Michael van Gerwen failed to win the Premier League of Darts for the fourth time in a row. In Exeter he lost the quarter-final to reigning world champion Luke Humphries: 6-3.
The Premier League consists of 16 regular evenings and lasts until the end of May. Every week the participants play in a different city and eight darts players participate. Every evening consists of a knockout system. The first four players in the world rankings are automatically placed, the remaining places are allocated by the darts association PDC.
After his victories in Berlin, Glasgow and Newcastle, Van Gerwen started his mission in Exeter, in the southwest of England, with great confidence. Yet it was Humphries who made the first break in the fourth leg. Van Gerwen came back to 3-3, but then lost three legs in a row.
Mighty Mike is still in the lead in the general classification. After the last evening of play, the play-offs follow, in which the four highest ranked players participate. The darts player who wins the play-off final wins the Premier League. Van Gerwen has managed to do this seven times in his career so far, something that no other darts player has achieved.
Retired British darts legend Phil Taylor won the tournament ‘only’ six times.