Premier League: Week 1
Photo: Mike Glover/UK Darts Magazine
“I’m very happy with that,” said van Barneveld, who took out 70 percent
of his darts at a double. “Gary had a great weekend in Germany so I
had to play that well to keep him at arms length.”
“In the first couple of legs I scored brilliantly and every double went in,
and Gary said there was nothing he could do about it.”
“The nine-darter was very close and I really wanted to hit one here
because it’s a great venue, but I had a couple of 11-darters and I’m
delighted with the performance.”
“If I believe in myself week in, week out, I know I can win this league,
I really do believe that.”
Michael van Gerwen 7-0 Phil Taylor
Yes you read it right! Michael van Gerwen was relentless on night one
of this season’s campaign, the Dutchman averaged 109.59 as he blew
away Taylor, who was using new darts developed by new sponsor Target
Darts for the first time on TV.
Taylor himself averaged over 100 but was broken on four occasions as
his doubling let him down, indeed he missed all four of the chances
that an impeccable van Gerwen allowed him.
Van Gerwen on the other hand was the exact opposite, landing 78% of
his double attempts as he racked up leg after leg on his way to moving
to the top of the table.
“To start the Premier League with a 7-0 win over Phil Taylor is
amazing,”admitted van Gerwen. “I hope I can keep up this form for
the next 15 weeks!”
“All the pressure was on me and I was the favourite
after winning the World Championship, but that
didn’t bother me and I played well.
“Phil didn’t play his top game but I played
really well and finished everything. I can’t
remember anyone beating Phil 7-0 before
but he’ll be back - he’s a true great and
he’s won 16 World Championships, but it
might take him a few weeks to get used to
his new darts.”
Adrian Lewis 7-1 Simon Whitlock
In the final match of the evening a solid
performance from Adrian Lewis proved to be far
too much for an off colour Simon Whitlock, who
was suffering from a heavy cold.
Lewis landed three 180s as he raced into a 6-0 lead and
“To start the
Premier League
with a 7-0 win
over Phil Taylor is
amazing”
Michael van Gerwen