2020 Unibet Premier League Darts – Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith taking place? Thursday 13th February, 2020 – evening (UK)
Where is Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith taking place? Motorpoint Arena
What channel is Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith on? Sky Sports Action
Where can I stream Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith? Click here to purchase tickets for the 2020 Premier League Darts
What was the score in the last meeting? Gerwyn Price beat Michael Smith 6-5
THE LOWDOWN
GERWYN PRICE
- Gerwyn Price came back from 6-4 down to salvage a point against Rob Cross last Thursday in Aberdeen on the opening night of the 2020 Premier League. Price impressively won the last two legs of the match in a combined total of 25 darts.
- The draw against Cross means that Price has lost only one of his last nine Premier League matches – in amongst that sequence of matches he registered an 8-5 victory against Michael Smith. Price has in fact won each of the last three meetings between the two players, the most recent of which was last Sunday when their last 16 tie at Players Championship 2 went all the way into a last leg decider.
- Price went on to reach the final on Sunday at Players Championship 2 where he lost to Nathan Aspinall, who was in inspired form. On the previous day at Players Championship 1, he lost to the eventual champion Gary Anderson in the last 32.
MICHAEL SMITH
- Michael Smith started his 2020 Premier League campaign with a 7-3 defeat to debutant Glen Durrant, the outstanding success on the doubles by Durrant proved to be the big difference between the two players.
- Smith has now failed to register a win in his last nine Premier League matches – his last victory in the competition was against Gerwyn Price in Rotterdam on night eight of the 2019 Premier League.
- Last weekend he exited both of the Players Championship tournaments in last leg deciders. On Saturday he was beaten by Rob Cross in the last 32 and was ousted in the last 16 by Gerwyn Price on Sunday. At Players Championship 1 on Saturday, he notably posted an average of 110 in defeating Ryan Joyce in round one.
THE PREDICTION
Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith were unable to register victories last week on night one, though Price will have been the happier player with his performance, he finished strongly against Cross to salvage a draw from an opponent who averaged just over a ton. The Iceman then played well at the weekend in reaching the final of Players Championship 2 – a run which included a victory against Michael Smith.
The Bully Boy will have rued missed chances against Durrant in Aberdeen and also having missed chances to claim victory at the Masters the previous weekend he will need to find confidence on the doubles if he is to stop Price from taking the two points. A Price win is the prediction and he is also tipped to have a checkout of over 103.5 in the match – he landed finishes of 130 and 124 against Cross on night one.
