Friday 6 May 2016 08:40, UK
Michael van Gerwen knocked Phil Taylor off the Premier League top spot and now believes the pressure is on 'The Power'.
The world No 1 moved above Taylor in the Premier League after an impressive 7-1 win over James Wade on night 13 in Birmingham.
Earlier in the evening, Taylor had suffered a surprise 7-4 defeat to Peter Wright, allowing Van Gerwen to snatch a slender lead on leg difference.
Van Gerwen is preparing for an all-Dutch battle against Raymond van Barneveld on Thursday night, while Taylor takes on Adrian Lewis in Manchester, and any slip-up could be decisive with just two matches remaining in the regular season.
"I've put the pressure on Phil again and we both want to finish top so this is another important match," said Van Gerwen, who will face Taylor in the closing night of the campaign in Rotterdam.
"This is a tough league and one mistake can cost you, like when Phil lost last week, so I know I've got to make sure I'm ready for Raymond."
Fourth-placed Lewis, meanwhile, sits three points clear of James Wade and Peter Wright and knows that he can seal his semi-final berth by defeating Stoke rival Taylor.
"It will be a great game," said Lewis, who has partnered Taylor to three World Cup of Darts pairs titles in the past four years. "I'll be up for it and I know he will too because he's fighting with Michael at the top of the table.
"I've been putting the work in on the practice board this week to get ready for this and my finishing's been good recently, so I can't wait."
Watch all of this week's Premier League matches on Thursday night from 7pm on Sky Sports 1.
