Premier League Darts 2017 Results: Scores, Standings, Schedule After Exeter

Phil Taylor moved into the lead at the head of the 2017 Premier League Darts standings on Thursday evening after his 6-6 draw against Gary Anderson was enough to see him move above Michael van Gerwen.

"Mighty Mike" was absent for the Exeter leg of this season's Premier League darts due to a back injury, per Sky Sports, which opened the door for Dave Chisnall to win two matches on short notice.

He defeated Raymond Van Barneveld 7-2 in the opener at the Westpoint Arena before rounding off the evening's action with a 7-5 victory against James Wade, enough to see him climb five places and up to fifth in the table.

Taylor shares the Premier League Darts lead with Peter Wright after he defeated Adrian Lewis 7-2 to move closer into title contention, while Jelle Klaasen and Kim Huybrechts settled for a 6-6 draw in their clash.

Read on for a roundup of Thursday's results from an exhilarating evening of action in Exeter, and Sky Sports Darts provided a look at the latest standings following the fifth round:

Recap

While "The Power" would have undoubtedly preferred to take maximum spoils from his meeting against Anderson on Thursday, the veteran ensured his unbeaten run in the competition endured with a valuable draw.

A point was enough for Taylor to move ahead of the absent Van Gerwen, and The Power was deserving of his praise after holding his nerve at 5-3 down to snatch a share of the spoils, via Sky Sports Darts:

Taylor was perhaps even lucky in his campaign considering his three-dart average of 103.98 was inferior to that of Anderson (105.31), per DartsData.com, not to mention he failed to hit one maximum during their clash.

The same couldn't be said for Wright, however, as he matched opponent Lewis with five 180s and an incredible average of 119.5, which was confirmed by Darts Stats as one of the highest in televised history:

Snakebite also added to his list of Thursday accolades with the evening's highest checkout (125) en route to a 7-2 thrashing of Lewis, a result that brought him level with Taylor at the table's peak.

Thursday was also a hugely valuable outing for Chisnall, who not only moved off the base of the table but soared into play-off contention following wins over Van Barneveld and Wade, per PDC Darts:

"Chizzy" has played one match more than any other player, but with Van Gerwen and Anderson for company—level on six points apiece—he knows he's on the right track if he wants a chance at the crown this year.

Taylor and Anderson didn't provide the only draw of the evening, either, after Klaasen and Huybrechts also split the points on offer between them, sitting 10th and ninth in the standings, respectively.