MVG stays ahead of Michael Smith on leg difference ahead of their showdown in Glasgow next Thursday - live on Sky Sports.
Friday 16 March 2018 19:28, UK
Gary Anderson extended his unbeaten run to 23 matches after holding Raymond van Barneveld in a tungsten slug-fest at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on Thursday.
Michael van Gerwen stayed top with another destructive performance against Gerwyn Price as Smith bounced back after suffering his first defeat of the campaign to keep pace with a crushing win over Peter Wright.
Rob Cross struck over 13 tons to dismantle Mensur Suljovic, while Simon Whitlock and Daryl Gurney were forced to settle for a draw.
Two former champions lit the blue touchpaper in a blockbuster clash as Van Barneveld and Anderson went toe-to-toe.
The Flying Scotsman followed up his UK Open win and a draw with Daryl Gurney in Leeds by winning both Players Championship events held last weekend. And he provided spectators with a special 105 checkout in the fourth leg before breaking with an even better 117 finish.`
Van Barneveld was expecting a testing battle against the two-time world champion, and he got it. The Dutch legend came close to a nine-dart finish in the eighth leg after landing seven perfect darts before narrowly missing T19, but did enough to level at 4-4.
Barney guaranteed a point with D4, but squandered five match darts to gift tartan tearaway Anderson a way back into the contest and he stole a point in a brilliant contest with an outrageous 144.
Van Gerwen made sure Price remained winless, despite a gutsy display from the Welshman.
The world No 1 made the breakthrough in the fifth leg with a scintillating 152 before combination finishes of 95 and 71 helped him move clear.
The league's bottom player has never defeated the Dutchman, and MVG soon made it 13 straight wins over The Iceman with 104.80 three-dart average to make it six consecutive ton-plus averages in the Premier League.
Smith - who suffered his first defeat of the season in Leeds - got back to winning ways against an out-of-sorts Wright, who was suffering with a shoulder problem.
The St Helens man made Snakebite pay for his profligacy at doubles with a third consecutive break of throw for a 3-1 lead before holding. And he made further inroads in the sixth leg by taking out tops.
Wright soon suffered a second consecutive 7-1 loss after suffering the same fate last week to Mensur Suljovic, while Smith boosted his Play-Off hopes to move level with Van Gerwen at the top of the standings.
Two of the form horses collided in Robin Hood country, but it was the world champion who produced a destructive performance, averaging a spectacular 106.49 and 78 per cent on doubles to come away with maximum points.
Cross claimed his fourth successive victory after racing past a resurgent Suljovic with a series of brutal two-darts combination finishing to rise up the league table.
Suljovic, who had won his previous two matches and continued his strong form this season with a 7-1 win over world No 2 Peter Wright in Leeds last Thursday, came into the match averaging 101.45 for the tournament, but was unable to keep pace with Voltage.
Gurney started well and took out 91 for a 2-1 lead before six perfect darts handed the Aussie an opportunity of the first nine-darter in this season's competition, but he hit T5 with his seventh dart and ended up losing the leg.
The Wizard was nailing maximums for fun and took out a stunning 133 to haul himself back level at 3-3 before moving ahead with a gutsy 65 finish.
At 5-5, Super Chin was sitting on D18 and ready to come back to break throw when Whitlock landed an unbelievable 112.
Gurney, who has defeated Whitlock in their last six meetings, including October's World Grand Prix final, found D8 after five missed darts at doubles and missed match darts by Whitlock to scrape his fourth draw in six matches.
With only three games remaining before the bottom two players are eliminated on Judgement Night, the season's seventh league night will see five crucial matches taking place next Thursday at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Main Event. Eight weeks of tungsten action will then continue through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
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