Premier League 2012 - Match Reports 7. League Day

McCoys's Premier League Stars delight Irish fans with Dublin thriller
THE stars of the McCoy's Premier League Darts delighted a record 9,000 crowd at The O2 in Dublin on Thursday night, with Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis taking thrilling victories.
A sell-out Irish crowd was treated to an enthralling seventh league night of this year's Premier League Darts season, as the tournament visited the Emerald Isle for the first time. Taylor's 8-2 win over 2009 champion James Wade saw him move five points clear at the top of the league table, but the night's other results saw his rivals remain locked in the battle for top-four places.
Van Barneveld moved second in the table - above Simon Whitlock on leg difference - with a brilliant 8-5 win over Gary Anderson in which the Dutchman averaged over 107. Whitlock had to settle for a point in his clash with Andy Hamilton, while World Champion Adrian Lewis moved off the bottom of the table with his first win of the season, as he defeated Kevin Painter 8-3.
Van Barneveld produced arguably his best performance of the season to defeat reigning champion Anderson, who averaged 105 in reply but paid for missing three darts to level the World Champion Lewis won five successive legs to break a deadlock with Painter from three-all to win 8-3 in their contest, and was delighted to take his first victory of the season as the tournament reached its half-way stage.
The night's other game saw Australian star Simon Whitlock produce a 13-darter in the deciding leg of his clash with Andy Hamilton to share the points.



Andy Hamilton 7:7 Simon Whitlock
Andy Hamilton picked up his first point for four weeks in the McCoy's Premier League Darts at The O2 in Dublin on Thursday - but was denied victory as Simon Whitlock grabbed a draw with a 13-darter.
The pair thrilled a sell-out 9,000 record crowd in Dublin with a fine battle, which saw Hamilton take a 5-3 lead at one stage only to be pegged back by the Australian.

Whitlock was twice punished for missing chances to break in the early legs, with Hamilton stepping in to hold throw in legs one and three after being out-scored, while the Australian took out 90 to level in the fourth. Hamilton hit a 180 and double 16 to win the fifth and posted a 171 on his way to leaving 40 in the next, only for Whitlock to brilliantly check out 152. Whitlock also landed a 180 in the seventh, but missed tops as Hamilton hit the same bed before breaking for the first time on double 16 to lead 5-3.
Hamilton, though, missed four darts to win the next as Whitlock broke back on double two, and he then hit tops to level at five-all before the pair traded the next two with identical finishes of 90 on the bull. Whitlock missed double 16 for a 102 finish in the 13th leg to break, and Hamilton hit tops to ensure at least a point, but the Australian brilliantly won the final game with a 13-darter on double four to grab a draw.

"It was a cracking game and that's what the Premier League's all about," said Whitlock. "The 152 was huge because I went in at the break level instead of 4-2 down. "Andy seems to bring out some special darts against me and he was fantastic again, so I'm happy to get a draw in the end."

Hamilton said: "I'm gaining experience and getting used to the big crowds in the Premier League, and it was a fantastic atmosphere tonight. "It's great to get a point out of the game. Perhaps I could have got more than a point but Simon played well and it was a good battle."



Adrian Lewis 8:3 Kevin Painter
Adrian Lewis won his first game of the McCoy's Premier League Darts season, defeating Kevin Painter 8-3 at The O2 in Dublin.
The World Champion picked up his first points since week three, when he completed a hat-trick of draws, by punishing a total of 11 missed doubles from Painter during the contest.
The pair shared the game's opening six legs, but Lewis won five in a row to sweep to the win in front of a PDC record 9,000 fans at The O2.

"It's obviously a big relief," said Lewis. "To take seven games to get a win shows how tough the Premier League is but I think there'll be no stopping me now. I know there's a lot more to come and I can go from strength to strength. I felt a lot more confident in myself and my form's coming back. I'm treating every game as if it's a final but I don't think there's any reason I can't go on to finish in the top two."

