Michael van Gerwen loses ‘phenomenal match’ in Premier League: ‘Still not the win I wanted’ | Sport

Last week, on opening night in Cardiff, Van Gerwen went straight down in the quarter-finals against Gary Anderson. In Liverpool, the three-time world champion and number three in the world was in better form.

On social media, Van Gerwen reacted briefly to his performance on game night two. “It was better than last week, but I still don’t have the win I wanted,” said the three-time world champion. ,,Credits to Jonny (Clayton, ed.), it was a phenomenal match. Thanks for all the support in Liverpool.”

World champion Peter Wright was the opponent in the quarterfinals. Both men had to come in for a while, but Van Gerwen was on the lesson at the important moments and took a 3-0 lead. The fourth leg still went to snakebitebut Mighty Mike then won three more legs in a row and waltzed over Wright: 6-1. With an average of almost 103 (compared to less than 85 of Wright), Van Gerwen was supreme.

A lap later, Van Gerwen got a lot more opposition from Clayton. In a semi-final with high-quality darts came Mighty Mike on a 4-1 lead, but partly due to some nice finishes Clayton turned the tide. The Ferret won five legs in a row and qualified for the final of the second match night at the expense of the Dutchman. Van Gerwen did take his first two points of this edition of the Premier League.

Clayton, last year’s Premier League winner, took on Joe Cullen, a debutant at the prestigious PDC tournament, in the final in Liverpool. The Rockstar came in the semi-final against Gerwyn Price, the world number one, trailing 5-2, but won four legs in a row to The Iceman defeat.

Against Clayton, however, Cullen gave up a lead. The Englishman, number eleven in the world, led 2-0 and 3-1, but then gave up his own leg three times in a row. For example, the victory on match night two of the Premier League of Darts went to Clayton. The Welshman is also the new leader in the standings. View all results and standings below.

Quarter-finals (first to 6 legs)
Peter Wright – Michael van Gerwen 1-6
Jonny Clayton – Michael Smith 6-3
James Wade – Joe Cullen 3-6
Gerwyn Price – Gary Anderson 6-3

Semi-finals (first to 6 legs)
Van Gerwen – Clayton 4-6
Cullen – Price 6-5

Final (first to 6 legs)
Clayton – Cullen 6-4

The Premier League will be played under a new format this year. Each round the darters play a mini-tournament according to a knock-out system, starting with four quarter-finals. The semi-finalists receive two points, the finalist three points and the winner five points. Whoever loses in the quarterfinals goes home without points. Wright won the first round last week.

Want to relive game night two of the Premier League of Darts? Read the live blog below:

Watch our videos about the World Cup darts below.