Premier League Darts 2016 Results: Scores, Standings, Schedule After Bournemouth
Michael van Gerwen bounced back to winning ways and moved within two points of leader Phil Taylor in the 2016 Premier League Darts standings on Thursday following wins over Peter "Snakebite" Wright and Adrian "Jackpot" Lewis.
Mighty Mike defeated Snakebite 7-2 in Thursday's opener at the Bournemouth International Centre before defeating Jackpot 7-5 later in the evening, while Taylor booked his spot in the play-offs with a 7-2 thumping of Robert Thornton.
It was a case of double Dutch for Lewis too after Raymond van Barneveld defeated him 7-4, while Gary Anderson ran to his third 6-6 draw in four matches in his meeting with James "The Machine" Wade.
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Read on for a full recap of Thursday's action on England's south coast as the second phase of the Premier League campaign heated up in Round 3, complete with all the evening's results and latest standings.
| Michael van Gerwen | 7-2 | Peter Wright |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 7-4 | Adrian Lewis |
| Gary Anderson | 6-6 | James Wade |
| Phil Taylor | 7-2 | Robert Thornton |
| Michael van Gerwen | 7-5 | Adrian Lewis |
| Phil Taylor | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | +35 | 22 |
| Michael van Gerwen | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | +29 | 20 |
| Gary Anderson | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | +8 | 15 |
| Adrian Lewis | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | +5 | 15 |
| James Wade | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | +1 | 14 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | -1 | 11 |
| Peter Wright | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | -9 | 11 |
| Robert Thornton | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -28 | 6 |
| Dave Chisnall | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -14 | 3 |
| Michael Smith | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -26 | 3 |
| Peter Wright | vs. | Phil Taylor |
| Raymond van Barneveld | vs. | Gary Anderson |
| Adrian Lewis | vs. | Robert Thonrton |
| James Wade | vs. | Michael van Gerwen |
| Peter Wright | vs. | Gary Anderson |
Recap
Van Gerwen was merciless in his opening salvo against Wright, finishing with an average of 103.38 and trumping his first opponents with three maximums to two, according to the official PDC website.
At 2-1 down, Snakebite may have still pulled a result out of the bag and was later within reach at a 4-2 deficit, but Van Gerwen strung together three successive legs before finishing on double 16 and improving his record against Wright, per bet365:
The Dutchman then triumphed in a far cagier affair against the on-the-ropes Lewis, who struck back from 4-1 down to tie the scores before eventually slipping away in the final phases of Thursday's Bournemouth bonanza.
LiveDarts hailed the talents of Van Gerwen after he ended with a high finish of 124—not quite as good as Jackpot's 142—and an average of 96.82:
Taylor's quest for a seventh Premier League title continued after he mopped the floor with the struggling Thornton, who suffered his ninth defeat of the 2016 Premier League campaign.
The Power soared into a 3-0 lead before surrendering two legs mid-match, but the damage was done as the six-time champion picked up his stride again to book his spot in the play-offs, per BBC Radio Stoke:
Lewis suffered earlier misery against Van Barneveld too and dropped to a 7-4 loss after having failed to ever establish a lead over his first Dutch foe, despite ending up with a higher checkout percentage.
Jackpot got off to a decent start in Bournemouth and looked to be in the contest at two legs apiece, but then Barney opened a stride with three successive legs to lead 5-2. This was despite the fact Lewis came into the tie as the firm favourite, per the PDC:
The odds worked against the Stoke-on-Trent star, though, and Van Barneveld’s biggest exploits included a 141 finish, a 12-darter and two maximums compared to Lewis' none to seal a second successive win.
Anderson and Wade also saw their play-off hopes dented after drawing 6-6 in Bournemouth, where The Machine fought back from 6-3 down to finish strong and claim what could be a crucial point in his Premier League Darts campaign.
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