Sporting Life
Gary Anderson beat Michael Smith
Gary Anderson beat Michael Smith

Darts results: Gary Anderson wins Premier League night six with sparkling victory over Michael Smith

By Sporting Life
Darts
Fri March 18, 2022 · 3y ago

Gary Anderson reminded the darting world - and himself - of his sparkling talents as he won Premier League night six with a brilliant victory over Michael Smith in Nottingham.

Having lost his last five matches in the competition since his first-round victory over Michael van Gerwen on opening night, the Flying Scotsman headed to Nottingham as a 14/1 outsider to pick up the maximum five-point haul.

But after scrapping past Jonny Clayton 6-5 in a low-quality quarter-final, he raised his game considerably to sink old rival Peter Wright 6-3 with an average of 101.88 before producing another vintage display to overcome his former protege 6-4.

Anderson was averaging over 110 for much of the contest as he stormed into a 5-2 lead and although a late wobble allowed Bully Boy to pick up the next two legs, he still ended up with a highly impressive 104.24 that was helped along by five 180s.

After the game Anderson joked it was his best performance for "three years" but admitted there was still plenty more to come from him this season.

He told Sky Sports: "Against Jonny I was rubbish, against Peter it was hit or miss but I was better against Michael. I still didn't feel comfortable in the final."

Asked what would make him feel comfortable, the 51-year-old quipped: "Retire?! On the practice board everything's fine but come up here and nothing seems right. That's up to me to sort out.

"I'm off the bottom of the table and I'm happy. Just to get two points would have done me, I'd have been happy.

"It was a struggle against Jonny, I played a bit better against Peter and I played well against Michael. When I got to near the winning line I was panicking a bit!

"I'm surprised, after the way I've been playing. It's been an absolute nightmare. It's soul-destroying when you turn up week-in, week-out and get beaten, and you're hitting 89 averages.

"Once we step on that stage, even if you know you're struggling, you still want to win.

"On the practice board, everything's fine but when I come up [on stage] everything's not right so that's up to me to sort out."

Anderson's five points lift him up from the bottom of the table to sixth while Smith's second final appearance in as many weeks - having also finished runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in Brighton - means he also moved up to two positions to fifth.

Table-topper van Gerwen had won the last two Premier League nights and was favourite to make it three in a row but he could only average 95.93 in a 6-4 defeat to Gerwyn Price, who managed a surprisingly high 102.7 considering he's still recovering from a hand injury that forced him to miss last Thursday's round in Brighton and also the German Darts Championship.

However, the problem may have flared up during the semi-final against Smith as he blew a 4-1 lead and averaged just 86.25 on his way to a 6-4 defeat.

The other forgettable quarter-final saw Wright battle past Joe Cullen 6-4, with both players averaging well below 90. Snakebite had been struggling with a back problem that forced him to withdraw from the weekend's European Tour event at the quarter-final stage and although he raised his game to average 95 against Anderson, he was always second best.

Premier League Night 6 results and averages

Quarter-Finals

  • Michael Smith (102.92) 6-1 (102.63) James Wade
  • Michael van Gerwen (95.93) 4-6 (102.7) Gerwyn Price
  • Gary Anderson (89.93) 6-5 (91.65) Jonny Clayton
  • Joe Cullen (86.3) 4-6 (87.02) Peter Wright

Semi-Finals

  • Michael Smith (89.11) 6-4 (86.25) Gerwyn Price
  • Gary Anderson (101.88) 6-3 (95.33) Peter Wright

Final

  • Michael Smith (99.02) 4-6 (104.24) Gary Anderson

Premier League Table & Format

NW = Nights won, RU = Runner-up, SF = Semi-final defeats, MW = Matches won

  1. MVG NW 2 RU 0 SF 2 MW 8 LegD +24 Pts 14
  2. Wright NW 1 RU 1 SF 3 MW 6 LegD +4 Pts 12
  3. Clayton NW 1 RU 1 SF 1 MW 6 LegD -4 Pts 10
  4. Price NW 1 RU 0 SF 2 MW 5 LegD +1 Pts 9
  5. Smith NW 0 RU 2 SF 1 MW 5 LegD +0 Pts 8
  6. Anderson NW 1 RU 0 SF 1 MW 4 LegD -5 Pts 7
  7. Wade NW 0 RU 1 SF 2 MW 4 LegD -7 Pts 7
  8. Cullen NW 0 RU 1 SF 1 MW 3 LegD -7 Pts 5

Each night will see quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to six). Each player will meet the other seven players twice over the course of the season in a quarter-final game, plus two further nights (Night Eight and Night 16) will feature additional fixtures in the same format. Those fixtures will be a draw bracket based on how the league table looks at the time. So, whoever is top will face the eighth-placed player in the first round.

  • Night Winner - 5 points + £10,000 bonus
  • Runner-Up - 3 points
  • Semi-Finalists - 2 points

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