Darts results: Gerwyn Price beats Peter Wright in the Premier League as Glen Durrant remains well clear
A review of Sunday night's Unibet Premier League action in Milton Keynes, including wins for Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price.
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Iceman gives Snakebite frostbite
Peter Wright came within one dart of a second perfect leg in as many days and averaged over 107, but his efforts against a brilliant Gerwyn Price couldn't prevent him slipping to back-to-back defeats.
The world champion, who hit his first ever televised nine-darter against Daryl Gurney on Saturday night just 24 hours after missing double 12 for the same outcome, followed up a 180 at the start of leg seven with a visit of 177 to leave 144.
Two more treble 20s left him double 12, only for his effort to land well inside its intended target.
A prize of £50,000 is on offer for any player who hits two perfect legs in the Premier League season but if he carries on like this, another attempt could be on the cards in his remaining four fixtures.
Snakebite eventually wrapped up the leg in 14 darts to cut Price's early lead to 4-3 while a superb 127 checkout on the bullseye in the ninth saw him stay in touch at 5-4 down against a player who thrashed him 7-1 earlier in the campaign.
The two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion, who beat Wright to win his second Wolves crown last year but had lost two of their last three meetings, responded in kind with a 127 finish of his own to complete a 12-darter while the next two legs went with throw as he guaranteed at least a vital point.
Wright's show-stopping 142 checkout forced a deciding leg only for the Iceman to seal a thrilling 8-6 victory in style with a 128 finish.
Price averaged 106.83 compared to Wright's 107.37 and hit two fewer 180s with three, while his finishing was more clinical as he pinned eight of his 15 double attempts as his opponent spurned 10 of his 16.
The Welshman was still mathematically in danger of elimination on Judgement Night but after following up last night's triumph over Michael van Gerwen with another superb result, he now moves up to fourth - level on points with fifth-placed Nathan Aspinall and one ahead of Peter Wright.
“I’m still here fighting for a place in the play-offs and that is probably my best ever performance in the Premier League,” said Price.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Peter and I thought we both played really well there but I’ve got to look forward now and try and win as many as I can.
“I knew coming in to this run of nights there were a lot of points on offer and that’s still the case so I’ve still got a great chance on making the finals.”
Duzza still living the dream
Glen Durrant retained his four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table on the final night of the restart week thanks to a resounding 8-3 victory over rock-bottom Daryl Gurney.
The 49-year-old has won four and drawn two of his six matches since the resumption on Tuesday and with just four regular season fixtures left to play from Wednesday to Saturday, it's hard to see him being knocked off top spot on his debut.
His average of 102 against Gurney adds to the marks of 102, 104, 106, 99 and 97 he's also posted this week while he was even threatening a whitewash when a 75 checkout moved him 7-0 up.
SuperChin prevented that humiliation by pinning double 10 for a 13-darter as Duzza waited on 56 and delayed the inevitable further by pulling a couple more legs back before he was finally put out of his misery.
A place in the play-offs is almost assured for Durrant but Gurney, who is five points outside the top four, is in need of a miracle to get there.
The Northern Irishman didn't score too badly with six 180s compared to Durrant's four and an average of 97.72 but he missed seven of his 10 attempts at doubles as his opponent pinned eight of his 17.
“If you had asked me my targets before tonight I would have said just get in to the top four but now the goal is to win it,” said Durrant at the conclusion of the match.
“I’ve had a brilliant year or so but I’ve won nothing yet and that is all I want now, that one trophy to show what a good player I am.
“I’m playing the best I have ever played and feel like I am finishing better than anyone else in the world, to top the league would be a dream come true but there is a lot of work left to do.”
MVG bounces back
Michael van Gerwen put a difficult week behind him by posting a performance more like his old-self as he claimed a crucial 8-5 victory over Michael Smith.
Although an average of 102.35 isn't anything for a peak MVG to write home about, it was nevertheless a welcome improvement after suffering three defeats in his previous five games.
The five-time champion has lost more times in a single regular season than ever before and is unlikely to maintain his 100% record of topping the table in his eighth season, but a fifth successive title is really all that really matters.
