Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson face each other on Premier League opening night
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Thursday 2 February 2017 18:44, UK
World No 1 and defending champion Michael van Gerwen takes on Gary Anderson on the opening night of the Premier League, live from the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.
'Mighty Mike' and 2015 winner Anderson will clash on a highly-anticipated opening night of action from the north-east.
The meeting is a repeat of the PDC World Championship final at Alexandra Palace which the Dutchman won in thrilling fashion.
"We're the best two darts players in the world at the moment and as long as we're in that position there will be a great rivalry between us," said Van Gerwen.
"We always want to perform well against each other and don't like losing to each other either. I love winning and I'm focused on keeping doing that.
"The Premier League isn't about one week, it's about 15 or 16 weeks and you have to perform well every week."
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Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld takes on former two-time world champion Adrian Lewis in another mouth-watering encounter.
Lewis, the 2011 Premier League runner-up, is hopeful that this can be a successful season.
"I love playing Barney and we've had some crackers over the years so I'm looking forward to it," said the 32-year-old world No 4.
"I think I'm going to have a good year this year. I've got to take the rough with the smooth and enjoy it, instead of thinking about the negatives I'm looking at the positives and I think that will be the turning point."
Also, 2009 Premier League champion James Wade meets Kim Huybrechts on the Belgian's return to the event.
Another player making his second Premier League appearance, Jelle Klaasen, opens against world No 3 Peter Wright, and the legendary 16-time world champion Phil Taylor takes on Dave Chisnall.
Taylor was the runner-up to Van Gerwen in last year's final, and said: "I'd love to win the Premier League again.
"It's a massive tournament now, and to me it's probably harder to win than the World Championship because you can win that in a couple of weeks but this is four months.
"It's a special event and I'm excited about it, and I can't wait to get playing."
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