Gary Anderson withdraws from Premier League Darts opening night
Thursday 4 February 2016 22:19, UK
Premier League champion Gary Anderson missed Thursday's opening night in Leeds after being ruled out through illness, with Michael Smith to play twice at the First Direct Arena.
World champion Anderson had been due to kick off the new season against Adrian Lewis in Leeds.
Anderson fell ill on Wednesday and, following medical consultation with a doctor on Thursday, he has been diagnosed as displaying symptoms of having a viral upper respiratory tract infection.
I'm desperately disappointed that I can't play in Leeds this evening but the truth is that I feel absolutely terrible and I would not have been able to get on stage.
After a coin toss between Peter Wright and Michael Smith, who play in the evening's first match, it was determined that Smith would play a second fixture against Lewis later in the evening to complete five scheduled matches.
"I'm desperately disappointed that I can't play in Leeds this evening but the truth is that I feel absolutely terrible and I would not have been able to get on stage," said Anderson.
"I was really looking forward to tonight and to playing Adrian but I hope that the fans in Leeds can still enjoy a great night."
Anderson's game with Lewis will be rescheduled and revised fixtures will be announced in due course.
Revised Fixtures:
Peter Wright v Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen v James Wade
Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld
Robert Thornton v Dave Chisnall
Adrian Lewis v Michael Smith
You can watch the opening night live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm on Thursday, or watch without a contract on NOW TV.
We will be building up to the coverage this week on our live blog here www.skysports.com/darts and the Sky Sports app will keep you up to date with all the action.
