Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor starred as Premier League Darts passed through Newcastle
Friday 12 February 2016 11:48, UK
Only Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright have retained 100 per cent records after two weeks of Premier League Darts.
Lewis defeated Dave Chisnall 7-4 while Wright won 7-5 against Raymond van Barneveld but fortunes for the rest of the Premier League players differed.
What did we learn from week two in Newcastle?
Power is still "scary"
James Wade's pre-match comments about Phil Taylor still being the "scariest" opponent to play against proved true, as 'The Power' spooked him with a 7-1 victory. Wade had also mentioned that he has never thrown his finest darts against Taylor, and that sorry run continued.
Taylor has been forced to answer questions about his skills but a demolition of the consistent and sturdy Wade is just what he needed to kick-start his challenge for a seventh Premier League title. The respect - and even the intimidation - that he commands from fellow players hasn't yet shown any sign of evaporating and as long as that continues, he will continue to give opponents sleepless nights every week on the Premier League circuit.
MVG won't go on a losing run
Beating Michael van Gerwen once, as we have previously found out, is an immensely difficult task but toppling him twice is incredibly rare. Can anybody remember two consecutive major defeats for the world No 1? Van Gerwen was handed a surprise defeat by the perennial contender Wade last week so his next opponent was always going to be on a hiding to nothing.
Step forward Gary Anderson, the reigning Premier League and World Championship winner, who is nobody's fool. Yet it was difficult to grasp the concept of Van Gerwen being 0-2 with zero points after a fortnight of the tournament. The mighty Dutchman duly put his foot on the accelerator and motored to a 7-3 victory that was designed to prove a point. You might, just might, defeat him once but don't expect to see Van Gerwen crippled by a loss of confidence anytime soon.
Barney's consistent troubles
Van Barneveld can still fling an arrow with the best of them, and that has shown no signs of changing, but his issues with crossing the finishing line continue. A 7-5 loss to Wright is certainly nothing to be ashamed of but Van Barneveld could have put an early stamp on this season's Premier League if he followed up last week's win over Taylor.
Winning one, losing one may end up as an effective method of manoeuvring past Judgment Night - after all, it is the business end of the season when results and consistency are demanded. Van Barneveld has all the weapons in his arsenal but his attempts to go on a winning run too frequently fall flat due to one erratic performance.
Smith needs a win
The Premier League has swallowed up some excellent players with its unforgiving nature and pressure-cooker environment and Smith is in danger of becoming the latest victim. He has lost three matches in two weeks of his debut campaign and, worryingly, looks like a fish out of water.
Ask any expert and they will assure you that Smith is one of the brightest prospects in darts and his inevitable ascent up the world rankings will not be affected by his early troubles. Next week he plays fellow struggler Robert Thornton and the result may come down to whoever holds their nerve. Smith needs to put points on the board before this season gobbles him up.
The illness bug struck again!
After Anderson was forced to withdraw at late notice last week, the same problem afflicted Thornton in week two. With just hours remaining he dropped out forcing a frantic reshuffle of fixtures which, for the second week in a row, spelled doom for whoever was forced to step into his shoes.
Last week, debutant Smith had to play twice and after losing his opener he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world during his second game of the night. In Newcastle, Wade was the victim but after winning in the evening's first game he was annihilated 7-1 by Taylor. The evidence suggests it's a difficult task to return to the oche so soon after leaving it, so the Premier League players will be desperately hoping that nobody is struck down by illness in Dublin next week.
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