Peter Wright 6-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld took the opening leg against the throw after
the players had traded 180s, but his lead was short lived as Wright
broke back in the fourth leg, which again included a 180 from each
player, to level the match at 2-2.
Both players struggled initially, but it was Wright who found a little bit
of magic, the Scotsman landing a 161 checkout to secure the draw in
spectacular fashion.
“I scraped a draw and I’m happy with that,” said Wright. “I really
enjoyed the match, but with the way Raymond was taking out the big
finishes I didn’t think I was going to win but I wanted to jump on him
when I got a chance and I never gave up.
“I’m loving the Premier League and I want to perform for the fans
every week. This is about entertaining the crowd and I think we did
that tonight, and it’s amazing for me to be part of the Premier League.”
The result means van Barneveld drew for a third successive week, but
the Dutchman said: “It’s a good point for me but it was a fantastic
finish from Peter in the last leg.
“Peter’s done really well so far this season and he’s an awesome player
who is very dangerous and he deserves this success.
“I think a draw was fair tonight and it’s another point for me. I’m
happy to be on nine points after seven weeks because two top class
darts players have to get relegated, and I want to make sure I make
the Play-Offs now.”
The Verdict
Having spent the first six weeks of this season’s Premier League
talking about the possibility of Phil Taylor being eliminated, I
suspect that we are now looking at his push for the play-offs.
The emphatic manner of his victory over Newton has put
him up to sixth in the table, and whilst he is still a couple
of points off the play-off spots, the close na