The year’s darts action will well and truly kick off this week, with the beginning of the Premier League Darts this Thursday. Occurring weekly from February to May, this event will entertain darts fans for a total of 17 nights as it works its way to completion. We look at the first night of action in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as Michael van Gerwen looks to defend his title.
As part of dart’s Triple Crown, the world’s best will be eager to put their best foot forward over the coming months at the Premier League Darts. The ruthless knockout format will be sure to entertain and provides plenty of opportunities for upsets as the world’s best come together once a week to determine who moves one step closer to being the Cazoo Premier League Darts champion for 2023.
| Tournament: | PDC 2023 Premier League Darts Night 1, Belfast |
| Format: | Eight players competing in a knockout event (total of seven matches) |
| Venue: | SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Date: | Thursday, 2 February 2023 |
Here’s a look at the darts odds for those who want to bet on the 2023 PDC Belfast Premier League this week:
Looking at the best bookmakers in Northern Ireland, we can see that the odds for Night 1 of the Premier League Darts are virtually identical to the overall odds for the whole tournament. Michael van Gerwen is the clear favorite on 3.50 (5/2), ahead of the second-equal favorites, Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price, who sit at 5.00 (4/1). Michael Smith is just behind on 6.00 (5/1) before the odds begin to drop off to Jonny Clayton in fifth favorite at 8.50 (15/2).
Many sportsIn-play modeLive streaming25+ sportsSuperb bonusesEasy to useVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany bonuses24/7 supportMobile appsGreat supportMobile appsLive bettingThis will be the eighteenth edition of the Premier League Darts after the event was first played in 2005. Initially, it began as a fortnightly event played around smaller UK venues with seven players. Now, it has expanded to be weekly, including eight players, and is considered one of the big three events in darts.
The Premier League Darts tournament will unfold across 17 different nights, with 16 nights of regular play before one playoffs evening. Eight players participate – the top four in the PDC Order of Merit and four other invited players.
This year, those playing are:
Players will compete in a knockout tournament each night, with seven games unfolding, and each player is guaranteed to play the other seven at least once in a quarterfinal across the season.
Here’s how the Premier League Darts have unfolded over the past few years:
After a two-year hiatus, Michael van Gerwen returned to his winning ways last year. Can the six-time champion claim yet another title in 2023?
Looking at the odds and betting bonuses from online bookies, a range of excellent bets will be placed on this tournament. Here are our top darts tips for the 1st Night Premier League for those who want to do some darts betting:
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen has been in something of a form slump of late by his standards, failing to win a darts event since the Players Championship in late November 2022.
This lull in winning has seen van Gerwen slip to No.3 in the PDC Order of Merit, with van Gerwen even exiting in the quarterfinal stage of last week’s Cazoo Masters. However, form is temporary, and class is permanent. We say that van Gerwen will start the Premier League the way he means to carry on in Belfast and will come out and get the win on Thursday night.
The bookies agree as well, putting Michael van Gerwen as the considerable favorite on 3.50 (5/2) to win Night 1.
Just a few days ago, Chris Dobey was running hot at the Cazoo Masters – so hot that he won the whole thing.
Ranked No.21 in the PDC Order of Merit, Dobey shouldn’t have been able to produce the results he did over the weekend. In the semifinals, he dismissed the No.1 player in the world, Michael Smith, with relative ease, 11-7. In the final, he moved past another Top 10 player similarly easily, defeating Rob Cross 11-7 to win the title.
Up against Peter Wright in the first round, who lost to Rob Cross in the Cazoo Masters semifinals just a few days ago, there’s every chance Dobey could keep his momentum going. It’s a long shot at the bookies, but that just makes it even more lucrative at 2.75 (7/4).
Those who think Dobey can get past Peter Wright in his quarterfinal at Night 1 of the Premier League Darts might even want to place a wager on the Englishman to go all the way and win the opening night.
If he wins his quarterfinal, chances are Dobey would be up against Gerwyn Price in his semifinal. Price has also been slightly out of touch, losing in his Round of 16 match over the weekend to Dirk van Duijvenbode. Should Dobey be able to keep winning, it’d be worth a reasonable purse to the punter brave enough to back him, with a return of 19.00 (18/1).
Darts action gets underway for real in 2023, with the beginning of 17 nights of play this Thursday night. The Premier League Darts is a much-coveted prize in the darts world, and six-time champion Michael van Gerwen will be chasing yet another title when the eight players touch down in Belfast this week. Our darts betting prediction is that he will get his title defense off to a strong start and win on Night 1, but tune in this Thursday to find out.
