Category: Darts Exhibitions
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
Latest League Table
| After Week 11 | P | W | D | L | +/- | LWAT | Pts |
| Michael van Gerwen | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | +27 | 32 | 20 |
| James Wade | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | +19 | 28 | 16 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | +10 | 31 | 15 |
| Phil Taylor | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | +9 | 30 | 13 |
| Robert Thornton | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | +2 | 25 | 11 |
| Andy Hamilton | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | -8 | 23 | 10 |
| Simon Whitlock | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | -8 | 23 | 10 |
| Adrian Lewis | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -19 | 18 | 7 |
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
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.
Robert Thornton stunned Phil Taylor with a brilliant performance in Brighton, while James Wade and Michael van Gerwen moved joint top of the McCoy’s Premier League on Thursday evening.
Thornton moved into the play-off places at the expense of world number one Taylor as the Scotsman continued to impress on his debut season.
The reigning UK Open champion averaged well over 100 for the second week running as he claimed an impressive 7-4 success over ‘The Power’.
The victory moved ‘The Thorn’ onto eleven points and third in the table, as attention turns to the race for the play-offs after Wes Newton and Gary Anderson suffered relegation.
“I’m very proud of myself,” admitted Thornton, who has now won three of his last four televised matches against Taylor.
“Not just for tonight but for how I’ve taken to the Premier League so far.
“It was a huge relief to have not been in the relegation fight tonight so I just relaxed an enjoyed myself.”
Wade defeated Anderson in convincing fashion, with ‘The Machine’ hitting seven out of eight attempts at doubles en route to a 7-3 triumph.
“It is going really well this year,” said Wade, the 2009 winner.
“It wasn’t nice to knock Gary out of the tournament but I had a job to do and I did it.
“It puts me in a good position to reach the play-offs.
“I’ve set myself a target of winning two majors this year and hopefully this can be the first of those.”
van Gerwen joined Wade at the summit of the table with victory over Simon Whitlock, who survived relegation despite the defeat.
Raymond van Barneveld claimed a comfortable victory over Adrian Lewis to join van Gerwen and Wade on twelve points, while Andy Hamilton defeated Newton in the other match of the evening.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Visit www.dartshop.tv for tickets to exclusive professional darts events featuring some of the stars of the Premier League.
| After Week Nine | P | W | D | L | +/- | LWAT | Pts |
| Michael van Gerwen | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +16 | 21 | 12 |
| James Wade | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +13 | 19 | 12 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +11 | 23 | 12 |
| Robert Thornton | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | +8 | 21 | 11 |
| Phil Taylor | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | +9 | 22 | 10 |
| Andy Hamilton | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | +2 | 18 | 10 |
| Adrian Lewis | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -12 | 14 | 7 |
| Simon Whitlock | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -15 | 16 | 6 |
| Relegated | |||||||
| Wes Newton | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -14 | 15 | 5 |
| Gary Anderson | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -18 | 13 | 5 |
It all started in Belfast back at the beginning of February when thousands of darts fans packed into the Odyssey Arena to see the best arrow flingers in the world showcase their talent.
Now, three of the stars of the incredibly popular Premier League Darts are heading back to the city to treat fans to another night of superb sporting entertainment.
Table-topping Dutch duo Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld spearhead the brilliant line-up on show at the inaugural Belfast Masters, which takes place at The Devenish Entertainment and Leisure Complex next Friday (5 April), to take on some local hopefuls and fellow professionals.
They will be joined by Simon Whitlock following the much-hyped ‘Judgement Night’ which will see hundreds of thousands of viewers tune in to see which two stars will suffer the fate of relegation from the Thursday night tournament.
Over a thousand fans are set to flock to the Devenish to see their darting heroes in more intimate surroundings, with VIP ticket holders getting the exclusive chance to meet the players.
Northern Ireland’s very own History Maker Brendan Dolan will also compete in the biggest darts show Belfast has ever seen aside from the Premier League itself.
Four local men have earned the right to share the stage with the darting elite. Gary Elliot, Dave McCusker and two players with the same name, John Elder, will take on the professionals in the main event, an eight-man knockout tournament.
The night will also see two challenge matches, including one between Northern Ireland Darts legends Geoff Wylie and John Magowan to warm up the crowd.
And van Gerwen, the leader of the Premier League, can’t wait to get back to Belfast.
“I’m really looking forward to going back for this event with a chance to meet the fans,” said ‘Mighty Mike’.
“I made me Premier League debut in Belfast and the crowd were really great to me so it will be great to be back.
“It will be a night of great darts, which we will all want to win but we will have a lot of fun too.
“Fans should snap up the remaining tickets as they won’t be disappointed.”
