It has been the year of the Lukes – but Michael van Gerwen is still the man to beat at the Premier League finals.
You can make a case for all three of Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael Smith at the O2 Arena tonight, but MVG is my pick.
I do not say this on current form or on his head-to-head records with the other three. I say it simply because of the fact he manages to get it won time and time and time again.
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It used to seem unthinkable that Phil Taylor’s six Premier League titles would ever be beaten, but Michael has done that and he is still going strong.
He has won the Premier League in six out of the last eight years – a truly staggering run – and the motivation of getting his seventh will give him the edge over his opponents.
(Image: PA)
If Michael is to fall short, it will be because of his semi-final opponent in Luke Humphries. I think the winner will come from this game.
Luke knows how to win big titles. He currently holds the World Championship, the Players Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Grand Prix. I know that because he beat me on the way to winning most of them!
The winner of the Littler vs Smith semi-final knows that they will have a real fight on their hands.
One small final note, last week was busy for myself as it was Mental Health Awareness week. I had a lot of commitments for both Bipolar UK and my sponsor FIX Radio.
FIX is a radio station just for builders and there are some shocking stats around suicide in that industry. FIX is helping with that stigma and I want to be a part of that journey.