Darts results: Michael van Gerwen beats Michael Smith to win Premier League night five before giving words of encouragement to Bully Boy

The Dutchman followed up his rampant performances in Exeter seven days ago with another three victories against James Wade, Joe Cullen and Smith to surge four points clear at the top of the standings.

He's the first player to win a second weekly 'title' this season but he was quick to offer words of encouragement to Bully Boy, who bounced back brilliantly from his UK Open heartache on Sunday to pick up victories over Gary Anderson and Jonny Clayton en route to his first Premier League final.

MVG had to hold his nerve to come through a last-leg decider in his scrappy opener with the Machine but upped the ante considerably in his semi-final showdown with the Rockstar as he averaged 101.79 and hit a 170 checkout during a 6-1 thumping.

Van Gerwen maintained the momentum into the final, where he averaged 103.89 and threw threw three 180s, and despite seeing an early 4-1 lead cut down to 5-4, he responded with a superb 11-darter to seal his second five-week haul in as many weeks.

MVG consoled Smith on the stage before revealing to Sky Sports that he'd told him that a major prize is just around the corner.

He said: "It's a matter of time before he wins a major. Simple as that."

As for himself, he added: "I feel good, and I feel comfortable on stage at the moment," said Van Gerwen. "I know what I'm capable of but sometimes you have to give yourself a bit of time to show it.

"It's always a good feeling to be top of the table, it gives you confidence.

"The way I'm playing, I feel like winning a big tournament is coming soon; hopefully it will be the Premier League but there's a long way to go."

Smith had suffered online abuse for how his latest major final against Danny Noppert unfolded in Minehead and after responding to the critics with a classy post on social media, he backed up his words on the oche.

He only needed an average of 91 to claim a resounding 6-1 win over former mentor Anderson, who sits firmly at the foot of the table with just one match win this season, and then dipped lower than 90 to ease past Clayton 6-2 but he certainly saved his best statistical performance for last with an average of 101 against van Gerwen.

The action in Brighton didn't feature Gerwyn Price due to a hand injury - although the Iceman insisted it was nothing to do with training for a charity boxing fight.

Cullen was awarded a 6-0 victory but the 'bonus' whitewash was almost completely undone with his 6-1 defeat at the hands of MVG.

In the night's other quarter-final tie, new world number one averaged almost 103 but somehow lost 6-5 to Clayton despite the Ferret managing just 92.32.

Premier League: Night Five Results & Averages

Night 5, Thursday March 10
The Brighton Centre
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

• Gary Anderson (85.71) 1-6 (90.89) Michael Smith
• Peter Wright (102.92) 5-6 (92.61) Jonny Clayton
• Michael Van Gerwen (96.41) 6-5 (92.32) James Wade
• Joe Cullen 6-0 Gerwyn Price * Gerwyn Price withdrew due to injury

Semi-Finals

• Michael Smith (89.19) 6-2 (90.25) Jonny Clayton
• Michael Van Gerwen (101.79) 6-1 (88.84) Joe Cullen

Final

• Michael Smith (100.61) 4-6 (103.89) Michael Van Gerwen

Premier League Table & Format

NW = Nights won, RU = Runner-up, SF = Semi-final defeats, MW = Matches won

1. MVG NW 2 RU 0 SF 2 MW 8 LegD +26 Pts 14
2. Wright NW 1 RU 1 SF 2 MW 6 LegD +5 Pts 10
3. Clayton NW 1 RU 1 SF 1 MW 6 LegD -3 Pts 10
4. Price NW 1 RU 0 SF 1 MW 4 LegD +1 Pts 7
5. Wade NW 0 RU 1 SF 2 MW 4 LegD -2 Pts 7
6. Cullen NW 0 RU 1 SF 1 MW 3 LegD -5 Pts 5
7. Smith NW 0 RU 1 SF 1 MW 3 LegD -5 Pts 5
8. Anderson NW 0 RU 0 SF 1 MW 1 LegD -11 Pts 2

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

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