secured his first point of the season, only to see Simon get off the mark
despite adding his fourth maximum in the seventh leg.
Lewis soon finished the job off however, taking the eighth leg to
position himself second in the early standings.
“It’s a belting start for me to beat a player like Simon so well,” said
Lewis. “I was trying to get the whitewash - I was annoyed with myself
when Simon won a leg!”
“Since I lost to Michael van Gerwen in the World Championship semifinals, I haven’t been off the practice board. Michael was the better
player on the night, but I’ve tried to put it right.”
“This is a new season and a new me, and I’m looking to the future.”
The Verdict
If I was to take one overriding impression away from the opening night
of this season’s Betway Premier League it would be that it is set to be
the most competitive yet, the debutants both impressed, Michael van
Gerwen was awesome and even those that lost matches showed they
have a lot to offer.
Photo: Mike Glover/UK Darts Magazine
Raymond van Barneveld justified his selection as a Sky Sports wildcard
with his awesome performance, whilst Michael van Gerwen made a
perfect start as he looks to defend his title.
Phil Taylor will be back, he is playing under intense media scrutiny and
with new darts and despite the scoreline he still averaged in excess of
100. Watch out for him picking up some huge wins in future weeks and
expect to see him back in the top four in the not too distant future.
Both debutants impressed me with confident performances. Dave
Chisnall was without a TV win since October and was put under
pressure by Robert Thornton. Chizzy, though had all of the answers
and despite one or two questioning his selection he showed just
why he is the current World Number 5.
Peter Wright too was impressive in landing a debut
victory and fellow Scotsman Gary Anderson was
unlucky to run i