Whitlock Watch – PLD Week 7 Preview

In England it is a Thursday night party, while here is the perfect way to ease into the last working day of the week. When the darts in on you know the weekend is nearly here.

Waking to the sound of ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY being yelled out is becoming more commonplace amongst Australians on a Friday morning as word of the excitement and entertainment of Premier League Darts spreads. Simon ‘the Wizard’ Whitlock is all but a household name as he continues to fire many an arrow into that tiny red target for 60 points while battling it out with Britain’s best and holding his own.

Tomorrow those that leave early for work will finally be able to watch Whitlock’s match live. In all the matches so far he has been on at 7:30 or later, meaning that those darts fans who leave for work are forced to record the game and avoid seeing the result all day. The Wizard hits the oche at 6:10 am tomorrow morning.

Don’t let the great Australian’s current average position on the table fool you – the man is in top form. Whitlock’s only real poor performance so far in the Premier League was Week 2 when he was beaten by an out of form Gary Anderson and only averaged 89. In his other two losses, he averaged 102 against a superhuman Phil Taylor and 96 against van Barneveld.

The doubters were out in full force after those two defeats and the Wizard would have been feeling the heat sitting near the bottom of the ladder. But he shrugged it all off and continued to throw good darts. Against Newton he was behind but shifted into top gear to fly home and win 7-5. In that match he averaged 99, if not for his slow start his average would have been through the roof. Then last Friday he brushed aside James Wade who was sitting in 2nd and throwing at his best. Whitlock has certainly proved his mettle.

Tomorrow he comes up against Andy Hamilton, once his bogey player, who is also in top form. Last week Hamilton knocked off Phil Taylor, although the great man was well below his best in that match. Hamilton averaged over 100 in that game as well as in his defeat to van Barneveld the week before. He is looking good but would have really got himself up for those two matches and a come down of sorts seems likely. Meanwhile Whitlock is fighting week in week out and is in a good rhythm. The Wizard should be right in the match tomorrow and it would not be unwise to back him for a win.