Darts results: Jonny Clayton wins Premier League Night Two with victories over Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen and Joe Cullen

The Welshman bounced back from the disappointment of losing last week's final to Peter Wright in Cardiff by picking up the maximum five points with three contrasting styles of victories in Manchester.

He opened up with a commanding 6-3 over Michael Smith to gain a small measure of revenge for his epic World Championship defeat but then had to rally from 4-1 down against MVG with a sparkling run of five unanswered legs.

The Ferret averaged 106.64 compared to Van Gerwen's 105.11 and pinned six of his eight attempts at doubles, while the Dutchman only missed two of his six in what must go down as a morale-boosting display.

MVG has endured a troubled start to 2022 in all competitions but having thrashed Wright 6-1 in the opening match of the night with an average of 102.98, he certainly looks as though he's turning a corner.

The final against Premier League debutant Cullen was a scrappy affair and needed every ounce of his fighting spirit to grind out a 6-4 victory with a rather tired average of 88.13.

The Rockstar had booked his place in the final with a fairly clinical 6-3 win over James Wade in which he averaged 94, hit four 180s and pinned six of his 10 darts at doubles but his scintillating comeback against Gerwyn Price really raised the roof.

Cullen found himself heading for defeat at 5-2 down but won the next four legs on the spin - averaging almost 118 in the process - to run out a 6-5 winner.

Premier League Results: Night two

M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Quarter-finals

• Peter Wright 1-6 Michael van Gerwen
• Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael Smith
• James Wade 3-6 Joe Cullen
• Gerwyn Price 6-3 Gary Anderson

Semi-finals

• Michael van Gerwen 4-6 Jonny Clayton
• Joe Cullen 6-5 Gerwyn Price

Final

• Jonny Clayton 6-4 Joe Cullen

Premier League Table & Format

NW = Nights won, RU = Runner-up, SF = Semi-finals reached, MW = Matches won

1. Jonny Clayton NW 1 RU 1 MW 5 SF LegD +8 Pts 8
2. Peter Wright NW 1 RU 0 MW 3 SF 0 LegD +4 Pts 5
3. Joe Cullen NW 0 RU 1 MW 2 SF 0 LegD -2 Pts 3
4. Michael van Gerwen NW 0 RU 0 MW 1 SF 1 LegD +1 Pts 2
5. Gerwyn Price NW 0 RU 0 MW 1 SF 1 LegD -1 Pts 2
6. James Wade NW 0 RU 0 MW 1 SF 1 LegD -2 Pts 2
7. Gary Anderson NW 0 RU 0 MW 1 SF 1 LegD -2 Pts 2
8. Michael Smith NW 0 RU 0 MW 0 SF 0 LegD -6 Pts 0

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

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SEASON FIXTURES, RESULTS AND TABLE

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