Michael Smith (Picture Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Darts results: Michael Smith thumps Michael van Gerwen; Peter Wright averages 110 in easy win; Glen Durrant beats Gerwyn Price

By Ben Coley

Darts

Fri March 06, 2020 · 5y ago

A review of Thursday night's Premier League action, as Michael Smith stunned MVG, Peter Wright impressed, and Glen Durrant went top.

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Sensational Smith stuns MVG

Michael Smith made it two memorable Thursdays in succession with a 7-4 demolition of Michael van Gerwen.

Having thrown a nine-dart finish a week ago against Daryl Gurney, Smith again looked at his fluent best as he powered into a 6-1 lead.

Van Gerwen clawed his way back to something like a respectable scoreline, but in the end was beaten convincingly on a night which saw him give up his place atop the Premier League table.

"I could've won that a lot easier than I did," confessed Smith, one of Chris Hammer's tips for the upcoming UK Open. "I'm just glad to get the win and get some more points on the board."

This was expected to be the most free-flowing match of the night but most of that was coming from Smith in the opening stages, throws of 134 and 136 helping him to hold the opener in 13 darts.

Van Gerwen levelled, but from 1-1 Smith went on a tear, taking the match away from his opponent - a player against whom he's so often frozen under the gun.

Not quite this time, as he took out 96 for a 12-dart leg and a 3-1 lead, and then hit a magnificent 134 for a 5-1 advantage as the match proved as one-sided as any on the night.

At 6-1, Smith was averaging above 110, but van Gerwen kept things going with his first maximum and a 12-dart leg and now it was a question of Smith holding his nerve.

He missed two match darts in leg nine, van Gerwen creeping closer, and when the Dutchman dominated the next suddenly there was a match.

But Smith was still the better player and while it took him seven throws at double in the 11th leg, he finally pinned the one he needed to complete a victory which was rather more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests.

Smith missed 15 darts at double in the match and saw his average dip below three-figures by the end of it, but with van Gerwen off-colour it was that run of legs which made the difference.

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Wright on the money

Peter Wright got back on track with an impressive 7-3 victory over Nathan Aspinall.

Hammered by Gerwyn Price last week and with just one win from four so far, the pressure was on Wright to deliver and, with a bright green mohican lighting up the arena, he did just that.

Aspinall played his part to, showing signs of promise which bode well for his UK Open defence, but from the moment Wright hit the front there was seldom any doubt as to the result.

The Asp came out firing with a maximum supplemented by a 140 as he took the first leg, but when bull for a 164 finish in the second fell right of target, Wright stepped in and started on a path to victory.

Levelling on tops, he then took out 76 to lead before a 14-dart leg for 3-1, which was more than matched when Aspinall took the next in just 13.

But Wright now was flowing, and added another 180 in a 13-dart leg of his own, albeit a 76 finish represented another strong reply from a dogged Aspinall.

Throws of 128, 180 and 135 saw Wright restore his two-leg cushion at 5-3 and, throwing like a world champion, he took out 81 for a 12-dart leg to guarantee at least a point.

Not that two points were ever really in doubt, and while the following leg required 17 darts, again it was his. Bouncing back as a champion should, Wright averaged 110 in a performance which might kickstart his campaign.

"This was a lot better than last week and I got the win, which was what mattered the most," said Wright. "I'm really happy with the performance but I still feel there's more to come.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game because of how well Nathan's been playing. He had a nine-darter against me the last time we played so I was very nervous tonight.

"I still missed too many doubles and need to brush up on that."

Dramatic draw to kick off card

Daryl Gurney salvaged a 6-6 draw with Rob Cross to kick off Thursday's Premier League action in Exeter.

It's been a difficult opening to the campaign for Gurney, who remains without a win, but he'll be pleased to have escaped with a point here - despite leading 3-0 early on.

Once Cross got level, he bossed proceedings and while Gurney again edged ahead at 5-4, he looked in danger of suffering a heartbreaking defeat only to pin double 10 to take the final leg.

Gurney broke in 15 darts to take the opener, Cross having made four visits without reaching 60 to open the door.

That came after an 88 finish for the Northern Irishman, and he looked assured as he hit 74 in the second deg, his sole dart at double finding its target with his opponent waiting in the wings.

When Cross missed tops for a 151 finish to fall 3-0 behind, he had a mountain to climb, but that near-miss inspired swift improvement as he hit double 14 for a 121 finish and a 12-dart leg to get on the board.

With both players now averaging around 103, Cross got within one on double eight, before a classy, 11-dart leg levelled the match.

The former world champion made it four on the spin when surviving a mid-leg wobble to hit double five, but after he failed to take out 99 to move clear, Gurney's ruthless finishing levelled the scores with another mid-level finish - this time 68.

