He’s done it again!
Phil Taylor – the 9 Dart King – provided yet another memorable moment, with THE perfect leg in his 8-5 win over Kevin Painter at the AECC in Aberdeen.
180....174 and 147 – T20, T17 and double 18 and the crowd went crazy!
Also, on a truly memorable night in Aberdeen, defending PL Champion Gary Anderson got on the board, winning a scrappy match against Andy Hamilton.....Raymond van Barneveld came back superbly to earn a draw against World Champion Adrian Lewis, but it was a night to forget for James Wade in the Granite City.
But without doubt, the night belonged to Philip Douglas Taylor, as the Team Unicorn star banged in an 11th televised 9-darter!
“It is always a very special moment,” he said.
“Kevin was playing so well, I knew I had to hit it. I just had a feeling and the reward is to hear all these people singing your name. I will just keep going, keep trying to entertain and keep trying to win,” Taylor added.
And Taylor had to find another level, because Painter was playing that well.....you have to feel for ‘The Artist’ because in truth, he didn’t do a lot wrong.
In fact, Painter was 4-1 in front! That included two breaks of throw and a great 127 finish....the only leg Taylor won came courtesy of a fantastic 132 on the bull and it was a brilliant dart at the bull because most of the target was blocked!
But when Painter nailed 123 on the bull, he was favourite leading 5-3....but that was the signal for the resurgence of ‘The Power’.
He made it 5-4 and the 9-darter followed in the 10th leg.....simply superb from Taylor! And from that moment, there was only one winner....in the end, he won five straight legs to clinch the win, including a 100 finish, hitting two double ‘tops’!
And an average of 108.27 for Taylor.
And roared on by a partisan home crowd of more than 4,000 in Aberdeen, Gary Anderson – still far from his best – got his first points on the board, as he breezed to an 8-2 victory in the all Unicorn clash with Andy Hamilton.
And it was certainly a PL lesson for ‘The Hammer’ who felt the full force of the Scottish crowd and it affected his game, but he will be the first to admit that he never really got going....added to that, he hit only two doubles from 21 attempts.
But Anderson wasn’t flying either and he is still a long way from his best.....he averaged only 86 to Hamilton’s 84. It wasn’t a classic but it was an important win for the Scot.
“The crowd won that for me,” he acknowledged. “I have been struggling for a while now and have got some work to do haven’t I? There was pressure because of the big support of the crowd however, I am grateful to get going.”
Hamilton’s woes started in the very first leg, when he missed four darts to break the Anderson throw and that set the pattern....the Premier League champion raced into a 4-0 lead, including a terrific 128 check-out.
‘The Hammer’ got a couple of legs back, after Anderson wired the bull for a 164 and 5-0, but it didn’t matter in the end, as the Stoke man continued to miss double after double and gift his opponent leg after leg.
Hamilton himself missed the bull for a 170 as Anderson opened up a 7-2 lead and the night was summed up for ‘The Hammer’ in what turned out to be the last leg of the match, because he hit two 180s and didn’t get a dart at a double!
That’s because Anderson produced his best leg of night....an 11 darter to seal his win.
Well, Barney and Lewis served up a darting treat, battling out a brilliant 7-7 draw – the second consecutive week that both players have shared the spoils.
The Dutch ace showed again that he is getting back to something like....but it took a fabulous 126 finish on the bull to snatch the precious point after half-an-hour of top quality tungsten.
“For two weeks now, I have fought back to get something out of a game and that is very pleasing,” he said. “Obviously I am very happy with the 126 finish to get the draw, but I deserved something from the match the way I played.”
He can say that again!
With ‘The Barney Army’ in full voice, he won the opening two legs....but back came the World Champion with a stunning run. Lewis won five legs on the spin, averaging 110 in that spell....he hit six perfect darts in one leg and Barney didn’t even get a shot at a double!
Barneveld though wasn’t finished....three great legs of his own and it was 5-5. Despite a third 180 from the Dutchman, Lewis edged back in front, but another maximum from Barney and it was 6-6.
Lewis came up with a terrific 140 check-out to guarantee at least a point and he looked on course to pinch the win after hitting his 5th 180 in the deciding leg.
In fact, the World Champion had left 51 after nine darts....but then came Barneveld’s breathtaking 126 bull finish and in the end, it was the right result.
James Wade though, is bottom of the table after two weeks....a second consecutive defeat – this time he was beaten 8-4 by Simon Whitlock
‘The Machine’ was ground down by missed doubles....he blew so many chances to win legs in the early part of the game and never recovered.
The Aussie was 7-0 up and Wade hit missed 15 darts at doubles.....the Unicorn man finally got his act together by winning four straight legs – but it was too little, too late.
He actually missed two more darts at ‘tops’ to make it 7-5 before Whitlock hit the same target to seal his win and go top of the table on legs difference over Taylor.
But one thing is for sure.....you just can’t keep Phil Taylor out of the darting limelight!
Aberdeen week two results:
Adrian Lewis 7-7 Raymond van Barneveld
Gary Anderson 8-2 Andy Hamilton
Phil Taylor 8-5 Kevin Painter
Simon Whitlock 8-4 James Wade
And next week, the Premier League rolls into Belfast for more guaranteed darting drama!
By STUART PYKE
Photos courtesy Chris Sargeant