Dimitri Van den Bergh (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Darts results: Dimitri Van den Bergh beats Jonny Clayton to go top of the Premier League

By Sporting Life

Darts

Mon April 19, 2021 · 4y ago

Dimitri Van den Bergh knocked Jonny Clayton off the top of the Premier League table with a 7-3 defeat of the Masters champion in a top-quality tie where both players averaged over 102.

A super contest saw Van den Bergh move 2-1 and 3-2 up with breaks of throw, before Clayton levelled in leg six with a brilliant 121 bull finish.

The Belgian, though, responded by finishing 121 himself in leg seven - this time on double 14 - to regain the lead and then took 104 to consolidate his lead before punishing missed doubles from Clayton in the next two to seal his victory of the season.

Durrant defeated by below-par MVG

Michael van Gerwen joined Van den Bergh on eight points with a 7-3 victory over Glen Durrant in which both players were far from their best.

It has been a miserable start to the campaign for Durrant, who has now lost all six matches, but for once here he was in fact competitive - albeit largely thanks to his opponent.

Van Gerwen needed 21 darts to level at 1-1 and while never behind thereafter, he missed 22 darts at double, threw just a single 180, took out a high of 92 and averaged short of 88 in what was a poor performance.

Durrant though simply could not score heavily enough to make van Gerwen pay as his struggles continue.

Asp sits second after sharp win

Nathan Aspinall became the third man to move onto eight points as he beat Peter Wright 7-3 in the final game of the night.

Aspinall, who is second in the table on legs won against throw, lost the opening two legs of the match but won seven of the next eight as Wright struggled to match him in the scoring department.

It was another impressive display from Aspinall, who faces Clayton on Tuesday night.

Flying Scotsman bags another victory

Gary Anderson picked up his third win of the season as Rob Cross missed two darts to snatch a draw in the clash of former World Champions.

Anderson replied to a Cross 12-darter in leg three by breaking throw in the fifth in a dozen darts before moving into a 5-2 lead.

Cross finished legs of 14 and 13 darts to cut the gap to one, with Anderson landing a 101 finish to secure a point before making the most of his rival's missed attempts at doubles 18 and nine in the final leg to claim the spoils.

Deadly finishing as De Sousa does enough

Jose de Sousa jumped above James Wade in the league table after defeating the 2009 Premier League champion 7-5 in a high-quality affair where both players missed just two darts each at a double.

De Sousa finished 110 in the opening leg to set the tone for the match, before breaking by finishing 85 on the bull for a 4-2 lead.

Wade hit back before De Sousa claimed back-to-back legs as an 11-darter moved him 6-3 up, with the left-hander finishing 70 and double eight to force a deciding leg.

The Grand Slam champion, though, produced another timely 11-darter as an 81 finish saw him pick up a second successive win.

2021 Premier League Darts Table

Dimitri Van den Bergh P 6 W 3 D 2 L 1 LegD +9 Pts 8
Nathan Aspinall P 6 W 3 D 2 L 1 LegD +9 Pts 8
Michael van Gerwen P 6 W 3 D 2 L 1 LegD +9 Pts 8
Jonny Clayton P 6 W 3 D 1 L 2 LegD +3 Pts 7
Gary Anderson P 6 W 3 D 1 L 2 LegD +3 Pts 7
Jose de Sousa P 6 W 2 D 2 L 2 LegD 0 Pts 6
Peter Wright P 6 W 2 D 2 L 2 LegD -4 Pts 6
Rob Cross P 6 W 2 D 1 L 3 LegD 0 Pts 5
James Wade P 6 W 2 D 1 L 3 LegD -1 Pts 5
Glen Durrant P 6 W 0 D 0 L 6 LegD -28 Pts 0

The top four after 16 games qualify for the end of season play-offs, where the title will be decided
Players earn two points for a win, and one for a draw.
When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average.