The second half of the Premier League begins!
Tomorrow the second half of the Premier League will begin and - to be sure a joy for the players and the fans - on the last four League Days and the Play-offs thousand fans per night will be allowed in the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Though for me as television viewer it was till now without the live crowd a thrilling and interesting Premier League the crowd to be sure is the extra something of a live sport event. You can't tell yet in which way and whether at all the crowd will affect the players. But it of course could have a positive effect on players like Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright who might flourish - but all in all the Premier League behind closed doors was a spectacle and the only downer was Glen Durrant's battle - well, you can't say exactly against what. Might be his problems still stem from his Covid illness, might be he only has lost all self believe. He thinks he has a problem with his throw and was not really happy with the sympathy of his colleagues which draw him down even more...Probably no one would not be happy would he find back his form.
Apart from that even Rob Cross - who was the second player eliminated after Judgement Night - went out on a high. All in all he played much better than before the tournament though it was not enough to survive Premier League. But to be sure he can build on it.
So far after each League Day the table changed completely. You could enter the League Day among the top four and after the night you would be in the middle of the battle against elimination. Between the head of the table and the last in the table before the second half there are only five points. Two players head the table with thirteen points each - Nathan Aspinall and Dimitri van den Bergh the two youngest players in the event. None of the players won all his matches, none of the players dominated, none who didn't sway between outstanding and mediocre performances. Two of the debutants - Jonny Clayton and Jose de Sousa - already threw a nine-darter and de Sousa beside equalled the record for thrown 180s. The three debutants all showed that they were justly nominated and all are a real gain for the tournament. Beside de Sousa sometimes presents us - well better him - with his arithmetic with a challenge and often offers creative solutions. James Wade, who moved up after Gerwyn Price was tested positive for Covid in the tournament, took his time to warm up but by now can be found in the thick of the battle. Gary Anderson is at the moment the player with the most problems - he tells himself he is playing crap - but that can change from day to day. Michael van Gerwen this year has a better chance to reach the play-offs but still is in the hunt for his consistency.
And so it is still more or less unpredictable after the first half or the season who will win this year's Premier League. It is difficult as well to predict who will be the four players to reach the play-offs. And there is no player in the races who wouldn't deserve it. I can only say assuredly that all those players who seemed to be out of form before the tournament are on top of their game in Premier League. It is a Premier League in which all players are on par and I can say as well that I neither miss Gerwyn Price nor Michael Smith who said recently that he should be in Premier League ahead of those players who were nominated.
I am looking forward to the second half of the season and I am sure I will feel entertained again.
Who will win in the end? Isn't that almost subsidiary?