Nottingham witnessed one of the best nights in the seven years of the Premier League!
In an incredible three hours, there were 14 big ton plus finishes – a PL record – and 30x180s!
And it wasn’t a bad night for Team Unicorn either, as Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade looked back to their best….Terry Jenkins though, was beaten by Gary Anderson.
Taylor averaged 104 and hit seven 180s in beating Mark Webster and Wade nailed a 136 finish to beat Adrian Lewis
But arguably, the performance of the night came from Raymond van Barneveld…..still hurting after throwing away a 6-4 advantage to lose to Jenkins at the O2 Arena, he gave us one of his best ever Premier League performances.
The Dutchman was in irresistible form, blowing away Simon Whitlock in a stunning half hour of darting brilliance.
Barney nailed FOUR ton plus finishes, hit an 11 darter, two 12 dart legs and averaged nearly 101 in a fabulous display.
How about this……from 4-2 in front, he won four of the next five legs, hitting check-outs of 116, 160, 156 and then 141 to clinch the win!
And he revealed he has changed his flights…..it certainly did the trick! He has reverted back to standard flights.
“I have gone back to the flights I used many years ago and just felt very comfortable. I have actually been practicing big finishes back home in Holland and it paid off for me!”
Barney added: “Hopefully this can be the start of something for me now. I also feel more relaxed and I am enjoying myself, which is also important.”
But it was certainly a case of Barney being back in business and hopefully, he can take this form forward and win another TV ‘Major’ in 2011.
It was great to see, that’s for sure! And Barney confirmed that he will not be changing his flights again anytime soon!
And what a difference a week has made for Taylor!
In London, he averaged only 90 as he slumped to his heaviest ever PL defeat at the hands of Lewis, but right from the walk-on in Nottingham, you could see Taylor meant business….and so it proved!
Webster was also inspired at times, hitting remarkable finishes of 170 and 160 to keep pace! But he couldn’t match ‘The Power’ scoring from Taylor, with those seven maximums and a 177 thrown in.
The 11th leg was crucial….the Welshman hit 170 to leave D18, which would have made it 6-5 with a break of throw, but Taylor denied him by hitting D5 with the last dart in his hand!
“That was much better wasn’t it?!” he said. “I am getting there again and they key is to enjoy it and I did tonight.”
And what a difference a week made for James Wade as well….a poor performance against Webster at the O2 but a top class performance to beat the World Champion in Nottingham.
In another high quality affair, Wade beat Lewis in a thriller…..the World Champion took out 100 and 121 and it was three legs apiece at the break, with both players averaging 101 at that stage.
Crucially, Wade broke for the first time to move 5-3 ahead, as he took out 102…..but only after Lewis had missed six darts at doubles.
And a 141 finish from Wade saw him move 7-4 in front, but Lewis fought back to 7-6 and then missed two darts at D18 for the draw and a point, only to see Wade brilliantly nail 136 to claim the win!
“That meant a lot,” said Wade. “Slowly but surely I am working my way back into form and I will be in the semi-finals come May!”
Gary Anderson’s 8-4 win over Terry Jenkins put the Scot on top of the Premier League table after his second straight win.
Both players missed doubles, but Anderson hit them when it mattered and a 121 finish on the bull sealed the win and sealed Jenkins’ fate.
It really was a fantastic night in Nottingham.
• The Team Unicorn quartet of Paul Nicholson, Peter Manley, Jamie Caven and Arron Monk were among the 6,000 crowd in Nottingham….they will all be in action at the weekend in the Players Championship double-header in Derby
Week 2 results:
Simon Whitlock 3-8 Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade 8-6 Adrian Lewis
Phil Taylor 8-5 Mark Webster
Terry Jenkins 4-8 Gary Anderson
Week 3 schedule – Belfast:
Gary Anderson v Mark Webster
Simon Whitlock v James Wade
Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Terry Jenkins
By STUART PYKE at the Nottingham Arena
Photos courtesy Chris Sargeant