MVG Wins Third Night of the Season to Go Clear at the Top
Michael van Gerwen won yet another night in the Premier League Darts, beating James Wade 6-1 in the final as the competition headed for Leeds on Night 9. The Dutchman moves three points clear at the top of the league after becoming the first player to win three nights in the competition.
The Dutchman missed just three darts in the final, after receiving a BYE in his Quarter Final tie with opponent Gary Anderson withdrawing from Night 9 after testing positive for COVID.
The opening match saw World Number 1 Peter Wright beat World Number 4 Michael Smith 6-2 in which Snakebite averaged 103.99 as well as missing just three darts at double in the entire match.
Bully Boy came out of the traps flying, threatening a nine darter in the opening leg of the match hitting six perfect darts. He settled for an 11 darter on double tops to hold throw in a very impressive start for the St Helens born darting star.
From then on though, Wright began to take charge of the match finishing 84 in the second leg with just two darts, taking out double twelve before finishing 108 on double sixteen to take a 5-1 lead in the match after Smith missed two darts at double.
The world number one closed out the game on double twelve to win, after Smith produced a champagne shot in hitting two double nineteens to take the seventh leg just before.
Jonny Clayton knew going into his match with Joe Cullen that he needed to win, after van Gerwen gained 2 points with Anderson’s withdrawal. The Ferret levelled with the Dutchman at the top of the league after beating James Wade in the final of night 8 in Birmingham last week.
Clayton started strong and broke the throw on 66 taking double four with his last dart to take a 2-1 lead in the match. He then held throw in the next leg finishing on double ten to go 3-1 up in Leeds.
The Welshman levelled with van Gerwen at the top beating Cullen 6-1 averaging 98.25 and won the match hitting a score of 150 to leave double sixteen which pressured Cullen into missing two darts at double four in front of the Yorkshire faithful.
Clayton came back to the oche and hit double 16 with his second dart to deal The Rockstar his first Quarter Final defeat since Nottingham on Night 6.
James Wade beat Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the final Quarter Final, despite Price averaging 7 points more than the Englishman in the match. The Iceman showcased his unbelievable ability on the oche by hitting a score of 177, before taking 50 in two to finish an eleven-dart leg to make it 1-1 with Wade.
It was The Machine though who made it through in Leeds showing his ability on his combination finishing, taking out 96 in two darts on double eighteen to take the eleventh and deciding leg to book his place in the Semi Finals against Clayton.
Michael van Gerwen took to the Leeds stage for the first time on the night, when he played Peter Wright in the first Semi Final, and defeated the Scotsman 6-3 despite averaging 90.74.
The Dutchman treated the Leeds crowd to five 180s on the oche, with Wright also taking out 96 in what was the highest checkout in the match.
Van Gerwen made it to yet another final in the ninth leg as he finishes double tops with his last dart in hand to earn a guaranteed 3 points going into the last match of the night.
It was to be back-to-back Final appearances for James Wade, after he beat joint league leader Jonny Clayton 6-4 allowing Michael van Gerwen to overtake the Welshman and take the lead at the top of the table.
The Ferret showed his unbelievable ability on checkout shots, finishing double sixteen with his last dart to take out 66 and level the match.
Wade threatened a nine darter in the eighth leg after hitting scores of 177 and 180 before missing his first dart at treble in the combination outshot. Wade returned to finish a 72 checkout on double twelve and move within one leg of the match to take a 5-3 lead.
The Machine was ruthless in all his matches whenever he left double ten, and he hit that segment once more to reach the final and get his revenge on Clayton after the Welshman beat him in the final on night 8 last week.
Mighty Mike was in no mood to mess about on the oche and showed why in the second leg, instantly breaking the Wade throw taking out 68 on the bullseye to take a 2-0 lead in the final.
He then took tops with two darts to finish 52 after Wade left himself on the same segment to try and pressure the van Gerwen shot.
The Englishman did get a leg on the board in the fourth leg, finishing 84 in two just to hold throw against van Gerwen.
The Dutchman averaged 103.87 and included three 180s in the Final, as he sealed a 6-1 win hitting a score of 171 before taking out double four on his second dart to win the £10,000 bonus heading into Barnsley on Saturday and Manchester for Week 10 next week where he will face Jonny Clayton in the Quarter Finals.
The Darting action returns for Pro Tour Events 12 and 13 in Barnsley once more at the weekend with van Gerwen looking to build on his two wins so far in 2022. The WDF World Championships are also available to watch on Eurosport and Quest as the competition reaches the Quarter Final stage of both the men and lady’s competition.
Results:
Quarter Finals:
Peter Wright 6-2 Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Gary Anderson (BYE)
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Joe Cullen
James Wade 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Semi Finals:
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Peter Wright
James Wade 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Final:
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 James Wade
League Table:
Michael Van Gerwen: 22pts
Jonny Clayton: 19pts
Peter Wright: 18pts
James Wade: 13pts
Joe Cullen: 12pts
Gerwyn Price: 9pts
Michael Smith: 8pts
Gary Anderson: 7pts
—–ENDS—–
Image: S O’Connor / PDC
Words: Harry Masterson.
