Michael van Gerwen can secure his place at the McCoy’s Premier League play-off finals with a positive result in Birmingham, where James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld will be looking to move closer to cementing their places inside the top four.

Simon Whitlock and Robert Thornton are also in the race to compete in the tournament’s finale in May ahead of the twelfth night of action on Thursday.

League leader van Gerwen is hoping to celebrate his 24th birthday by obtaining the point that would guarantee his place at London’s O2 in next month’s finals night but his opponent Simon Whitlock knows the importance of securing victory to keep his own bid alive.

Whitlock, who hit a nine-dart finish in last year’s play-offs and finished as runner-up, faces a double-header against world number two van Gerwen and the highest ranked player, Phil Taylor. But ‘The Wizard’ insisted that he is not daunted by the challenge.

“I’ve got the top two players in the world rankings but I’ll be looking to do some damage,” warned Whitlock, who has claimed back-to-back victories since surviving relegation.

“I know that I can beat both of these guys but you’ve got to play one match at a time. I need to get at least six points out of my next five matches to have a chance of reaching the play-offs but I’m going in the right direction.”

Second and third place will go head to head in Birmingham as Wade and van Barneveld clash at the NIA.

After the pair shared a draw in their previous meeting, Wade is confident of getting a result against the Dutch star.

“I won’t lose to him,” said ‘The Machine’, speaking to www.pdc.tv

“We drew the last time we played and I was awful. I had gastroenteritis and hadn’t slept for two days and I still got a draw.

“He has been getting good results but I don’t think he is at his very best and I’m starting to get closer to mine so I look forward to playing him.”

Thornton takes on Stoke pair Andy Hamilton and Adrian Lewis and is looking to close the gap on the top four, or even climb back into it, after falling two points behind fourth-placed Taylor.

“My focus is on the reaching the play-offs now,” said the Scottish ace.

“That can only be achieved one game at a time though and it starts again with a tough match on Thursday.

“A win against Andy started what has been an amazing first season in the McCoy’s Premier League for me and hopefully another one can kick-start my play-off push.

“Whatever happens then I have to prepare for Adrian Lewis. It will be a difficult night but it could be a very sweet one if it goes right.”

Taylor and Lewis face each other in the evening’s other match.

By Chris Murphy

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

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James Wade and Michael van Gerwen tightened their hold on McCoy’s Premier League play-off positions, while Simon Whitlock kept himself in the race on Thursday evening in Dublin.

Wade secured a 7-4 victory against Robert Thornton to move onto 16 points in second place behind van Gerwen, who increased his lead at the top to four points with two wins at the O2.

‘Mighty Mike’, who also claimed four points in Sheffield last week, upped his debut season tally to 20 with triumphs over Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis.

The Dutch star averaged over 106 in his 7-4 success against ‘Barney’, who shared a draw with Phil Taylor to boost his bid to stay in the top four.

Whitlock earned an impressive 7-3 victory over Andy Hamilton, who had lost out to Taylor in the opening match of the night.

van Gerwen, whose exploits included finishes of 152 and 158, admitted his delight at his Dublin double.

“This is the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of and it felt great,” said van Gerwen who also won a UK Open qualifier last Sunday.

“My confidence is high and I’m very happy with how I’ve done in this Premier League.

“I have great people behind me and I am enjoying everything at the moment.

“It is difficult playing two games but I’ve won them both times and now I just need to win once every week.”

The race for May’s finals night continues in Birmingham next Thursday.

By Chris Murphy

Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Further match reports and reaction can be found on the players’ official websites:

www.jameswade.co.uk    www.simonwhiltock.tv    www.michaelvangerwen.tv    www.robertthornton.tv    www.barneyuk.tv

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Michael van Gerwen is hoping to extend his lead at the top of the McCoy’s Premier League with another double-header in Dublin, where James Wade, Robert Thornton, Raymond van Barneveld and Simon Whitlock will bid to boost their play-off chances.

van Gerwen, who took four points from two matches in Sheffield last week, faces van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis on the eleventh night of action in what is proving to be a fabulous debut season for the young Dutchman.

Victories over Wade and World Champion Phil Taylor pulled ‘Mighty Mike’ two points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the table and the reigning World Grand Prix champion has his eyes set on increasing that advantage in front of 10,000 fans at the O2 Arena.

He told the PDC’s official website: “I’m top of the table now and I want to keep my place there.

“I’m really happy with how I’m playing and I’m very confident at the moment.

“Last week was a difficult night for me but I walked away with four points against Phil Taylor and James Wade, and it would be great to do it again in Dublin.

“I like to play Raymond, and I think it’s a game that everyone else likes to see at the moment too because we’ve had some great matches in the Grand Slam final and at the Premier League earlier this year.

“I’m looking forward to playing Adrian too because he beat me earlier this season, so it would be nice to win this time. It’s two big games for me in a great venue and I’m going to enjoy it.”

Second-placed Wade goes head to head with Thornton, who is currently occupying the final play-off spot.

van Barneveld faces the tough task of taking on van Gerwen and Taylor in the same evening, while Whitlock is hoping victory against Andy Hamilton can put him firmly in the race for May’s finals night.

“It’s another huge game against somebody above me in the table,” said the Australian, who won a UK Open qualifying tournament at the weekend.

“Andy is a tremendous player and really tough to beat because he is so gritty.

“I’ve got eight points at the moment and am probably going to need at least 15 or 16 to make the top four.

“There’s a lot of work to do but there’s still six games left for me to play and a lot can happen in that time.”

By Chris Murphy

Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Updates from the McCoy’s Premier League will be available as usual via twitter: @modusdarts180 , Facebook and here at www.modusdarts.tv

Match reports and reaction can be found on the players’ official websites:

www.jameswade.co.uk    www.simonwhiltock.tv    www.michaelvangerwen.tv    www.robertthornton.tv    www.barneyuk.tv