scared of Taylor and seems to be gaining confidence. Still, there is a reason that Taylor is favoured so heavily. Barneveld is 4/1 to provide an upset.

The opening match sees current league leader, Simon Whitlock, facing off against Kevin Painter. ‘The Artist’ had a great win in week 1 and looked to upset Taylor last week before an incredible nine-darter stopped him in his tracks. The Englishman is chalked up at 14/5 (Sportingbet) to win on Thursday. However, he is up against a man who is quickly shortening his odds to win it all. ‘The Wizard’ is now priced at 13/2 to win it all and 4/7 by Bwin to win on Thursday. This match could be an epic if both players continue playing great arrows.

A repeat of this year’s World Championship final sees the bookmakers give Andy Hamilton no real shot to trouble Adrian Lewis. The World No. 2 is 4/7 by most bookmakers to oust ‘The Hammer’ again. Paddy Power seem to think nothing of Hamilton, pricing him at 3/1. It is hard to see him hammering away at Lewis with such a short format and Lewis will want to keep pace with the top dogs after drawing his first two matches.

James Wade is yet to gain a point this year and sits alone at the bottom of the Premier League

Wade is 4/1 to finish bottom of the Premier League

Is Wade’s 4/1 price to finish bottom a little premature?

James Wade has clearly been this year’s disappointment so far. Losses to Hamilton and Whitlock leave him without a point this year. I am still not sure whether his 4/1 price to finish last holds some value or not.

Anyway, his match-up on Thursday against Gary Anderson is very important for both men in my opinion. Wade will be looking to get off the mark while Anderson is trying to play catch up to the leaders after a poor loss in week 1. The Scotsman can be found at a price of 10/11 by Paddy Power while Bwin offer the best price on the upset, 21/10.

Overall, Thursday looks to bring about some great matches. The first two weeks have seen 50% of the matches drawn but this week should change that. Only Barney and Taylor could be a possible draw in my opinion but realistically I expect to see the favourites in each match to win.

I got my journalism degree from Mississippi State University and have been offering advice on many sports for a fair few years now. I started off offering tips on tennis during the big tournaments (I played a lot as a junior) and really enjoyed helping out my Dad with tips.

After doing this for a few years, I realised that looking for value could be found in other sports that I enjoyed such as darts, snooker and football. This led to many accumulators no matter what the sport and then offering on advice on anybody that asked.

I am looking forward to putting my ideas down on paper and always appreciate comments from the reader.

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