Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in tungsten tussle
Thursday 27 April 2017 23:35, UK
Rod Harrington feels there are three Premier League players fighting over two spots after Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright sealed their play-off places.
Van Gerwen and Wright qualified for the Premier League play-offs at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on Thursday, as Gary Anderson claimed a key win over Raymond van Barneveld.
Reigning Premier League champion Van Gerwen followed up a draw with Dave Chisnall with a whitewash over Adrian Lewis to continue his challenge to claim a third title in the event.
Wright secured his play-off place by defeating Phil Taylor 7-3 win - leaving the six-time champion clinging on to his own top-four spot with two weeks of the regular season remaining.
Anderson gained a key victory in his bid to secure a top-four finish and challenge for a third Premier League title as he overcame Raymond van Barneveld 7-4, while Adrian Lewis was left licking his wounds after a couple of losses which have severely hampered his chances.
"Adrian Lewis would have been coming in tonight thinking 'two points minimum and I'm still in with a great chance' and with three points he really would have had one foot at the O2," Harrington told Sky Sports.
"But to go away without a single point and to get that drubbing against Michael - what you have to do with Michael when it's like that is stay with him.
"We keep talking about Aidy's scoring power - one of the best in the game - but he just wasn't alive all night. I don't think he hit one maximum and you can't do that in today's game.
"We want head to heads when we get to Aberdeen, but you take Taylor, Anderson and Van Barneveld - they would have wanted Van Gerwen to beat Lewis. That defeat pushes Lewis away from that third and fourth spot.
"Now there is possibly only three of them who have realistically got a chance of qualification, so it's getting really tight."
You can see all the action from the Sheffield Arena next Thursday from 7pm on Sky Sports 2 HD, including the clash between Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor.
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