Michael van Gerwen finally showed what he is capable of. The darts player from Vlijmen was unapproachable in the fourth round of the Premier League on Thursday evening. He successively wiped the floor with Johnny Clayton, Michael Smith and world champion Peter Wright.
Van Gerwen started the evening against leader Clayton. De Vlijmenaar himself started the evening as number five in the ranking. That difference was not reflected in the oche. Clayton didn’t get a chance from Van Gerwen. After about ten minutes of darts there was a 6-1 victory for Van Gerwen on the scoreboard.
In the semi-finals, the darts player from Brabant met Michael Smith. On paper a favorable opponent as the Englishman was still scoreless for this evening. Smith also had no chance against Van Gerwen. Pretty soon it was 3-0 for the Vlijmenaar. Smith seemed to come back into the game for a while, but the Dutchman was on time. He eventually won 6-2.
Impressive final
It was the first time for Van Gerwen that he reached the final in the current Premier League format. In the past, darts players played once in an evening, but since this year they are playing in a tournament format.
World champion Wright waited in the final. In round two, Van Gerwen was already too strong for the Scot and he won again on Thursday evening. De Brabander won without losing a leg. His finish percentage in particular was top notch: 75%.
Back in shape?
Thanks to the victory of the day, Van Gerwen takes the full loot of five points. As a result, he rises after a second place by only one point behind the number one. After sixteen rounds of play, the top four darts players play a play-off to determine who will win the Premier League.
It will also feel good for Van Gerwen as he is coming out of a difficult phase. In 2021 he did not win a single tournament. This success of the day may not be comparable to winning a major tournament, but the game shown above all offers more than enough perspective.