"The last double he hit was the bullseye for the 170. He shouldn't have done it because it made Michael angry"
Friday 16 February 2018 12:45, UK
Wayne Mardle and John Part both marvelled over the "ridiculous" Premier League clash between Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson in Newcastle on Thursday night.
Reigning and defending champion Van Gerwen produced a sensational 7-3 win over 'The Flying Scotsman' in one of the great matches.
The game of this year's Premier League so far saw both players average over 110, with Anderson's 110.79 coming in as the second-highest losing average in televised history.
Van Gerwen led 2-0 before Anderson took out 78 and 82 - for an 11-darter - to level, before responding to seven perfect darts from the Dutchman with the maximum checkout as he took the lead at 3-2.
The world No 1 landed two more maximums in a 12-darter to level, took out legs of 14 and 13 darts to move 5-3 up and capitalised on misses from Anderson in the next two as he sealed an amazing win.
"It's ridiculous, it really is," Mardle told Sky Sports' host Dave Clark. "But look at the missed darts at doubles [3/12]. He's missed nine darts at doubles and averaged that. The last double he hit was the bullseye for the 170. He shouldn't have done it because it made Michael angry."
Part spoke about the fifth leg of the match in which 'Mighty Mike' came close to a nine-darter before Anderson sunk 'The Big Fish' to move 3-2 up.
Darth Maple said: "We were so caught up in the nine-dart attempt that most of us didn't realise that there was a 170 on offer before it was in. And then we were like 'What'! They really just enjoy playing against each other.
"When I played I enjoyed matches of that context. My best three matches were all against Phil Taylor in the Premier League and my averages were about 104 or 105. We were driving each other back and forth."
The 2018 Premier League heads to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin next Thursday with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action. Twelve weeks of tungsten action will continue through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
