Peter Wright stole the show on Night One of the Premier League in Cardiff and the reigning world champion is 3/1 favourite to be hogging the headlines again after Night Two’s play in Liverpool.
Wright the Man in Form
Snakebite overcame Michael Smith, Gary Anderson and Jonny Clayton on his way to picking up the maximum five points on offer at the Motorpoint Arena last Thursday.
Wright posted an average of 113.02 in a 6-1 thrashing of Clayton in the final and he also won one of the two Players Championship events scheduled last weekend, supporting the feeling that he is currently the best player on the planet.
This time, however, the world number two opens up against Michael van Gerwen before a potential semi-final showdown with Smith or Clayton.
The 51-year-old must be on top form from the off and is 20/31 to make a winning start against MvG, which looks fair enough given the recent inconsistencies of the Green Machine. Wright is available at 5/4 to reach a second final on the spin.
Since losing to Gerwyn Price in the Grand Slam final at the back end of November, Wright has lost only two of his 29 matches. That highlights how formidable he currently is, so there could be some juice in him to follow up with another victory in Liverpool.
Price May Be Vulnerable on Merseyside
World number one Price is favourite to successfully navigate his path through to the final from the bottom-half of the draw, but there is a sense of vulnerability about the Welshman over this shorter format.
Price lost 6-3 to James Wade in his first game on home soil in Cardiff last week and now his challenge gets harder with a hostile reception likely from this lively Liverpool crowd.
That makes a first-round match over this best-of-11 format against Gary Anderson particularly tricky and sees him best left alone to land the outright spoils at 7/2.
Price is 8/5 to make the final but even if he finds a way past Anderson, who is available at 12/1 for victory on Merseyside, a last-four clash with either Joe Cullen or Wade would be hazardous.
Cullen Ready to Rock in Liverpool
Cullen’s Premier League debut didn’t go to plan as he lost 6-2 to Clayton on Night One, although there should be plenty more to come from the Rockstar with that experience under his belt.
Cullen qualified for the Premier League courtesy of his Masters triumph at the end of January, where he defeated Anderson, Van Gerwen, Jose de Sousa and Dave Chisnall to claim a first major title.
With that success to his name, Cullen could soon be transformed and he has a strong chance to show his qualities at the M&S Bank Arena on Thursday evening.
Cullen is a relentless scorer, sometimes let down by his doubles, but he is a worthy favourite at 20/27 to overcome the inconsistent Wade in his opening game.
That win would fill the Bradford boy with plenty of confidence and he is evidently still chucking well given he also made a quarter-final of Players Championship 1 over the weekend.
The Rockstar could be set for a big night in Liverpool and there is plenty of value to be had with him 6/1 to make the final and 12/1 to pick up a valuable five points.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
