On an emotional night where former Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark took to the First Direct Arena stage to bid a final farewell to viewers, Michael van Gerwen ran riot with wins against Peter Wright and James Wade for his third Premier League success of the season
Last Updated: 07/04/22 10:52pm
Michael van Gerwen was back at his vintage best as he steamrollered James Wade to run riot in Leeds on Night Nine of the Premier League.
The Dutchman added to his success in Exeter and Brighton earlier in the campaign to make it three Premier League wins in just six weeks.
Van Gerwen took advantage of a quarter-final bye after Gary Anderson was ruled out of the night after testing positive for Covid-19 by ending the hopes of Peter Wright in the semi-finals before hammering Wade in the final.
“I’ve been battling hard. People have to understand it’s been a tough time for me,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports.
“I always believe in myself and the people around me do. It feels good. It’s still not enough, I still want to do better. It means a lot to me.”
Van Gerwen defeated ‘Snakebite’ for a third time in this year’s competition despite both players struggling on the outer ring.
The five-time Premier League champion moved 4-3 up despite 14 missed darts at doubles before winning the final two legs to close it out in a below-par contest.
Wade upset Gerwyn Price, still hampered by a fractured bone in his throwing hand, in the quarter-finals. He followed that up by seeing off Jonny Clayton with a masterclass on double 10.
‘Mighty Mike’ dominated the final against Wade, breaking throw early on with a stunning 68 on the bullseye before racing away with the contest, ending with an impressive 103.87 average.
Wright began the night by defeating Michael Smith in a repeat of the World Championship final, while Clayton spoiled Joe Cullen’s homecoming with a trouncing.
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. We’re back for more Premier League action from the AO Arena in Manchester on Thursday, April 14 – live on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Action from 7pm.