A range of ticket options are available and can be purchased directly from The Devenish (02890 301154) or via the event’s promoters MODUS Sports Management online at www.dartshop.tv or by calling the box office 08450 180 180.
A limited number of tickets will be made available on the door on the night of the event.
Darts will be back at the Devenish just a fortnight later when professional player Chris Mason takes to the stage for a charity night in support of Cedar Foundation on Saturday 20 April.
Michael van Gerwen and Robert Thornton both won UK Open qualifiers on a wonderful weekend for the Premier League pair in Wigan.
van Gerwen added Saturday’s title to the two he had previously won last month, before Thornton stopped his rampant run on Sunday and took the honours himself.
‘Mighty Mike’ saw off Michael Smith in Saturday’s final to clinch the £6,000 first prize after he had narrowly missed double twelve to nail a nine-dart-finish in an earlier round.
“It’s always nice to win a tournament like this and I’m delighted,” van Gerwen told PDC.tv
“I know I’m playing well and I’ve shown everyone again today.
“I was strong from the beginning but I played a lot of good players, like Simon Whitlock, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright. I’m full of confidence and I’m taking that into my games at the moment.”
The Dutch sensation looked set to continue is incredible run of success on the Pro Tour, having won UK Open qualifiers 1, 2 & 3 in addition to the final Players Championship event in 2012, before he ran into the brilliant Thornton in Sunday’s semi-finals.
Thornton, the reigning Speedy Services UK Open champion, claimed a 6-3 victory, before triumphing 6-4 against Jamie Caven in the final.
“I’m chuffed to bits to get the win,” said Thornton, who will be appearing alongside van Gerwen in the Portsmouth International Masters in June.
“It’s about time Michael let somebody else win!
“In all seriousness though it’s so tough now.
“The standard is incredible and it’s a proud day when you win one of these.
“It’s harder than winning your Premier League match on a Thursday night and in an odd way, playing in that tournament has prepared me for this!”
Both players will turn their attentions to night seven of the McCoy’s Premier League in Cardiff, where they are in action on Thursday.
There was also a strong showing from Paul Nicholson in both of the weekend’s events, with ‘The Asset’ reaching the quarter-finals on both days.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Raymond van Barneveld and Robert Thornton shared a draw in Manchester on Thursday, while Michael van Gerwen and Simon Whitlock enjoyed victories on night six of the McCoy’s Premier League.
‘Barney’ stayed at the top of the table after taking a point from his 6-6 draw with ‘The Thorn’, who bounced back after suffering his first defeat in his debut season a week earlier.
van Barneveld looked set to take victory in a game that included five consecutive breaks of throw but, with the Dutchman leading 6-4, Thornton hit fine finishes of 78 and 100 to share the spoils.
Fantastic finishing was the theme in a thrilling game between Whitlock and James Wade, which went the way of ‘The Wizard’ despite sensational checkouts of 170 and 144 from ‘The Machine’.
Whitlock eventually triumphed 7-4 as both players hit three finishes over 100.
And the Australian ace was delighted to come out on top in such a great game.
“It was a brilliant match and an important win,” said the world number five.
“I knew that I’d have to play great darts to beat James and it proved to be the case.
“He produced some class finishes and I had to deal with that and take some decent shots out myself.
“I felt I had to get at least a point tonight so it’s a huge win and I’ll have to play my best game again next week to beat Andy Hamilton, but that’s the Premier League for you!”
van Gerwen produced another brilliant performance to see off Wes Newton with an average of over 100 as he put last weeks defeat to Adrian Lewis behind him.
Lewis and Gary Anderson reached stalemate, while Phil Taylor was beaten by Andy Hamilton in the evening’s other match.
By Chris Murphy
Tickets are selling fast for an exciting summer darts event at The Pyramids featuring two of the stars of this year’s hugely popular Premier League.
Michael van Gerwen and Robert Thornton, who shared a draw in a thrilling match when they met in week two of the televised tournament, are the star attractions at the Portsmouth International Masters, which takes place on 20 June.
Joining Thornton and van Gerwen, who won the sold out Untouchables events at the same venue before Christmas, will be two more high profile stars in the form of charismatic duo Paul Nicholson and Ted Hankey.
Local professionals Andy Jenkins and Les Wallace will complete the line-up for what is set to be another fantastic night of top quality darts.
And Scotsman Thornton, the reigning UK Open Champion urged fans to make sure they don’t miss out.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to this one and I’ve heard it’s selling well so people wanting to attend should get in there quick.
“I didn’t play in the last event at the venue but have been told fantastic things from the players that did.
“It was sold-out and the crowd were fantastic by all accounts. I can wait to be part of something similar and I’ll be out to stop Michael (van Gerwen) taking the title this time!”
Tickets are still available by calling the box office on 08450 180 180 or via www.dartshop.tv or www.pyramids-live.co.uk
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