Gurney again capitalised on the up-and-down nature of Cross's performance to hit double 16 and move ahead at 5-4, but then Cross hit his second and third maximums of the match to make it 5-5.

The following leg saw Gurney hit his first 180, but Gurney stumbled when closing in on the finish line and Cross hit a brilliant 18 finish in two darts to hold throw and guarantee a point.

That would be his lot, though, as what became a race down from 160 and 161 respectively went to Gurney, who hit 140, left 20, and again needed just one dart at double.

All told he missed just one in the match and that kept him in it. Whether this point will be enough to keep his head above water is another matter.

"I'm a little bit disappointed with the draw and it wasn't what I wanted, but I'll take it," admitted Cross. "You can't give people a 3-0 lead and the slow starts have been the story of my season so far.

"I got back into the game well. It's a work in progress because I've made changes to my life and maybe I'm a bit less confident than I should be, but if I can get a few results that will change.

"I'm enjoying it and I love the Premier League. I'm playing well in practice and I want to start taking it up on stage now."

Durrant gets Price right

Glen Durrant geared up for this weekend's UK Open with a 7-3 defeat of Gerwyn Price, who started their match as a strong odds-on favourite having won his last 13 matches.

Durrant, another of Chris's UK Open fancies, broke in the first leg and ended the match with a 129 checkout as Price suffered a dent to his confidence ahead of a trip to Minehead.

Not that the Welshman threw poorly, but Durrant was simply right at the top of his game, sharply finishing when required and scoring consistently well throughout.

"This is one of my biggest wins and I'm so happy," said Durrant. "Gerwyn's been on a 13-match unbeaten run and nobody gave me a chance, and that was the fire in the belly that I needed.

"There are eight of the best players in the world in that practice room and me, and I've got to stop admiring everybody else and realise my own potential.

"My combination finishing right now is as good as anybody's. I want to play the whole 16 weeks and I'm having the best time in the world at the moment in the Premier League."

The match started with a break of throw as Price was left to rue his sole look at tops, Durrant then swooping in to take out 54.

A brace of 140s from the Middlesbrough man paved the way for a hold in leg two, but again Price had a dart for it and it was these early exchanges which set the template.

More solid scoring saw Durrant go 3-0 up courtesy of a 15-dart leg, Price this time nowhere to be seen, and when he missed double 10 for the fourth leg he was 4-0 down.

Hope for Price came in a fifth leg which Durrant this time squandered, hitting his sole maximum before missing bullseye and two darts at double for a 5-0 lead.

Price needed two looks before finally getting off the mark, only for his opponent to dominate the next with darts in hand to restore his four-leg cushion.

Two maximums helped Price to a 12-dart leg to keep Durrant on his toes and by now there was nothing in it, but the damage had been done and Durrant made his man pay for yet another missed double to go 6-2 ahead.

Price needed four legs for a point but managed only one, Durrant saving the best until last with a 129 stunner to score the most significant victory of his Premier League career to date.

Flying Scotsman derailed

Luke Humphries became the first Challenger to win a Premier League match as he triumphed 7-5 against Gary Anderson, the player who helped inspire the concept.

Anderson's absence from the 2019 competition forced some creative thinking from the PDC, and Humphries was one of those invited to play one match in the event - one he drew 6-6.

A draw again looked on the cards here, but Anderson missed six darts for it as Humphries finally landed double one to end a fascinating contest, albeit by no means the most impressive of the night.

"It feels really good," said Humphries. "It's a little bit bittersweet because I didn't play as well as I wanted to, but it was exciting for the fans to watch and sometimes you have to win the scrappy games.

"The final leg was the most nervous I've ever been. I knew I had the chance to be the first Challenger to win, and luckily Gary missed a few doubles there at the end and I got the double one.

"I felt like I had a point to prove tonight and I'm just happy to walk off the winner. I believe I can get into the Premier League one day but it's going to take time."

Humphries started with real intent, hitting his first 180 on his first visit to the oche and going on to break, before a finish of 80 saw him establish a 2-0 lead.

The third leg also looked set to go his way, but he made a mess of taking out 36 for a 3-0 lead and Anderson, with his seventh dart at double, was finally on the board.

From there the Scot stepped on the gas in a 12-dart leg to draw level, and when he stole the next to lead few would've foreseen the drama still to come.

To his immense credit, Humphries kept the match alive by taking out 65 for 3-3, 78 for 4-4, and 100 for 5-5, before three more misses from Anderson allowed the underdog to move within a leg of the match.

Throwing first, Humphries appeared to have blown his chance with five successive visits without throwing three-figures, only to threaten a show-stopping 130 finish as he missed double five narrowly.

That should've been that, but a careless Anderson had been stumbling towards the finish line and after his sixth dart for a draw went begging, Humphries finally hit double one for a shock win.