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Champions League of Darts: Phil Taylor wins twice as MVG bounces back from defeat to Barney
Phil Taylor beat Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld on day one of the Champions League of Darts but Michael van Gerwen remains favourite despite suffering a defeat.
Click here for how day one unfolded with our daily blog, which includes match stats from every game!
And in Group B of the stellar eight-man event, Mensur Suljovic booked his place in the semi-finals with a game to spare as he enjoyed one of the finest days of his career by shocking both Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.
Taylor, 57, is playing his last tournament on the BBC ahead of his retirement at the end of the season but he put himself in with a great chance of a happy ending as he kicked off his title defence with a hard-fought 10-7 victory over Jackpot in Group A before following it up with a 10-6 triumph over his old Dutch foe.
Van Barneveld had earlier stunned van Gerwen with a surprisingly resounding 10-5 scoreline, which included checkouts of 120, 136 and 130 but the world number one bounced back by brushing aside Lewis 10-4 to reignite his hopes of reaching the semi-finals. The standout moment was a 170 checkout from an otherwise rusty Lewis, who is making his return following two months following back surgery.
The world champion is Sky Bet's even-money favourite but must now beat his arch-rival Taylor, who beat him twice during last year's inaugural staging of the event en route to the title as well as pummelling him 16-6 at this summer's World Matchplay, to ensure his progression although he could go through in defeat, but only if Barney also loses by a heavier scoreline.
He told the PDC: "It will be really difficult against Phil and I need to make sure I win and show everyone what I can do. Tomorrow is a totally different day but I will prepare myself because it will be tough. I'm looking forward to it. It's a long tournament and I want to win it, but I think I'm in a lovely position at the moment."
The Power, the 11/4 second favourite, could feasibly bow out if he suffers a trouncing but he'll be more focused on topping the group and making it eight victories out of eight in this tournament's young history having won all five matches last year.
He said: "I've done well today. To win two games today in a group with Adrian, Barney and Michael is unbelievable and I want to carry it on tomorrow when I play Michael. I'm really looking forward to my next game. It's a big day on Sunday but I'm only focusing on the game against Michael at the moment."
Champions Leauge of Darts: Story of the odds
Here's a look at Sky Bet's current title odds in comparison to pre-tournament and after the opening round of matches;
- Michael van Gerwen - 1/1 from 5/4 from 4/5
- Phil Taylor - 11/4 from 7/2 from 5/1
- Gary Anderson -6/1 from 8/1 from 9/2
- Peter Wright - 8/1 from 4/1 from 6/1
- Mensur Suljovic - 10/1 from 12/1 from 40/1
- Raymond van Barneveld - 12/1 from 12/1 from 33/1
- Adrian Lewis - 100/1 from 50/1 from 25/1
- Dave Chisnall - N/A from 50/1 from 33/1
In Group B, the star of the show was Sky Bet's pre-tournament 40/1 outsider Suljovic, who upset the odds to crush world number two Anderson 10-3 with the help of a 157 checkout during the afternoon session before holding his nerve to sink UK Open champion Wright 10-8.
Snakebite, the world number three, was also odds-on to see off the awkward Austrian after he'd comfortably seen off Dave Chisnall 10-5 earlier in the day thanks to six maximums and an average of over 101 but he too suffered a shock defeat that few saw coming.
Suljovic, who on this evidence is now a real contender to win his first prestigious televised crown, lit up the venue with 10 180s against Wright as he averaged 102.77 and he's now guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals thanks to his first victim's 10-7 win over the now-eliminated Chizzy.
The 45-year-old told the PDC: "I'm so happy. I played well today and to beat Gary Anderson and Peter Wright is a big moment in my career.
"I played a very focused game against Peter Wright but first to ten legs is a good format and I was concentrated. It's a long tournament but anything could happen on Sunday - I'm just a normal player but I'm playing well."
With Anderson and Wright renewing their heated rivalry in a winner-takes-all showdown on Sunday afternoon, Suljovic can only potentially be caught by the victor but the current leg difference means he could easily hold on to top spot even if he loses his 'dead rubber' against Chizzy.
Anderson really struggled to deal with Suljovic's slow play, missing nine of his darts at doubles and lacking consistency with his scoring, but he fared much better against Chisnall with an average of 101.8.
By Chris Hammer
Champions League of Darts tables
Seedings in brackets
GROUP A
- Phil Taylor (4) P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +7 Pts 4
- Raymond van Barneveld (8) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
- Michael van Gerwen (1) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +1 Pts 2
- Adrian Lewis (6) P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -9 Pts 0
GROUP B
- Mensur Suljovic (7) P 2 W 2 L 0 LegDiff +9 Pts 4
- Peter Wright (3) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff +3 Pts 2
- Gary Anderson (2) P 2 W 1 L 1 LegDiff -4 Pts 2
- Dave Chisnall (6) P 2 W 0 L 2 LegDiff -8 Pts 0
Saturday's results mean that there are two scenarios where there could be a three-player nine-dart shoot-out on stage to determine which players progress from Group A.
Wins by a 10-7 scoreline for Van Barneveld against Lewis and Van Gerwen against Taylor would leave the two Dutchmen and Taylor tied on four points and +4 leg difference, meaning that two players would progress from the nine-dart shoot-out.
A 10-5 win for Lewis over Van Barneveld, coupled with a 10-5 win for Taylor against Van Gerwen would see Taylor qualify automatically with his three rivals then facing a nine-dart shoot-out for the second semi-final spot.
Taylor, though, would qualify for the semi-finals if he wins eight legs against Van Gerwen.
Champions League of Darts: Schedule, TV & Results
Saturday September 16
Afternoon Session
Group Stage (Best of 19 legs)
Live on BBC 1 from 1315-1630 BST
- Peter Wright 10-5 Dave Chisnall (Group B)
- Gary Anderson 3-10 Mensur Suljovic (Group B)
- Phil Taylor 10-7 Adrian Lewis (Group A)
- Michael van Gerwen 5-10 Raymond van Barneveld (Group A)
Evening Session
Group Stage (Best of 19 legs)
Live on BBC 2 from 1845-2215 BST
- Gary Anderson 10-7 Dave Chisnall (Group B)
- Peter Wright 8-10 Mensur Suljovic (Group B)
- Phil Taylor 10-6 Raymond van Barneveld (Group A)
- Adrian Lewis 4-10 Michael van Gerwen (Group A)
Sunday September 25
Afternoon Session
Group Stage (Best of 19 legs)
Live on BBC 2 from 1315-1630 BST
- Dave Chisnall (10/11) v Mensur Suljovic (10/11) (Group B)
- Gary Anderson (4/6) v Peter Wright (6/5) (Group B)
- Adrian Lewis (11/10) v Raymond van Barneveld (8/11) (Group A)
- Phil Taylor (23/10) v Michael van Gerwen (1/3) (Group A)
Evening Session
Knockout Stages (Best of 21 legs)
Live on BBC 2 from 1830-2200 BST
Semi-Finals
- Winner Group A v Runner-Up Group B
- Winner Group B v Runner-Up Group A
Final
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2