Jose de Sousa hit the second Premier League nine-darter in as many nights and also threw a record-equalling 11 maximums in a 6-6 draw with Nathan Aspinall.
The Special One was on the receiving end of Jonny Clayton's perfect leg during a 7-3 defeat on Wednesday night but he bounced back in sensational fashion by landing the 12th nine-darter in the competition's history.
It was also his second career televised perfect leg having managed the feat at last October's European Championship against Jeffrey de Zwaan. This means he's been involved in three of the last four on the big stage - with James Wade's effort against Stephen Bunting at the World Championship being the other.
October: Hits a TV nine-darter (Euro Champ)
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) April 8, 2021
Last night: Has a nine-darter hit against him by Clayton
Tonight: Hits a nine-darter against Aspinall
Jose de Sousa has been involved in three of the last four perfect legs on TV. pic.twitter.com/c6mYONaMyG
De Sousa achieved perfection in the second leg of the match when following up his back-to-back 180s with a magical 141 checkout but he was far from finished with the treble 20 bed.
The Grand Slam of Darts champion, who had also kicked off the opening leg of the match with back-to-back 180s before costly miscounting saw him fall 1-0 down, went on to hit another seven to take his tally to 11, which equalled a Premier League record set by Gary Anderson in 2011.
What a leg to lose for Jose De Sousa π€―π
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2021
Six perfect darts and then his counting demons come back to haunt him and he ends up losing the leg!
What a crazy start to this game pic.twitter.com/RAcB8BywBo
However, his 18 missed darts at doubles from 24 attempts let him down in terms of getting his first victory of the season as Aspinall, who managed just two maximums, dug deep from 5-3 and 6-5 down to earn a share of the spoils.
De Sousa averaged 100.95 compared to the Stockport star's 95.82 but his checkout percentage of 25% was inferior to Aspinall's 42.84% from just 14 attempts.
Premier League Nine-Dart Finishes
- 2006 - Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Manley, Bournemouth
- 2010 - Raymond van Barneveld v Terry Jenkins, Aberdeen
- 2010 - Phil Taylor x2 v James Wade, Wembley (Final)
- 2012 - Phil Taylor v Kevin Painter, Aberdeen
- 2012 - Simon Whitlock v Andy Hamilton, London
- 2016 - Adrian Lewis v James Wade, Belfast
- 2017 - Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld, Liverpool
- 2020 - Michael Smith v Daryl Gurney, Dublin
- 2020 - Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney, Milton Keynes
- 2021 - Jonny Clayton v Jose de Sousa, Milton Keynes
- 2021 - Jose de Sousa v Nathan Aspinall, Milton Keynes
MVG malfunctions against Machine
Michael van Gerwen's blistering start to the season came to a shuddering halt as he produced a performance of stark contrast to the previous night.
Having posted a stunning average of 107 in a 7-3 victory over Rob Cross, the world number two could only manage a mark of 90.91 in a 7-3 defeat to James Wade while he managed just a single 180 and missed eight of 11 attempts at double.
The Machine didn't play to his best either and didn't even hit one maximum but his finishing of 53.85% and three 100+ checkouts of 135, 121 and 120 proved to be the difference.
πππ₯π¦π§ πͺππ‘ ππ’π₯ πͺπππ!
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2021
James Wade gets his first win on the board as he beats Michael van Gerwen 7-3
Big win for Wade, but it was a frustrating night for MvG as he averaged just 90! pic.twitter.com/Wbo24HKA9K
Clayton caught cold by Voltage
Jonny Clayton suffered his first defeat of his debut Premier League season as an improving Rob Cross upset the odds to beat him 7-3.
A night after achieving a nine-darter, hitting seven of his nine doubles and averaging 105.26, the Ferret could only manage a mark of 95.98 in a contrasting performance which saw him spurn 13 of his 16 attempts to finish.
Cross only managed to convert 35% of his 20 and his pair of maximums was two fewer than his opponent's tally but after punishing Clayton's failure to take out 40 with three darts to make it 4-3, Voltage rattled off three more legs on the trot to pick up his second victory of the season.
πππ ππΆπ» π³πΌπΏ ππΏπΌππ
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2021
Rob Cross is just quietly going about his business in the 2021 Unibet Premier League!
A 7-3 victory over Jonny Clayton to end his unbeaten run and pick up his second victory. pic.twitter.com/wtKQniMZXo
Dancing Dimitri
Dimitri Van den Bergh tops the Premier League table after he maintained his unbeaten start to the campaign with a 6-6 draw against his former house-mate Peter Wright.
The World Matchplay champion, who lived at Snakebite's mansion during the first lockdown last year prior to landing the second biggest major in the sport, averaged 101.02 in another high-class display but his hopes of victory were ended when Wright hit a pair of maximums in the final leg that he won in 12 darts.
Van den Bergh never trailed and a big 160 checkout to complete a 12-darter put him 3-1 up before Wright responded with a fine 121 finish of his own to stay in touch.
The Belgian restored his two-leg advantage only for the Scotsman to get back on level terms at 4-4 and after that the next four legs went with throw.
Oh, that is a beauty!
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2021
A 160 Checkout from DImitri Van den Bergh to lead 3-1! pic.twitter.com/rQggRCMvem
More misery for Duzza
Glen Durrant's miserable start to the season continued as he lost his fourth match in a row against Gary Anderson.
The defending champion, who averaged just 87.9, now sits bottom of the table with a leg difference of minus 20 and it's hard to see him digging his way out of trouble even though he's only three points from safety at this stage of the season.
Anderson averaged an impressive 97.56 despite not needing to get out of second gear and the lack of pressure applied to him at the end of legs would have played its part in him pinning seven of his 12 attempts at doubles.
The Flying Scotsman also hit all four of the match's 180s although Duzza did manage the high checkout of 108.
ππ‘πππ₯π¦π’π‘ πͺππ‘π¦!
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 8, 2021
Gary Anderson gets another two points on the board as he Durrant 7-2.
A good win for Gary but more struggles for the reigning champion! pic.twitter.com/HQtkZRUTKP
2021 Premier League Darts Table
- Dimitri Van den Bergh P 4 W 2 D 2 L 0 LegD +9 Pts 6
- Nathan Aspinall P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +5 Pts 5
- Michael van Gerwen P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +5 Pts 5
- Jonny Clayton P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +4 Pts 5
- Rob Cross P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +4 Pts 5
- Gary Anderson P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1 LegD +4 Pts 5
- Peter Wright P 4 W 1 D 2 L 1 LegD -2 Pts 4
- James Wade P 4 W 1 D 1 L 2 LegD -3 Pts 3
- Jose de Sousa P 4 W 0 D 2 L 2 LegD -6 Pts 2
- Glen Durrant P 4 W 0 D 0 L 4 LegD -20 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.
Premier League Darts 2021: Thursday results and Friday schedule
Night 4, April 8
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-6 Peter Wright
- Jonny Clayton 3-7 Rob Cross
- Jose de Sousa 6-6 Nathan Aspinall
- James Wade 7-3 Michael van Gerwen
- Gary Anderson 7-2 Glen Durrant
Night 5, April 9
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Gary Anderson v Jonny Clayton
- Peter Wright v Rob Cross
- Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
- James Wade v Glen Durrant
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jose de Sousa
