McCoy's Premier League 2012 Week 2 Review

When it comes to numerology, the number 11 is believed to be a master number. In the darts world it's just another record in the remarkable career of darting master Phil ''The Power'' Taylor.

On Thursday night, we were treated to another extraordinary moment in Aberdeen, as Taylor hit the eleventh 9-darter of his career.

Prior to Taylor's nerve wracking double 18 finish, the Barney Army was in full voice for a captivating opening game. World Champion Adrian Lewis faced Raymond van Barneveld, but again failed to finish off an opponent from a commanding position.

From three legs clear, Lewis allowed Barney to scrap his way back to five each with successive finishes in the 70s. Lewis re-gained the lead again and moved to 7-6 with a fantastic under pressure 140 finish. With Lewis waiting on 51, Barney took out a 126 bull finish for his second successive draw of the campaign.

With 100-plus finishes on offer in the opening game, few would have anticipated what was to come in the next.

Kevin Painter raced out of the blocks against The Power with a quick break against the throw. When he hit a 127 finish for a 4-1 lead, it appeared that The Artist might be in contention for a rare win against The Power.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man and Taylor finished from 147 to send the crowd into a frenzy with his ninth televised nine darter and the eleventh of his career. A treble 20, treble 17 and double 18 would see him go one closer to matching Ronnie O Sullivan's number of 147's in snooker.

In the end, Taylor would prove too strong for Painter, with the game finishing 8-5. Painter, who joined the crowd in applauding Taylor's finish, has a lot to take away from this match. His scoring and finishing were extremely impressive. Had it not be for the swing in momentum, he may have secured a draw to move joint top of the table.

Home favourite Gary Anderson dispatched a lacklustre Andy Hamilton with ease. A resounding 8-2 scoreline saw him capture his first points of the campaign and put the defence of his crown in motion. Hamilton will be disappointed to have surrendered so easily, with none of his usually tenacity or grit on display.

The final game of the evening ended in a lop-sided victory for Simon Whitlock. 2009 Premier League champion James Wade gave a seven leg advantage by going 7-0 down. An impossible comeback seemed momentarily possible as Wade pulled the score back to 7-4. The 12th leg was to be the final action of the night as The Wizard checked out a double 20 to lead the pack.

There were many talking points, none more-so than Barney's re-emergance and Wade's slump. But the main headlines will go to Phil Taylor. Once again he displayed a dominance of his chosen sport that can be compared only to greats of the caliber of Gretzky or Jordan.