Despite only declaring himself fit on the day, Phil Taylor overcame Simon Whitlock 8-3 in his Whyte and Mackay Premier League opener and has been trimmed to 4/11 (from 2/5) to take his fifth Premier League title.

With Taylor’s fitness in doubt, 2010 World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock had been very well backed early on Thursday to beat ‘The Power’ on his debut appearance in the competition but Sky Bet customers later took advantage of the drift in Taylor’s odds (8/15 from 1/3).

2009 runner-up Mervyn King also impressed with an 8-5 win over Adrian Lewis posting an average of 101 and Sky Bet have cut his odds of taking the title to 12/1 (from 16/1).
Sky Bet's darts betting spokesman Craig Ibbotson said: "Taylor winning proved a bad result as we saw late money for him just before the match as punters took advantage of an inflated price due to his virus.
"All the games were well contested and it should be the case throughout the tournament. Taylor obviously impressed but Mervyn King was yet again irrepressible on that big stage and he will take some beating this year."
Premier League 2010 Winner
Each Way terms: 1/3 of odds for 1st 2 places
Taylor P 4/11 Whitlock S 16/1
Wade J 8/1 Lewis A 20/1
Barneveld R 9/1 Jenkins T 33/1
King M 12/1 Baxter R 80/1

Premier League Specials - Taylor v Field
Taylor 4/11 The Field 2/1

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