2014 PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW
THE PLAYERS
'MIGHTY' Michael Van Gerwen
Michael Van Gerwen is officially the best darting player on the planet. After a scintillating victory in the World Championship a few weeks ago, which made him the youngest ever winner of the PDC World Championship, the PDC Order of Merit now shows Van Gerwen, not Phil Taylor, as the highest ranked player currently. Van Gerwen is also the current Premier League champion, by virtue of defeating his arch-rival Taylor in last year's final 10-8, and will be eager to underline his supremacy in the darting world over the next few weeks and months.
Phil 'THE POWER' Taylor
If Van Gerwen is an eager man, then Phil Taylor must be a hungry man. A very hungry man, indeed. After the shock of the second round in the World Championships, where 'The Power' was defeated 4-3 in sets by the unfavoured Michael Smith, Taylor doesn't have either of the two biggest trophies in world darts in his trophy cabinet. A glaring omission for a man who takes perfection very seriously. It is presumably safe to say, therefore, that Taylor will be a very dangerous man in this tournament. A man seeking redemption, is a very dangerous man indeed; more so when his name is Phil Taylor.
'THE WIZARD' Simon Whitlock
Seeking to go one better than the final appearance he made in the 2012 version is Simon Whitlock. He will be hoping for a louder Premier League than the quiet, unassuming presence that he was in the 2014 World Championship. At the Alexandra Palace a few weeks back, the Australian breezed into the quarter-finals without dropping a set, before edging out Ian White in the quarter-final, and then getting thumped by Peter Wright in the Semi-Final. It's always difficult to know what to expect of Whitlock before a major darts tournament, but one will hazard a guess that his personal expectation is to improve on the disappointing sixth place finish of last year.