Premier League Night 3: Glasgow
Thursday night saw the Premier League return and this time the roadshow was off to Glasgow in Scotland for the third night of action as eight of the biggest stars in darts fight it out on the quest to be this years’ Premier League champion. This week Michael van Gerwen comes into it looking for back-to-back wins however, he takes on home hero Peter Wright in the opening game as the Scotsman looks to kick start his season.
Quarterfinals
Rob Cross 6 – 4 Michael Smith
The opening game of the night saw Rob Cross take on Michael Smith in what turned out to be a quite low-quality affair by Premier League standards as both players missed a myriad of doubles and had averages around the low ninety mark as Rob Cross beat night one winner Smith leaving his position at the top of the table vulnerable.
Michael van Gerwen 6 – 2 Peter Wright
The second game saw last weeks’ winner Michael van Gerwen take on Peter Wright with the Scotsman playing on home territory and looking to ignite his campaign after failing to pick up a point however, ultimately it wasn’t to be and despite low averages Michael van Gerwen was able to run to victory and move through to the Semi-finals.
Nathan Aspinall 3 – 6 Luke Humphries
Nathan Aspinall another player yet to make it past the opening game in any of his premier league games so far this year looked to get some points on the board against Luke Humphries however, the reigning World Champion was never going to be an easy game and with an average in excess of 105 it was the highest ranked player in the world who progressed.
Gerwyn Price 6 – 5 Luke Littler
Gerwyn Price took on Luke Littler in the final of the nights’ quarterfinals, Price had been embroiled in controversy throughout the week after he withdrew from the opening day of the Pro Tour season as he felt the venue was too cold. Nonetheless, he managed to put all that aside for the evening as he beat Luke Littler after Littler missed darts to win the game. With Littler’s loss it means that every player in the league this season has been knocked out in the opening game at least once and it has only taken three weeks to get to that point.
Semi-finals
Rob Cross 4 – 6 Michael van Gerwen
The first semi-final was contested between two players who performed well below their best in the opening game of the night, and it looked like that might continue for van Gerwen as this game began with a very average opening leg which Cross won in 17 darts without Michael even getting a look in. Then in the second leg a myriad of errors at the end of the leg could of cost him but due to Cross this time putting in an average leg it allowed Michael to hold in 18 darts. The third leg was much of the same story as Cross held in 18 darts with errors at the end of the leg from van Gerwen before he truly clicked into gear, easily holding in the next leg before breaking for the first time in the next leg. After this Cross never managed to close the gap to his opponent and eventually that was enough for the Dutchman to close out the semi-final and win 6-4 to move forward into his second consecutive Premier League night final, he also with this victory moved to the top of the Premier League table.
Luke Humphries 6 – 3 Gerwyn Price
In the second semi-final we saw Luke Humphries take on Gerwyn Price with the former looking to make his first final of the year while Price was seeking his second final following him losing out to Michael Smith on the opening night. The first five legs of the game went with throw before Humphries made the breakthrough in the sixth leg to open up a gap at 4-2, Gerwyn Price did break straight back but a thirteen darts break in reply from Humphries proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Price and Luke Humphries closed out the game in style with a thirteen dart hold of throw to move into the final.
Final
Michael van Gerwen 6 – 5 Luke Humphries
The final was therefore contested between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries and it was to be seen whether Michael van Gerwen would win his second consecutive Premier League night or would Luke Humphries win his first, in the end it was an incredibly close game and unlike last week where it felt like every game was going all the way this week this was one of only two games that went all the way to a last leg decider. Throughout the game Humphries consistently outscored his opponent in fact ending up with an average eight points higher than that of Michael van Gerwen and both players were missing doubles throughout the game, it was, in the end the advantage of throwing first that secured van Gerwen the game and the match as the game went to a last leg decider. The player’s exchanged breaks of throw in the opening two legs and then exchanged holds of throw before Humphries again broke and this time opened up daylight with a hold that saw him lead 4-2. Following missed from both players Michael van Gerwen held his throw and then found a break of his own and the game was tied from there everything went with throw and a low-quality leg from Humphries that saw him on 147 after twelve darts thrown all but sealed his fate as Michael van Gerwen did the double and won night three of the Premier League.
After this week the table is becoming increasingly clear but there is still a long way to go, Nathan Aspinall and Peter Wright are still rock bottom with neither yet to pick up a victory while Michael van Gerwen has managed to ignite his campaign after his poor opening night and is now three points clear at the top of the table. Elsewhere in the table Luke Humphries has managed to climb into the playoff spots at the expense of Gerwyn Price but of course it is unlikely that the table will remain unchanged with fourteen weeks still to play.
Up next in the darts world, the Pro Tour continues with more players championship events this time in Leicester, while elsewhere the World Senior Darts Tour will crown their third World Champion over the weekend. Before the Premier League returns next Thursday for its first night of action in England as we head to the party city of Newcastle.