/ After Lewis had won the game's opening leg on double top, Painter produced back-to-back 14-darters to move 2-1 up, finishing 87 in leg two and following a 180 with double 16 to break in the third. He also missed the bull for a 122 finish in the fourth, as Lewis landed double top to level and hit the same bed for a 79 finish to move 3-2 up.
Painter replied on the same bed to level going into the break, but Lewis found another gear to pull clear. He followed up a 13-darter in the seventh leg by punishing six missed doubles from Painter to break in the next and lead 5-3. Painter hit a 180 in the next but failed to close out the leg as Lewis landed tops to steal, before hitting double 18 for a 14-darter to move 7-3 up and double ten to secure victory with five successive legs.



Raymond van Barneveld 5:2 Gary Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld moved second in the McCoy's Premier League Darts table with an 8-5 win over Gary Anderson at The O2 in Dublin.
The Dutch star produced arguably his best display of the season, averaging over 107 with a superb performance to delight the capacity Irish crowd.
Anderson played his part in a fine game, averaging 105 in reply but ultimately paying the price for missing three darts to level the game at six-all.

Van Barneveld finished 109 and 94 to win two of the game's opening three legs, with Anderson replying in the second with a 12-darter to get off the mark. The Scot also hit double ten to win the fourth before van Barneveld won three in a row as he broke for the first time in the game to lead 5-2, hitting back-to-back 14-darters before taking out 120.
Anderson replied with a superb 11-darter and then broke in 13 darts to pull back to 5-4, only for van Barneveld to open leg ten with back-to-back 180s. He was unable to complete a nine-darter, missing the seventh dart at treble 20, but returned to finish the leg in 11 darts to move 6-4 up. Anderson replied in 13 darts on double 18 and gave himself a chance to level in the next, only to miss three darts at doubles as van Barneveld took out 66 in two darts to move 7-5 up and ensure he would at least take a point. However, he swiftly secured the victory by finishing 62 to move above Simon Whitlock into second place in the McCoy's Premier League Darts table on leg difference.
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"I was a lot more focused for this game than when I won last week, but my performance tonight was fantastic," said van Barneveld. "It's another two points and I'm second so I'm very happy with that. Gary missed a crucial shot in the 12th leg and punished him, and I had to do that. It's only half-way through the season but I'm proud to be second because these are such good players. It means a lot to play in front of a great crowd like this, it was amazing and it gives you a warm feeling in your body when they sing your name. It's one of the best nights of my career."

Anderson admitted: "That 12th leg was crucial but I'm pleased with the way I've played. "It's probably the best I've played in the first seven weeks but those three darts in the 12th leg were the key moment in the end."



Phil Taylor 8:2 James Wade
Phil Taylor delighted the record 9,000 Dublin crowd by maintaining his unbeaten record in the McCoy's Premier League Darts with an 8-2 defeat of James Wade.
Taylor won his sixth successive game and moved five points clear at the top of the table with another brilliant display, averaging over 107 and restricting the 2009 champion to just two legs.
Wade hit five 180s in reply, but could not halt a mid-game surge of five successive legs from Taylor, who went on to seal victory with a 110 checkout.

Taylor finished 70 for the game's opening leg before Wade hit a 180 in levelling - only to be hit by a sucker-punch from the world number one in the next. Wade hit scores of 134, 180 and 97 to leave 90 after nine darts in his bid to break throw, only to see Taylor power in a 102 checkout. Taylor then finished legs of 13 and 14 darts to lead 4-1 before winning a key sixth to move further clear at the break, after Wade missed four darts to pull back to 4-2.
Taylor returned from the break with a 13-darter, which featured a 180, before Wade replied in kind to stem the tide with his second leg, which he won on tops. He also hit a 180 in the next, but missed the bullseye for a 121 finish as Taylor landed double 13 to move 7-2 up and only a leg away from the win. Wade landed his fifth maximum of the game as he battled to keep the match alive, but missed a dart at tops and was punished as Taylor finished 110 on tops to secure victory.

"The sixth leg was crucial because James had a chance to come back to 4-2, and at 5-1 down he was under pressure," said Taylor. "He'd have had to break my throw a two or three times after that to get anything from the game so I could relax after the break. The other results went for me and, with another couple of wins I'll be sure of qualifying for the Play-Offs, which is the initial aim."
He added: "It's been an amazing night. The atmosphere was incredible and it's been like a rock concert from start to finish, it was a great buzz. When you first walk out it's awesome - I felt a bit like Russell Crowe in the film 'Gladiator'. The venue's set up where everyone has a great view and it was fantastic."







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