Simon Whitlock and Michael van Gerwen both picked up Pro Tour victories in Wigan at the weekend.

Whitlock won Saturday’s UK Open Qualifier Five with an excellent final victory over van Gerwen, who went on to win Sunday’s event – his fourth success out of the six floor events played so far this year.

‘The Wizard’ produced some magic on Saturday to win through a tough field of players competing to gain entry for June’s UK Open.

He fought back from 5-1 down to defeat Ian White 6-5 in the quarter-finals before seeing off Peter Wright to reach the final, where he claimed an impressive 6-1 win against world number two van Gerwen.

“This is one of the best wins I’ve ever had. I’m absolutely thrilled to bits,” Whitlock told the PDC’s official website.

“I had a bit of luck earlier on but I played really well in the final and I’m over the moon.

“At 5-1 down against Ian White you don’t expect to win, but I somehow pulled one out of the bag and got there. You need a little bit of luck sometimes and I got that today, and I just rode with it.”

van Gerwen, whose run to Saturday’s final included a second victory in three days against World Champion Phil Taylor, clinched Sunday’s £6,000 first prize by edging past Kim Huybrechts in the final.

His best performance en route to glory was a 6-1 semi-final success over Michael Smith, with the Dutchman averaging over 112.

“I’m very proud of myself but I can still do better than this,” van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website.

“It feels so good to get another win. I’m very confident at the moment and that has a lot to do with it because I’m even winning bad games and I’m doing very well.

“I’m playing well and I’m happy with my form – in the semi-final against Michael Smith I threw some great darts. It was a fabulous game and I enjoyed it – but I still had to win the final and it was a very important win for me.”

Whitlock and van Gerwen will now turn their attentions back to the McCoy’s Premier League, which continues in Dublin on Thursday evening.

By Chris Murphy

VISIT SIMON WHITLOCK’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

VISIT MICHAEL VAN GERWEN’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE  

Michael van Gerwen moved clear at the top of the McCoy’s Premier League as James Wade, Simon Whitlock and Raymond van Barneveld all also grabbed important victories in Sheffield on Thursday evening.

van Gerwen claimed a brilliant triumph against world number one Phil Taylor before going on to edge out Wade, who had earlier seen off Adrian Lewis with an equally delightful display at the Motorpoint Arena.

van Gerwen, who also faces a double-header in Dublin next Thursday, was delighted with his evening’s exploits.

“To beat Phil Taylor in the Premier League was a huge moment for me,” said the world number two.

“I had targeted at least two points tonight so to go on and take on all four makes me very happy.

“I felt that I was much the better player against Phil and then I had to win a game that wasn’t as good against James.

“Maybe, playing twice affected us both but winning is the most important thing.”

The tenth night of action began with Whitlock, who survived a relegation scare last week, getting back to winning ways against Robert Thornton.

Wade then swept past Lewis with a 7-2 success, in which ‘The Machine’ averaged around 104 and hit five 180s before van Gerwen took to the stage against Taylor in a repeat of January’s World Championship final.

‘The Power’ prevailed on that occasion but ‘Mighty Mike’ stormed to victory in Yorkshire, also averaging 104 in a comfortable 7-3 triumph.

van Barneveld then earned a hard fought win against Andy Hamilton to leave himself tied on 14 points with Wade and van Gerwen at the top of the table.

It was van Gerwen who was to take a clear lead as he increased his tally to 16 with a 7-5 victory over the 2009 champion.

Next Thursday sees the tournament reach Dublin, where ‘Barney’ will take on Taylor and van Gerwen, who will also face Lewis.

Wade and Thornton will do battle at the O2, where Whitlock will play Hamilton.

By Chris Murphy

Visit Michael van Gerwen’s official website for further report and reaction

Visit James Wade’s official website for further report and reaction

Visit Raymond van Barneveld’s official website for further report and reaction

Visit Simon Whitlock’s official website for further report and reaction

Tickets to see some of the stars of Premier League Darts in exclusive events around the UK are available NOW at www.dartshop.tv

James Wade and Michael van Gerwen are both preparing for a double header in Sheffield, which sees the pair play their tenth and eleventh fixtures of the McCoy’s Premier League Darts season.

The top of the table duo are set to face each other in final fixture of the night in South Yorkshire, where Wade will also face Adrian Lewis and van Gerwen takes on Phil Taylor.

They are the first of the players who will have to play two fixtures in one evening following the elimination of Wes Newton and Gary Anderson in Brighton last Thursday.

‘Mighty Mike’, who lost out to Wade just a fortnight ago in Glasgow is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’d like to play five games every evening,” said van Gerwen, who is joint top of the league with Wade and Raymond van Barneveld.

“That’s not going to happen I know but I will enjoy playing two.

“I like to play darts and I like to win. I don’t really care about playing more games because I like darts and I don’t worry about anything apart from winning each game.”

Second-placed Wade also goes into the evening in fine form after defeating Anderson last week and hitting seven doubles out of eight attempts in the process.

“My finishing is going well,” said Wade, the 2009 champion.

“But my scoring is getting there as well now and I’m feeling great.

“I’ve still got a lot more in the locker so hopefully I will peak at the right time as I’m definitely in it to win it.”

van Barneveld, who secured a fine win over Lewis last Thursday, faces Andy Hamilton in Sheffield, while Robert Thornton, who currently occupies the other play-off slot takes on Judgement Night survivor Simon Whitlock.

By Chris Murphy

Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC

McCoy’s Premier League Darts Week Ten April 11 – Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield

Robert Thornton v Simon Whitlock

Adrian Lewis v James Wade

Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor

Andy Hamilton v Raymond van Barneveld

James Wade v Michael van Gerwen

See some of the stars of Premier League Darts in action at the Portsmouth International Masters – Tickets available from www.dartshop.tv or call 08450 180 180 now.