Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith (Picture: Steve Welsh/PDC)

Premier League Darts: Results from night seven as MVG, Gary Anderson, Rob Cross & Barney claim impressive wins

Darts

Fri March 23, 2018 · 7y ago

Michael van Gerwen moved clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 7-2 victory over Michael Smith.

Scroll down for match-by-match reports, statistics and updated standings

*Followers of John Part's weekly tips were celebrating tonight as he landed his 13/8 treble as well as three single bets of 2/1, 11/4 and 5/1. Click here for details and don't miss out on his tips next week*

MVG wins top-of-the-table clash

Michael van Gerwen reeled off seven legs on the trot as he moved clear at the top of the Premier League table with a resounding 7-1 victory over Michael Smith.

The pair were tied on 10 points heading into Thursday's clash, one Smith had described as an important test of his form, but it was the defending champion who defied a slow start to record an ultimately facile success.

Having missed darts for the first leg and seen Smith take advantage to break throw, van Gerwen needed 15 darts to reach a finish in the second and it was Smith who was able to win it in 20 darts.

From there, however, van Gerwen was able to move through the gears, winning the next three legs in 14, 13 and 12 darts to take the lead - the latter courtesy of a stunning 148 finish - before powering to victory.

A maximum to start leg six paved the way to another 12-darter, before a 116 finish stole the next with Smith waiting on double 12.

There were brief hopes of a nine-dart leg in the next as five treble 20s put van Gerwen in command, although he eventually settled for 11, before the two-time world champion signed off with a 107 finish - his third 100-plus checkout of the match.

"I think my finishing was good, but at some point my scoring power wasn't there," said van Gerwen, who complained of pain in his shoulder but otherwise appeared untroubled.

"Michael has played well - he's a huge talent and it's second in the rankings for nothing but if you look at his tournament average I knew I could get the points tonight.

"To finish at the top of the league table is harder than winning the tournament in my opinion so I want to keep going and keep winning."

Anderson draws inspiration

Gary Anderson put a frustrating run behind him, beating Simon Whitlock 7-4 to the delight of the partisan support in Glasgow.

Following his defeat to MVG in Newcastle, Anderson had drawn three games in succession to slip down the standings, but put that behind him with a fairly straightforward win.

After the first two legs were shared on throw, Anderson took control with a 101 finish for a 12-dart leg and the lead, adding two more legs in quick succession before Whitlock halved the deficit.

Anderson went 5-2 up when Whitlock missed a dart at bullseye, before the pair exchanged 13-dart legs as Anderson closed in on an important victory.

Whitlock produced his best darts in the 10th leg, throws of 135, 180 and 145 paving the way to an easy hold, but he was unable to put pressure on his opponent's throw as Anderson sealed victory by taking out 74 in two quickfire darts.

While Anderson averaged a healthy 102.68, Whitlock's consistent scoring saw him register 104.13 and The Wizard will be left frustrated at the result, as Anderson moved ahead of him in the standings.

The Scotsman told www.pdc.tv: "The Premier League is a long hard 16 weeks and now you've got to start winning. Tonight has been great but it’s time to get the head down and keep going - I've got to keep plugging away and get as close to the top boys as I can."

Raymond's sharp

Raymond van Barneveld might not have produced the highest average of the night, but his was the most one-sided victory as the Dutch maestro beat Peter Wright 7-1.

Wright missed four darts for the opening leg and while a brace of 140s saw him pull back to a 2-1 deficit soon after, from there it was all van Barneveld.

The highlight came in leg six, where an 82 checkout sealed a 12-dart leg for van Barneveld, who sealed victory with a 72 finish as Wright failed to get at all competitive.

Barney said: "Peter has been struggling for the past couple of weeks but it's a massive result for me and my finishing was perfect. Since the UK Open I've been working hard on my fitness and I'm feeling good.

"I've got five points from the last three matches so I'm really happy and it makes you want to work harder when you're getting the results."

Hot Cross fun

Not to be outdone, Rob Cross emulated van Barneveld as he swept aside Gerwyn Price 7-1.

Cross averaged 103.54 thanks to fourth 180s and a ruthless touch at the end of legs, as he hit six of nine leg darts.

By contrast, Price was one-from-five on doubles and, unable to find a single maximum, averaged more than 11 ticks lower than his opponent.

Price in fact took the first leg after Cross had missed a dart at the bull, but after levelling up the world champion took out 143 for a 12-dart leg and the lead.

An 11-dart leg followed as he hit double 12 for an 81 finish in leg four, followed by a trio of 14-dart legs to move within one of the match.

As Price ended a miserable night with another two darts at double missed, Cross stepped in to take out 66 and move level on points with second-placed Smith in the standings.

He said: "I'm feeling comfortable and I've got a good routine now. You can't win every week but you want to perform and I'm in a good place at the moment.

"I'm playing well and I'll look forward to the next game now. I've turned it around after the first couple of weeks and I'm really happy with my game. I'm clinical at the end of legs and that's the biggest thing for me."

First win for Superchin

Daryl Gurney secured his first Premier League victory as he got the better of Mensur Suljovic in the opening match.

The Northern Irishman had drawn four of his first six games in his rookie campaign, but finally found the winning formula here with a 7-3 success.

And it was one he deserved, too. While Suljovic proved a frustrating opponent, Gurney threw the better darts from the moment the first of five maximums found its target in the opening leg of the match.

After the first seven legs had gone to throw, Gurney broke for the first time with a 61 finish, backed it up with a solid 14-dart leg with the throw, and sealed victory in style with a 102 checkout.

Back-to-back defeats for Suljovic leave him on four points, now behind Gurney and with Gary Anderson to face next in Belfast, where Gurney will hope to down reigning world champion Rob Cross in front of his home crowd.

Gurney said: "The confidence is coming back now and I just have to keep going and get away from the bottom two. I'm glad to get over the finish line and get my first win in the Premier League - it's a monkey off my back!"

Scroll down for statistics and updated standings