Jackpot hits perfect leg against Barney; MVG battles back for Snakebite draw
Friday 14 April 2017 11:38, UK
Adrian Lewis' nine-dart finish was the highlight of a brilliant night of Premier League Darts in Liverpool as Michael van Gerwen stayed top of the table.
Almost a year to the day since he hit the Premier League's last nine-darter in Belfast, Lewis was at it again in the fourth leg of his 7-4 victory over Raymond van Barneveld.
Back-to-back 180s from Jackpot laid the foundation for the two-time world champion who then pinned treble 20 and treble 19 to set up a dart at double 12 and he sunk the final arrow to complete the perfect leg.
There were also victories for James Wade who beat Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson who averaged more than 113 in his win over Peter Wright, both players featuring in their second match of the night.
World No 1 MVG maintained his position at the top of the table with a dramatic draw against Wright after Anderson had kicked off the night with a draw against Dave Chisnall.
But the Echo Arena belonged to Lewis after his fifth televised nine-darter, remarkably his third against an out of sorts Barney.
The pair came into the match as two of the form horses in the Premier League but it was Jackpot who looked the more comfortable from the outset, a 140 finish giving him an early two-leg advantage.
Barney stayed in touch throughout but Lewis' quality was evident in the post-match numbers; an average of 111.52, six maximums and a 70 per cent success rate on the doubles enough to keep him in touch with the play-off places.
Van Gerwen remains top of the pile but only after surviving a huge scare against Snakebite as the pair met in a top of the table clash.
Wright knew a win would give him the chance of topping the table and roared out in the traps, taking advantage of a below-par Van Gerwen to roar into a 4-0 lead.
With the world No 1 averaging a mere-mortal 99, Wright maintained his advantage, moving 5-1 in front and within two legs of a memorable win.
But Van Gerwen summoned all his battling qualities to reel in Wright who missed darts for the match and was duly punished and forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
Wright was left to rue a disappointing night in the final match of the evening, a blistering display from Anderson proved too much for Wright who was carrying a foot injury that limited his usual walk-on antics.
The world No 3 averaged in excess of 100 against Anderson but the Scot was too good and three points from a possible four on the night mean Anderson moved into third place.
Having escaped with a 6-6 draw against Chisnall in the opening game of the night, the Flying Scotsman produced a breathtaking display to triumph 7-2 over Wright.
In the opening match Anderson recovered from a slow start to reel off four legs on the bounce for Anderson to lead 5-3, but with Chizzy fighting back, the Flying Scotsman missed four darts for a 6-5 lead, allowing Chizzy to take control.
But with the match at his mercy Chisnall threw away seven darts to take the points and Anderson swooped to secure a point that means his opponent's play-off hopes are all but extinguished.
Wade had entered the night in a similar position to Chisnall and up against Taylor a win looked unlikely given The Machine had failed to beat the Power in the Premier League since 2009.
However in a scrappy affair it was Wade who kept his hopes alive, rallying from 5-3 down to take four consecutive legs and just about stay in contention for Finals Night at The O2 in May.
Premier League Darts returns next Thursday from Belfast and you can follow the action on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm