Darts paid an emotional tribute to the legendary Eric Bristow at the Premier League on Thursday night, exactly one week after ‘The Crafty Cockney’ passed away at the age of 60. Continue reading “Tributes paid to Eric Bristow on emotional night in Sheffield!”
The fixtures for the second stage of the 2018 Unibet Premier League have been confirmed, and Dutch rivals Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld will clash at Rotterdam Ahoy in one of two huge nights in the Netherlands. Continue reading “Premier League Darts 2018: Weeks 10-15 Fixtures!”
The fixtures for the last six weeks of Premier League action have been confirmed, as the remaining eight players fight it out to secure a coveted play-off spot. Jelle Klaasen and Kim Huybrechts were both eliminated after nine weeks, therefore the top eight will now compete across six further nights in a bid to secure a spot at the O2 Arena in May.
Continue reading “2017 Premier League Darts: Final Fixtures Confirmed!”
Phil Taylor moved three points clear at the top of the Betway Premier League after enjoying a magnificent double delight in Sheffield. ‘The Power’ had a crucial double-header against Gary Anderson and James Wade on night ten, and secured a four perfect four points to continue his fantastic run of form.
Taylor won his first match of the evening with a brilliant 7-3 win over reigning Premier League champion Gary Anderson. ‘The Flying Scotsman’ started strongly and led 3-2, but the decisive moment arose in the sixth leg, when Anderson failed to take out 68 for a 4-2 advantage.
Taylor responded by converting 76 to restore parity at 3-3 and ‘The Power’ never looked back from this moment onwards, winning the final five legs without reply to close out a comprehensive victory with a 99.31 average. Anderson finished with a disappointing 92.83 average, as Taylor completed the league-double over the world champion.
In the evening’s curtain raiser, Taylor met James Wade, after Wade also won his first match of the evening with a solid 7-4 victory over Raymond van Barneveld. There was just the solitary break of throw in the entire contest, when van Barneveld missed three darts at D18 for 5-5. Wade punished RvB by pinning D20, before clinching victory on D10.
Michael van Gerwen returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a pulsating 7-5 victory over Robert Thornton on night ten at the Sheffield Arena. Van Gerwen posted an average of 117.95, the second highest in Premier League history; but he was pushed all the way by a tenacious Thornton, who averaged 104.23 and recorded 71% on the doubles.
Thornton kicked off proceedings with a confident 14-dart hold by virtue of posting his first maximum, but MvG levelled up proceedings immediately with a 13-darter on D20. The Dutchman then produced another 13-darter on tops to break the throw, before establishing a two-leg cushion thanks to a majestic 10-dart leg.
Van Gerwen produced scores of 180, 135 and 170, before cleaning up D8 to maintain his perfect record on the doubles. ‘The Green Machine’ recorded another visit of 170 in the fifth leg to open up a break opportunity and after Thornton wired the bullseye for an 81 finish, Michael clinched his fourth successive leg by pinning D10 with his last dart.
Thornton was throwing well and the World Grand-Prix champion recorded his second maximum to leave 81 after just 9 darts. However, in an exact replica of the previous leg, the Scot missed the bull to complete the combination, and van Gerwen converted 78 in two-darts for his fifth straight leg.
Continue reading “MvG averages 118 to edge past Thornton in a thriller!”
The fixtures for the remainder of the 2016 Premier League have been announced as the battle for play-off places intensifies, and world number one Michael van Gerwen will face his arch nemesis Phil Taylor on home soil when the Premier League heads to Holland for the first time on May 12th.
Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena will host night 15 of this year’s competition, and five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld will hope to secure victory on home territory against Peter Wright.
After Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith were eliminated on Judgement Night in Cardiff, the remaining eight players will battle it out over the next six weeks to determine who will finish in the top-four and secure a spot at the O2 Arena for finals night on May 19th.
Each player will play twice on one league night within the next four weeks, before the final two league nights, at the Manchester Arena and the sell-out Premier League debut at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena, feature four games on each night before the cut-off for Play-Off places.
Continue reading “Premier League Darts-Weeks 10-15 Fixtures Confirmed!”
If I had a pound for every time I’d heard Phillip Douglas Taylor written off by pundits and fans alike over the years, I’d be an extremely rich man. Last week, Taylor suffered a 7-2 humbling against his old-foe Raymond van Barneveld in week 10 of the Premier League in Sheffield. Van Barneveld had beaten Taylor 7-4 in Glasgow just one month ago, but last week’s defeat was far more damaging.
After Peter Wright and Kim Huybrechts were eliminated on a dramatic Judgement Night, the focus now switches to the play-off battle; with the remaining 8 players fighting for 4 spots. There is a slight gap emerging between the top 3 and the rest of the field. Gary Anderson, 3rd place, sits on 13pts, 4pts above 4th place James Wade. Nevertheless, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis, who narrowly avoided elimination in Manchester, are just 3pts and 2pts, respectively, off the coveted play-off places. Therefore, it’s all to play for as the Premier League roadshow heads to Sheffield, where Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld clash in the highlight of Thursday’s matches.