Van Gerwen took early control of this contest by winning three unanswered legs after Smith's 117 checkout in the first while a fine 110 checkout completed a 12-darter to go 4-2 up.
Back-to-back 14-darters followed to put him firmly in control at 6-2 up before Bully Boy finally rallied with a couple of legs of his own, including a 145 checkout to make it 6-4.
The pair exchanged 12-darters, with MVG completing his with a 114 checkout, before completing the job with a 72 finish.
Van Gerwen hit one fewer 180 than maximum king Smith but he was more clinical at the business end of legs as he pinned eight of his 17 attempts as the St Helens man spurned nine of his 14.
“Confidence is so important and I have to be happy with how I played in this game,” said the 31-year-old.
“There is always pressure on my shoulders, especially when I lose but now after this win I can show everyone that I am playing well again.
“Every player in this building knows I am the best dart player and I don’t need to show them that but sometimes in life you have to come through bad stages and that is what makes you the best.
“I of course want to the top of the table but I need to win my games and hope some good players can beat Glen but the most important thing for me is to make the play-offs.”
Flying Scotsman up to second
Gary Anderson bounced back from his double troubles against Glen Durrant by becoming the runaway leader's nearest challenger with an 8-6 victory over Nathan Aspinall.
The Flying Scotsman spurned six match darts to beat Duzza 8-4 on Saturday before spurning a seventh in the penultimate leg of a compelling 6-6 draw which left him level on 13 points with Aspinall.
Anderson found himself with another big lead against the Stockport star when his second 11-dart of the match moved him 4-1 up.
Aspinall, who earned a 7-7 draw with Anderson back in March from 5-1 down, launched a stirring comeback of three successive legs, which included back-to-back checkouts of 108 and 90, to level the match.
Back came the 2011 and 2015 champion with finishes of 76 and 110 to regain control of the contest and this time he wouldn't let it slip.
Anderson averaged 101.36 compared to Aspinall's 98.18, hit three more 180s with six and pinned eight of his 14 double attempts as his opponent missed seven of his 13.
“I’m still here and I’ve still got a chance so we’ll see how it goes,” offered Anderson after the first game of the evening.
“I was fuming with myself last night because I should have beaten Glen but I let him back in and I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen tonight, although I had a good go at letting Nathan nick a point,” joked the 49-year-old.
“There’s life in the old dog yet so I’ll keep on going and see how we get on.”
Table, Night 12 results & remaining fixtures
- Durrant P 12 W 8 D 3 L 1 LegD +27 Pts 19
- Anderson P 12 W 6 D 3 L 3 LegD +5 Pts 15
- Van Gerwen P 12 W 7 D 0 L 5 LegD +7 Pts 14
- Price P 12 W 5 D 3 L 4 LegD +12 Pts 13
- Aspinall P 12 W 6 D 1 L 5 LegD +3 Pts 13
- Wright P 12 W 5 D 2 L 5 LegD +3 Pts 12
- Smith P 12 W 5 D 1 L 6 LegD +2 Pts 11
- Gurney P 12 W 3 D 2 L 7 LegD -16 Pts 8
- Cross P 9 W 1 D 3 L 5 LegD -14 Pts 5* ELIMINATED AT JUDGEMENT NIGHT
Night 12, Sunday August 30
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Nathan Aspinall 6-8 Gary Anderson
- Peter Wright 6-8 Gerwyn Price
- Michael van Gerwen 8-5 Michael Smith
- Glen Durrant 8-3 Daryl Gurney
Night 13 - Wednesday September 2
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Glen Durrant v Michael Smith
- Daryl Gurney v Gary Anderson
- Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
- Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall
Night 14 - Thursday September 3
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney
- Gary Anderson v Michael Smith
- Peter Wright v Nathan Aspinall
- Glen Durrant v Michael van Gerwen
Night 15 - Friday September 4
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Daryl Gurney v Nathan Aspinall
- Glen Durrant v Peter Wright
- Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen
- Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Night 16 Saturday September 5
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Peter Wright v Michael Smith
- Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
- Nathan Aspinall v Glen Durrant
- Gerwyn Price v Gary Anderson
Play-Offs - Thursday October 22
The O2, London
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
- First v Fourth
- Second v Third
Finals (Best of 21 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2