MVG: "I think I played okay but I know I can do a lot better"
Sunday 18 March 2018 08:16, UK
Michael van Gerwen has warned he is ready to raise his game as he prepares for a Premier League showdown with second-placed Michael Smith in Glasgow on Thursday.
The world No 1 held onto top spot in the table after a convincing 7-3 victory over winless Gerwyn Price at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena and is now ready to pile the pressure on his rivals as the race for Play-Off spots hots up.
Van Gerwen hit a stunning 152 finish to break Welshman Price in the fifth leg and he then rattled off 95 and 71 to move 5-2 ahead before taking the next to guarantee a draw.
He missed bull for the match as Price checked out 117 to extend the clash, but MVG won the next to lead the standings by a solitary leg over his nearest challenger Smith.
I want to raise my game now for the rest of the Premier League, but I'm at the top of the table and that's where I want to be.
"I think I played okay but I know I can do a lot better," Van Gerwen told Sky Sports. "I did the right things at the right moments and got the two points, which was the most important thing.
"I want to raise my game now for the rest of the Premier League, but I'm at the top of the table and that's where I want to be. I feel good."
Smith had seen his winning start to the season ended on night five in Leeds, but picked up his fifth victory of the campaign in clinical style with a 7-1 romp against Peter Wright.
The St Helens man admitted his main aim at the start of the campaign had been to avoid elimination, but he is now looking forward to his table-topping meeting with the Dutchman at the SSE Hydro.
"I keep hitting the doubles and getting the points. I've been focusing on not getting eliminated and this is another two points towards that, so I'm pretty happy but I've still got more in the tank," said Smith.
The 2018 Premier League heads to The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on Thursday 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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