Premier League Darts: Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright Secure Playoff Places in Birmingham
Birmingham’s Barclaycard arena week hosted week 13 of the premier league darts calendar on Thursday, where both Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright secured playoff places with two rounds left to go.
The Dutchman got off to a difficult start, having to come from 6-3 down to draw 6-6 with Dave Chisnall, before annihilating Adrian Lewis in his second match 7-0. The three points leave him with on the brink of securing top spot in the league and the £25,000 prize that goes with it.
Peter Wright won 7-3 to remain second in the table, with his victim six-time champion Phil Taylor dropping down to fourth. Wright won despite cutting his hand during the walk-on as an over-enthusiastic fan high-fived him. Talking to Burn Fm afterwards he discussed player safety during the walk-ons, speculating at the ease at which people could sabotage the event. You can hear the full interview here:
Gary Anderson was the other big winner of the night, defeating playoff rival Raymond van Barneveld 7-4, moving him up to third.
The other match saw James Wade defeat Adrian Lewis 7-4. Despite the win, Wade still sees playoff qualification as “not possible”, and Adrian Lewis is now also not expected to make the cut with his two losses on Thursday.
Next week sees the darts travel to Sheffield in the league’s penultimate set of fixtures, before rounding off the season in Aberdeen. The playoffs take place on Thursday 18th May at the O2, London.
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Dave Chisnall and Martin van Gerwen also spoke to Burn Fm, which you can listen to below.
