Michael van Gerwen wins his third Premier League Darts night in a row
Michael van Gerwen celebrated a record-breaking third consecutive nightly win in the Cazoo Premier League on Thursday thanks to a 6-4 win over world champion Michael Smith at Night Six in Liverpool.
Coming into Thursday fresh from back-to-back wins in Dublin and Exeter, Van Gerwen continued his dominance to become the first player to win three consecutive nights since the format was introduced last year.
The Dutchman kicked off his campaign at the M&S Bank Arena with a stunning 6-2 win over Jonny Clayton before beating Peter Wright 6-1 to set up a showdown against Smith.
The pair started with 15-dart holds, although Van Gerwen struck the first shot and punished the St Helens star with three missed double darts to break in the third leg.
Van Gerwen extended his lead with a 14-darter but Smith bounced back and converted a 111 combination to close the gap before hitting back-to-back 180s in the sixth leg.
Smith wasn’t able to show another moment of nine-dart magic against the Dutchman, but after leveling the tie with a 12-darter, he continued his explosive breakout with an 11-dart hold in the seventh leg away.
Undeterred, Van Gerwen restored his lead with a 14-dart break in the ninth leg before securing victory on double top after Smith wired a dart on the bull to force a decider .
“You have to play a player like Michael Smith in a final and I’m glad I did that,” said Van Gerwen, who has won his last nine Premier League games.
“When you’re under pressure, making good darts is the best feeling in the world. It makes you happy and it gives you confidence.
“I know how to win without playing my A-game, but I think I played really well in patches tonight against Michael Smith. I’m not where I want to be yet but I’m winning games and if you look at the standings I really can’t complain!”
Smith was struggling with illness ahead of Thursday’s action but he claimed to have battled Dimitri Van den Bergh and Nathan Aspinall to earn a valuable three points on Merseyside.
The world no.
In the quarterfinals, Aspinall put on a flawless performance to defeat Night One winner Chris Dobey for the fifth straight year, converting all six doubles into a 6-4 win.
Dobey lost by a ton average for the second straight week, while Aspinall converted 112, 143 and 100 combinations to maintain his position in the top four.
Meanwhile, in the night’s opener, Wright opened his Premier League account in 2023 with a dramatic 6-5 win over Gerwyn Price, despite missing eight match darts in a dramatic final.
Wright took a 5-2 lead before Price reacted to restore par at five apiece, although the Welshman failed to complete the comeback – spurning three match darts of his own in the decider.
Premier League Darts 2023: Night Six Results
night 6, Thursday, March 9th
M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
QUARTER FINALS
- Gerwyn Price 5-6 Peter Wright
- Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Jonny Clayton
- Chris Dobey 4-6 Nathan Aspinall
- Michael Smith 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh
SEMIFINALS
- Peter Wright 1-6 Michael van Gerwen
- Nathan Aspinall 2-6 Michael Smith
FINAL
- Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Michael Smith