Premier League Darts 2017 Results: Scores, Standings, Schedule After Cardiff
Raymond van Barneveld became the first player in the 2017 Premier League Darts to win four matches in a row, while Michael van Gerwen went top on Night Nine at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena on Thursday.
Barney's 7-2 win over James Wade also put him in third spot after Phil Taylor had temporarily gone third by beating Jelle Klaasen 7-5 earlier in the night. Elsewhere, Gary Anderson came back strong to see off Adrian Lewis and cement fourth place, while MVG beat Dave Chisnall to move above Peter Wright into first place.
Snakebite was given two points and a 7-0 win due to his opponent Kim Huybrechts withdrawing. Huybrechts pulled out due to family reasons, per a statement from the PDC (h/t Sky Sports).
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Huybrechts was already eliminated, and Klaasen followed after losing to Taylor. Meanwhile, Chisnall is now on the brink.
Here are the results from Thursday's matches:
| Player | Score | Player |
| Phil Taylor | 7-5 | Jelle Klaasen |
| Gary Anderson | 7-3 | Adrian Lewis |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 7-2 | James Wade |
| Michael van Gerwen | 7-1 | Dave Chisnall |
Sky Sports Darts provided the standings:
| Position | Player | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Legs | Points |
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | +19 | 14 |
| 2 | Peter Wright | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | +16 | 13 |
| 3 | Raymond van Barneveld | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | +8 | 12 |
| 4 | Gary Anderson | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | +10 | 11 |
| 5 | Phil Taylor | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | +5 | 11 |
| 6 | Adrian Lewis | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | James Wade | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | -3 | 8 |
| 8 | Dave Chisnall | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -16 | 6 |
| 9 | Jelle Klaasen | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -16 | 3 |
| 10 | Kim Huybrechts | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | -23 | 3 |
Here's what the remaining schedule looks like:
| Date | Event | Venue |
| Thursday, April 6 | Night 10 | 3Arena, Dublin |
| Thursday, April 13 | Night 11 | Echo Arena, Liverpool |
| Thursday, April 20 | Night12 | The SSE Arena, Belfast |
| Thursday, April 27 | Night 13 | The Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham |
| Thursday, May 4 | Night 14 | Sheffield Arena, Sheffield |
| Thursday, May 11 | Night 15 | GE Oil & Gas Arena, Amsterdam |
| Thursday, May 18 | Final Night | The 02, London |
Recap
Van Barneveld continued his fine recent form by starting with a maximum to take the first leg against Wade. A double-eight at the second attempt gave Barney a break of throw in the next leg before tops made it 3-0.
Barney found double-eight twice more to move 5-0 in front. But a double-18 finally got the Machine on the board. Yet another double-eight soon earned Van Barneveld a point.
Tops kept Wade in it briefly, but RVB found double-seven with his final dart to become the first player to win four in a row at this year's tournament. Barney also moved above Taylor into third.
Van Gerwen started slowly hitting 100, 60 then 96, before an exchange of 180s sent Mighty Mike on his way to winning the first two legs.
MVG was soon three up, but a poor fourth leg kept Chisnall in it. The latter took out a maximum but missed two attempts on double-two to get on the board. By contrast, Van Gerwen had no trouble landing tops to move 4-0 ahead.
One more hit on tops made it 5-0, but another 180 and tops meant Chisnall avoided a whitewash. Yet MVG got his point when he hit double-16 to improve to 6-1 before a double-10 completed the rout and put the World No.1 in top spot.
Live Darts confirmed Mighty Mike's terrific scoring:
Anderson was in superb form as he battled back to beat Jackpot. Lewis led 2-1 after posting a 12-darter in the third leg, but he missed tops with the chance to go 3-1 ahead.
It proved costly as Anderson began a spectacular scoring binge that ended when he hit bull to earn a 6-2 lead and a point. The Flying Scotsman soon finished the job and PDC Darts detailed just how prolific hs was at the oche:
Anderson found particular joy on doubles, according to Live Darts:
Anderson's comeback was impressive, but Taylor's may have been helped somewhat by Klaasen's injury woes. The Cobra led the Power 3-1, but couldn't finish the job as pain from his injured wrist consistently hampered the Dutchman.
Taylor stayed in touch and eventually surged ahead to win a squeaker at 7-5. Afterward, the Power conceded his opponent had not been at full strength:
Taylor is still pushing the top four, but it's Van Gerwen who is ominously finding his best form at the right time as the Premier League gets ready for its decisive second half.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
