Misses cost Michael van Gerwen dearly in Premier League squatter | Darts

Van Gerwen already won a round in the Premier League for the third time in Leeds last week and knew he had to work tonight. Clayton is the number two in the standings behind De Brabander and someone who often makes things difficult for Van Gerwen.

That was also evident in Manchester. Clayton took a 0-2 lead and only a 152 finish allowed ‘Mighty Mike’ to get back into the game. By then also finishing from 131 he even came alongside. Momentum was with the five-time winner of the prestigious competition, but at 3-2, three chances for a double weren’t enough. The two then kept each other in balance until 5-5. Van Gerwen was allowed to start the decisive leg and also came first on a finish. However, he was unable to throw it and had to watch in disbelief as Clayton took the win.

Van Gerwen achieved an excellent average of 105.14 in Manchester, but it turned out not to be enough against Clayton, who came to 109.10. Especially because the darter from Wales managed to use two of every three chances for a double and his opponent from Vlijmen did not get further than 38%.

Van Gerwen knows where it went wrong for him, he told Viaplay: ,,I miss three arrows at 4-2, so I give him confidence. I played properly, well in fact. I’m really disappointed that the doubles didn’t fall, but that’s part of it. It’s just a shame it fell the other way.”

One of the spectators at Van Gerwen’s match was Donny van de Beek. The midfielder, who is loaned out to Everton by Manchester United, is a big darts fan. ,,I also play myself and live around the corner,” said the former Ajax player at Viaplay. ,,I know Michael, he is a phenomenon.” Van de Beek became the father of a daughter three days ago: “Everything is going well and is of course the most important.”

The evening opened with the squatter between Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price, the numbers one and two in the world. At a 1-1 tie, it was Price who struck first. With a finish of 157 he broke his Scottish opponent. Wright, however, immediately broke back and looked to be on his way to a lead. However, five(!) missed arrows on his double cost him the leg. At 4-2 it was Price who missed opportunities and Wright even came back to 4-4. However, the number one of the Order of Merit did not come any further and so ‘The Iceman’ finally booked another victory in the Premier League after four weeks.

James Wade has been on a roll in the Premier League in recent weeks. Gerwyn Price also found out. ‘The Machine’ simply turned out to be a size too big and won 6-2 after an excellent start. It gave Wade his fourth place in the final of the year. The first three were all lost.

Clayton had already played his best game in the quarterfinals and found his doubles especially difficult against Joe Cullen. An average of 101.76 therefore proved insufficient against Cullen, who took advantage of six of his ten chances.

Quarter-finals:
Peter Wright – Gerwyn Price 4-6
Gary Anderson – James Wade 2-6
Michael van Gerwen – Jonny Clayton 5-6
Joe Cullen -Michael Smith 6-2

Semi finals:
Gerwyn Price – James Wade 2-6
Jonny Clayton – Joe Cullen 3-6

Van Gerwen has already won three rounds of play and is therefore the leader in the Premier League Darts. De Brabander has collected 22 points, three more than his next pursuer Clayton.

Van Gerwen has won the Premier League Darts five times, most recently in 2019.