Friday 13 May 2016 17:21, UK
Michael van Gerwen thrilled his compatriots by beating Phil Taylor in the first Dutch leg of Premier League Darts.
The result leaves Van Gerwen top of the pile at the conclusion of the regular season.
Adrian Lewis was the other big winner, confirming his own play-off place at the expense of Peter Wright.
Here are five talking points from Rotterdam...
Hordes of orange-clad fans descended upon Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena hours before the first arrow was thrown in scenes to rival a Netherlands football match.
The atmosphere was memorable and led Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle to suggest it was the greatest Premier League leg of all time.
The timing from the PDC appeared perfect - enough demand had been built up in the Netherlands to see their home-grown heroes return as recognised sporting stars.
Notably, it wasn't just Raymond van Barneveld and Van Gerwen who were afforded a rapturous reception. The crowd were respectful to Taylor, sang along to Wright's theatrics, and cheered every eye-catching checkout, suggesting there is mileage in the Dutch market.
Whether it is a return to Rotterdam or a debut in the capital of Amsterdam, the Premier League should prioritise a return to the Netherlands next season.
Van Gerwen is a fiery, charismatic presence at the oche, but underneath it all he remains cool and collected.
In a unique atmosphere where the entire crowd passionately chanted his name, he held his nerve to edge the greatest player of all time.
A 164 checkout on the bull gave the home fans a reason to go bananas, but it didn't complete the job for Van Gerwen against Taylor. The wily veteran, locked at 5-5, played up to the crowd to incite even more pressure on Van Gerwen.
The Dutchman refused to acknowledge the thousands in attendance, or his opponent, and kept his eyes on the prize. He duly broke Taylor's throw and won the match.
"I love that Peter entertains, I love that his action is superb, but he has got to stop changing his darts," Mardle told us earlier this season.
"It's becoming farcical. Whenever he plays badly, we blame the darts. There will come a point where he plays himself out of form because of the constant changing."
Unfortunately for Snakebite, his Premier League campaign will be defined by what-ifs.
His challenge for the play-offs slipped away due to a 6-6 draw with Van Barneveld, handing Lewis the straightforward task of requiring just two legs.
To improve next year, Wright must heed Mardle's advice and stick to some tried-and-trusted equipment or he will risk a further year floating outside of the top four.
It's easy to reflect now that the play-off participants have been confirmed, but how many darts fans would have predicted Van Gerwen, Taylor, Anderson and Lewis at the start of the tournament?
On paper, they are the PDC's top four in their Order of Merit. It can scarcely be argued that any other player deserves a place at London's O2 Arena ahead of the established quartet.
It will make for a mouth-watering trio of matches next week when the best players in the world meet on the grandest of stages.
Along with Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, last year's semi-finalists were Van Barneveld and Dave Chisnall. Since then, it's been a sharp decline for the latter two players.
Chisnall was eliminated on Judgement Night and although Van Barneveld narrowly avoided that fate, he has languished at the bottom of the table for the duration of the tournament.
Their descent, though not terminal for either player, proves that the landscape of darts is evolving faster than ever.
Who will be at The O2 in 2017?
Watch Premier League Darts play-offs next Thursday at 7pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
