It was a debut to remember for Chris Dobey in Belfast last Thursday night as he defied the odds to claim the winner's cheque and go top of the standings in this year's Premier League.

Can he follow that success up when the eight-man field convenes in Cardiff in Week 2 or will home heroes Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton give a partisan crowd something to cheer?

Racing Post darts writer Steve Davies identifies a few bets to consider on a compelling night of darting action from Wales.
 

Mighty Mike's mishap might make his backers uneasy

What	Premier League Darts, Week 2
Where	International Arena, Cardiff
When	19:15, Thursday 9th February, 2023
How to watch	Sky Sports
Odds	Michael van Gerwen 2/1, Michael Smith 10/3, Gerwyn Price 5/1, Peter Wright 11/2, Jonny Clayton 10/1, Chris Dobey 14/1, Dimitri Van den Bergh 14/1, Nathan Aspinall 14/1

If Week 1 told us anything it's that nothing in darts is guaranteed.

Masters winner Dobey went to post in Belfast the clear outsider and made a mockery of the prices by seeing off Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen to take the five points and £10,000 cheque.

Yet despite that achievement, debutant Dobey is still 14/1 in Cardiff to go back-to-back with Van Gerwen heading the betting at 2/1.

In terms of sheer consistency Van Gerwen still looks the star act in the field and will be sore after losing the final after looking in complete control. 

But 2/1 for the Green Machine isn't worth writing home about and the reality is, it's another wide-open contest.
 

Can Welsh duo get their act together?

Four of the eight Premier League players are off the mark which means four are not - and two of those opening-night flops are Price and Clayton.

Clayton threw pretty well in Northern Ireland last Thursday - he averaged over 101 in a 6-2 loss to Dimitri van den Bergh - whereas Price looked flat in a 6-4 loss to Nathan Aspinall.

To that end Clayton could be a spot of value to bounce back by beating world champion Michael Smith in the opening match of the night.
 

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Price, however, isn't easy to fancy against Dobey, even though he will have the crowd on his side. Dobey on the handicap, +1.5 at 5/6, looks the way in with his confident through the roof.

Forget the handicap with Clayton - just side with him at 6/4 to win his match with Smith.

The Ferret missed seven out of nine doubles against Van den Bergh yet still averaged 101. 

There is nothing wrong with his game and bear in mind he has beaten Bully Boy in six of their last eight meetings since last March.
 

Van Gerwen to win Low Countries scrap at a canter

When it comes to dominant head-to-head records, however, Van Gerwen against Dimitri van den Bergh is one of the more one-sided.

They met last week in the semis in Belfast and Van Gerwen won snugly 6-4 - and that surprised no-one.

The Belgian may be in fair form but when it comes to tussling with Mighty Mike he has a real issue having lost 13 of their 15 meetings with one draw. Dancing Dimitri's one success over Van Gerwen was almost five years ago.

They've played twice this year, in Belfast last week and in the semis of the world when the Green Machine romped to a stunning 6-0 triumph.

It's hard to offer Van den Bergh much hope here and a 6-2 or 6-3 win for the six-time Premier League winner - at odds of 9/2 and 4/1 respectively - ought to hit the mark.
 

Sharper Wright can take sting out of the Asp

The fourth first-round tie pits Aspinall against Wright, who averaged 103.77 against Dobey in Belfast and still lost 6-3.

Aspinall actually boasts a really decent record against Snakebite with eight wins in their last 12 meetings, though at the last of those - November's Grand Slam - the Scot was there in body but not in spirit because his wife was ill.

All's well in the Wright household now and the Scot has certainly kicked off 2023 as though he means business by winning the Nordic Masters and scoring beautifully last Thursday. A bit of touching up on the doubles and he may well have too much ammunition for Aspinall.

Wright popped in four 180s in nine legs against Dobey so back the Snakebite/most 180s double at 7/5.