Who will be in Premier League? How will Fallon Sherrock fare? Emma Paton makes 2022 predictions | Darts News

Sky Sports Darts presenter Emma Paton makes her predictions for the 2022 darts season, including her tips for the Premier League and why she thinks there could be a ding-dong battle for the world No 1 spot…

The Premier League gets under way live on Sky Sports on Thursday, February 3, with night one emanating from the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.

The Premier League

How exciting is the new format!? After a dramatic revamp, this year’s Premier League could well be the best yet.

While we’ve got fewer players involved with eight, we’re guaranteed more drama than ever and I think it’s great the crowds at every venue get their own mini-tournament each week.

So, who are the eight? Barry Hearn confirmed on Twitter that we’d find out after the Masters, and who knows, maybe if someone does well there, they could work their way into the mix.

But, as this is a predictions piece, I suppose I should throw my eight names out there. I’m going for: Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Rob Cross and Jonny Clayton. What do you think?

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World Darts champion Peter Wright says he celebrated his second world title with a Pot Noodle and a cup of tea!

Will Snakebite get it (w)right?

Exactly one month after lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy, Wright will start his quest for a first Premier League title.

He came so close in 2017, missing six darts to win in the final as he ultimately lost out to Van Gerwen but he’s a different player now and it’s hard to look past Snakebite as a likely winner after the year he’s just had. There’s a nice subplot here, too, with the world No 1 spot…

Gerwyn Price has more prize money to defend in 2022 – and as early as February will see money drop off with him defending £25,000 from the Euro Tour. With Price’s Order of Merit lead over Wright just a little over £15,000 at the moment, Snakebite could finally ascend to top spot.

MVG on the march?

It was a rubbish end to 2021 for Van Gerwen.

Will Michael van Gerwen recapture his best form in 2022?

Left without a major title for over 12 months – the longest drought since his breakthrough in 2012 – he was then forced to withdraw after just one match at the World Championship after testing positive for Covid.

Not only will he be itching to get back on the oche but itching to get some trophies back in the cabinet as well.

Despite only picking up a couple of titles, he was showing some real form towards the end of the year.

In September he won his first televised ranking event of 2021 at the Nordic Masters and then in November won a first ranking title of the year in the penultimate floor event of the season.

Around those events we saw glimpses of the MVG of old – his performance in the European Championship final, despite losing to Rob Cross, and a record Grand Slam average of over 115. He was also more consistent towards the backend of the year.

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Michael Smith edged out defending champion Gerwyn Price 5-4 to reach the last four at the World Darts Championship.

What about the others?

It seems we have a new-look Price in 2022 – and of course I’m referring to the blonde highlights he’s gone for! The Iceman posted an Instagram story of the new look with the caption ‘midlife crisis’ which made me laugh.

What about the darts then? I’ve already mentioned the tussle for the world No 1 spot which Price will be fighting hard to keep hold of.

The last time we saw him was a quarter-final defeat to Michael Smith at the Worlds – we’ve basically forgotten about the nine-darter he hit in that match!

Like Van Gerwen, he’ll be wanting to hit the ground running this year. One thing I do hope is that the crowds are better in 2022 and show him the respect he deserves.

Jonny Clayton won four major titles in 2021 – the Premier League, the World Grand Prix, the Masters and the World Series Finals

2021 was often called the Year of the Ferret, so what does this year have instore for Jonny Clayton? One of my favourite matches at the Worlds was his last-16 tie with Michael Smith. It was an absolute belter!

Jonny is defending so many titles this year – the Masters, Premier League, World Series Finals and the Grand Prix. For someone like Jonny I doubt that adds any pressure or will phase him in the slightest. The Ferret was so consistent last year, you expected him to perform at every event he played in so I’m predicting more of that in 2022.

Ones to watch

Callan Rydz had some year with a couple of Players Championship wins and a quarter-final run at the World Matchplay. He then followed that up with a scintillating run at the World Championship losing to eventual winner Wright in the last eight.

He was brilliant to watch at the Palace and you could see how upset and gutted he was to lose to Snakebite. He was one of the biggest stars of the tournament, and at just 23 I’m expecting his rise to continue.

Emma expects Callan Rydz (pictured) to build on a successful 2021 campaign

Luke Humphries was another young player to lose out in the quarter-finals at the World Championship and another who had a good 2021.

He reached the final of the UK Open in March and impressed on the ProTour as well. Along with Rydz, these two have added consistency to their game and I think we’ll be seeing more of the pair of them in latter stages of the biggies this year.

And, yes, we are talking about Fallon Sherrock again!

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Laura Turner believes Fallon Sherrock deserves to be in this year’s Darts Premier League because she is one of the biggest commercial draws in the sport

Sherrock was brilliant on the stage last year making the final of the Nordic Masters and the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam. Unfortunately no tour card at Q school but Sherrock will headline the extended Women’s Series with places in TV events and the World Championship up for grabs.

She could also feature on the World Series circuit having originally been selected to compete in the US Masters in Madison Square Garden prior to Covid.

Lisa Ashton dropped off the circuit and failed to regain her tour card but I’m certain we’ll see lots of her as well, starting with the World Seniors next month.

So, lots of predictions but one thing is for sure – we will continue to talk about Fallon Sherrock and Lisa Ashton.

2022 Premier League Schedule

Night 1 – Thursday February 3 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Night 2 – Thursday February 10 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Night 3 – Thursday February 17 – SSE Arena, Belfast
Night 4 – Thursday February 24 – Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
Night 5 – Thursday March 3 – Westpoint Exeter
Night 6 – Thursday March 10 – The Brighton Centre
Night 7 – Thursday March 17 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Night 8 – Thursday March 24 – Rotterdam Ahoy
Night 9 – Thursday March 31 – Utilita Arena Birmingham
Night 10 – Thursday April 7 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Night 11 – Thursday April 14 – AO Arena, Manchester
Night 12 – Thursday April 21 – P&J Live, Aberdeen
Night 13 – Thursday April 28 – 3Arena, Dublin
Night 14 – Thursday May 5 – OVO Arena, Glasgow
Night 15 – Thursday May 12 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield
Night 16 – Thursday May 19 – The O2, London
Play-Offs – Thursday May 26 – Utilita Arena Newcastle

Join us for the start of the 2022 Premier League Darts in Cardiff on Thursday, February 3 live on Sky Sports. Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts