Premier League Darts 2017 Results: Michael van Gerwen Takes Title
Michael van Gerwen retained the title after beating Peter Wright in the 2017 Premier League Darts final, 11-10, in an instant classic at London's O2 Arena on Thursday.
Wright built a 7-3 lead at the interval, but MVG battled back and survived Wright missing six match darts late on before claiming the third league title of his career.
Both players won tense semi-finals against Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor earlier in the night.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
MVG beat Anderson 10-7 before Wright got the better of Phil Taylor, 10-9, in an epic on finals night. Snakebite went 4-0 up, then Taylor won seven of the next nine legs to take the lead before faltering at the death in his last appearance in the Premier League.
Recap
The night began with Van Gerwen outlasting Anderson in a typically high-scoring contest between the two best players in the sport.
Anderson was prolific at the oche on his way to forcing a 5-5 tie, per Live Darts:
Moments later, the Flying Scotsman mustered another points bonanza to stay in touch at seven apiece. Anderson was totting up an impressive average:
Yet it was as close as Anderson got, as Van Gerwen turned on the style to win three in a row and book his place in the final.
Afterwards, MVG discussed his possible opponents for the final:
It turned out to be Wright after he toppled Taylor in a dramatic encounter. Wright won the first leg after taking out double 16.
Snakebite then broke throw by landing double 12 for an impressive early lead. It was soon 3-0 to Wright as he kept up up his heavy scoring, per PDC Darts:
Wright then needed four darts to take out double six and move four legs in front to pile the pressure on the Power. Taylor managed to rally, though, finding double nine to finally get off the mark.
However, the Power couldn't take out tops in the next leg but got a reprieve when Wright missed on double 12. Hitting tops at the second attempt halved Taylor's deficit.
A double 16 soon gave Wright back the initiative at 5-2. Taylor's response was emphatic, though, as he hit another maximum to help close the gap.
Facing a Taylor comeback, Wright produced a clutch shot to find tops and restore a three-leg lead. However, a miss on tops in the next leg let Taylor get one back before the interval.
The Power seized the momentum to take the first leg after the recess with a stunning break of throw:
A 79 checkout levelled things for Taylor as Wright began to buckle. A double eight saw Taylor take his first lead of the night.
Having worked so hard to gain the lead, Taylor inexplicably missed five darts at doubles to let Wright back in. He shot wide of double 16 three times and chucked to the side of double eight twice.
The next leg saw Taylor finally make good on double 16 to move two legs away from the final. However, the Power's problems with doubles weren't over yet as he missed four more to let Wright even things at 8-8.
Double 18 put Taylor ahead by one, and he started the decisive leg with another 180 before a costly miss on tops let Wright take out 25 with two darts to even the score.
Snakebite found double 10 in the next leg to end Taylor's bid for one last league crown before retirement.
Play was sloppy early on in the final, but Wright consistently held his nerve to go 3-0 in front. He found tops at the third attempt to hold throw in the first leg before Mighty Mike missed three darts at double 18, allowing Snakebite to pin double- 6 and go two in front.
It was 3-0 when Wright put together a 62 checkout before Van Gerwen finally got on the board after taking out 32. Finding double eight, then double seven gave Wright a commanding 5-1 advantage.
Van Gerwen got one back, but yet another double 16 gave Wright the edge at 6-2. Wright's stunning average at this point helped explain his healthy lead:
Double 10 made it 7-2 as Van Gerwen still struggled to find his range. Getting desperate, MVG hit tops to close the gap to four at the interval.
Buoyed by the win, Van Gerwen took out double eight, then double 16 to close the gap at 7-5, but a nine-darter helped put Wright back in control.
A double four put MVG one leg closer before the Dutchman reeled off a nine-darter of his own to put Wright under the spotlight. Another maximum followed as Mighty Mike cranked up the pressure.
Leadig 8-6, Snakebite missed on double 12 to let Van Gerwen take out treble 20 and cut the gap to one. MVG tied it with tops, before completing another nine-darter with one more maximum.
However, Wright had ice water in his veins when he found double 11 to retake the lead. He took out 96 to keep the lead at 10-9 two legs later.
Wright got going with a 180 in the decisive leg to leave 32 on the board. Yet he missed double 16, then wasted five darts at double eight to let the title slip from his grasp as MVG took out tops for 10-10.
A double four gave Van Gerwen a second-straight Premier League title as Wright rued those crunch misses on doubles. Mighty Mike indicated Wright hadn't handled the moment well:
Ultimately, Van Gerwen has been a worthy winner, even if Wright let him off the hook in the final.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
