Seldom has the Premier League Darts final been so exciting as this Monday night. Michael van Gerwen played the leading role by winning the Premier League for the sixth time. He did that after a blistering final against Joe Cullen.
In the semi-finals Van Gerwen started very poorly. In the very first leg of the match, he averaged 61. Fortunately, he recovered very quickly as the leg after that, his average was almost doubled. The Brabanter did not get into trouble. At 4-3, he broke James Wade and ran out to a 10-4 win pretty quickly.
In the final, Van Gerwen surprisingly faced Joe Cullen who had defeated Jonny Clayton in the semi-final. At 3-1, the resident of Vlijmen got the chance to run to 4-1 including two breaks, but missed two darts on double 16. A few minutes later it was 3-3 again and Cullen was back in the game.
Blood curdling exciting
Despite the missed opportunities, the former number one in the world continued to throw well. He showed resilience and took the lead in the break: 6-4. But after the break, the Dutchman came back badly. Very quickly it was 6-6 again. It was a real cracker, with 11 legs needed to win.
In the legs after that, both darters kept their own legs for a long time. It couldn’t have been more exciting. The decision seemed to fall on 9-9. Van Gerwen managed to break Cullen and was allowed to throw for the game. But de Vlijmenaar threw a dramatic leg that made it 10-10.
Decisive leg
One leg was going to determine who would win the Premier League and therefore be allowed to add £275,000. It was also the same in this decisive leg. Van Gerwen was the first to have the opportunity from 120, but he did not take advantage of this opportunity.
Cullen then missed one match dart, after which the Brabant darter received three darts on double fourteen. The first arrow from the Vlijmenaar hit the spot immediately, which caused a discharge. Michael van Gerwen wins the Premier League for the sixth time in his career.