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James Wade was the star of the show at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Thursday, as ‘The Machine’ completed only the third whitewash in McCoy’s Premier League history, with an 8-0 victory over Simon Whitlock.

Photo: Lawerence Lustig/PDC

Raymond van Barneveld suffered defeat at the hands of Adrian Lewis, but all three MODUS stars now occupy the play-off spots and are in strong positions to reach the semi-finals.

Wade, who won the tournament in 2009, moved up to second in the table with a clinical performance, and greeted his victory with admirable humility.

“I’m really pleased with how I played but it’s not nice as a professional to beat another player 8-0,” said the world number three. “I could see Simon was struggling but I had to get the job done.

“It’s not nice to beat anyone by that score and I really hope it never happens again. Simon is one of my best friends in darts.

“I’m probably not as ruthless as other players but that’s not in my nature. It’s a good win for me though and it could be important when we get to the play-offs.”

Whitlock now occupies fourth spot, while van Barneveld is third after losing out to Lewis. ‘The Wizard’, ‘Barney’ and ‘The Machine’ are all tied on eight points after eight nights of action.

Photo: Lawerence Lustig/PDC

Lewis, who was playing twice in the absence of Gary Anderson, had lost to Andy Hamilton in the night’s opening match. Runaway leader Phil Taylor extended his unbeaten run with victory over Kevin Painter.

The evening had begun with a moving tribute to the late Jocky Wilson, as the players joined the Cardiff crowd in a minute’s applause for the two-time world champion, who passed away last week.

The darting elite head to Nottingham next Thursday, where Wade takes on Lewis, Whitlock faces Anderson and van Barneveld is up against Painter.

By Chris Murphy

Latest League Table

P W D L +/- Pts
Phil Taylor 8 7 1 0 +35 15
James Wade 8 4 0 4 -1 8
Raymond van Barneveld 8 3 2 3 -4 8
Simon Whitlock 8 3 2 3 -7 8
Adrian Lewis 9 2 3 4 -7 7
Gary Anderson 7 3 0 4 +2 6
Kevin Painter 8 3 0 5 -9 6
Andy Hamilton 8 2 2 4 -9 6

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