Coverage of the Premier League continues on Thursday March 5 from Westpoint, Exeter at 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Mix
Monday 2 March 2020 19:44, UK
Each week during the 2020 Premier League of Darts season, we review the action and reflect on the winners and losers.
Nine-dart delight
There is only one place to start this week. Michael Smith ended the three-year wait for a perfect leg in the Premier League, and sent the Dublin crowd wild.
It was the first nine-darter in the competition since Adrian Lewis achieved the feat against Raymond van Barneveld in 2017.
Bully Boy reflected on the leg after sealing the win over Daryl Gurney,
"That's my first on TV. I've missed a few on D12," he smiled. "I can't put into words how it feels.
"It's another achievement ticked off my list."
Here's hoping we will not be waiting another three years for the next nine-darter in the Premier League.
Gerwyn Price
It has been quite the start to 2020 for The Iceman. Having reached the final in three of the five Players Championship events he has entered (winning one), he followed it up with the first Euro Tour title of the year on Sunday.
Add in the fact that Price is the only player left unbeaten in the Premier League, and there is a strong case to suggest that he is the form player in the world right now.
The Welshman overcame world champion Peter Wright 7-1 in Dublin, to pick up his first win of the campaign and in the process gained a certain degree of retribution for his defeat to Snakebite at the Ally Pally.
The former professional rugby star is afraid of nobody right now, and he will be gunning to continue his impressive form this week, when he faces Glen Durrant in Exeter before heading to Minehead for the UK Open.
Competition
The table could not be much tighter right now. Michael van Gerwen returned to the top of the table, capitalising upon Durrant's loss to Nathan Aspinall, but only one point separates the top six.
MVG and The Asp sit on six points, closely followed by Price, Durrant, Smith and Gary Anderson on five.
The fact that they are so tightly bunched means it is poised nicely ahead of Night Five in Exeter.
The lead could change hands if Bully Boy manages to overturn the world No 1 on Thursday, or if Aspinall does a number on Peter Wright.
Peter Wright
The world champion followed up his breakthrough Ally Pally success with the Masters title, and also triumphed in Players Championship Five in Wigan.
But it is not quite happening for him in the Premier League just yet.
Snakebite endured arguably his worst performance of 2020 to date, averaging just 83.59 in his 7-1 defeat to Price in Dublin.
It would be ludicrous to sound alarm bells, and we know just what the Scotsman is capable of. But he will need to get points on the board in the coming week, to keep in touch with the leaders.
Rob Cross
It is now two weeks in succession where Rob Cross came out on the wrong side of a 7-5 defeat.
He became unstuck against Gary Anderson in the 3Arena, and failed to bounce back in the weekend's Euro Tour stop in Belgium, falling to Krzysztof Ratajski at the last-16 stage.
Like Wright, Voltage has now fallen behind the Premier League peloton, and will need to register some positive results in the coming weeks.
Thursday's meeting with ninth-placed Daryl Gurney would be a good place to start.
Low averages
Despite the end of the nine-darter drought, Thursday's stop in Dublin saw no player hit a three-dart average of over 100. Interestingly, it goes down as the first Premier League event since 2012 where no three-figure average was recorded.
Of course, it comes as an anomaly, given the rising standards across the board on the Pro Tour, and the top players in the game will be gunning to set the record straight this week.
Do not expect this to become a trend.
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Coverage of the Premier League continues on Thursday, March 5 from Westpoint, Exeter at 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Mix with Gary Anderson taking on 'Cool Hand' Luke Humphries. Don't forget, the Premier League is on every Thursday all the way through until the Play-Offs in London on May 21.
