0“ It ’ s been an amazing night for me ”
It would prove to be a futile fight back however as van Barneveld is a different animal these days and he dug deep , claiming the last three legs , with the aid of a 14-darter and a few missed doubles from Hamilton .
“ I ’ m very happy with that but when Andy went 5-4 up I thought I ’ d thrown it away ,” admitted van Barneveld . “ Luckily for me he didn ’ t play his A-game in the last three or four legs , but I hit some crucial shots .”
“ In the past I might have lost that game , and when I was 5-4 down I was hoping for a draw so I ’ m happy to have come away with the win in the end .”
“ There ’ s still pressure because you can ’ t afford to lose , and with two matches next week in Dublin - against Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor - there ’ s going to be a lot of pressure on me , but I ’ m looking forward to it .”
Michael van Gerwen 7 - 5 James Wade
A second victory of the night put Michael van Gerwen in the driving seat at the top of the Premier League table , meanwhile Wade was now under pressure from Thornton and Taylor behind him as the race for the play-offs began to heat up .
Van Gerwen secured a minimum of a draw with relative ease , he took advantage of some missed doubles from Wade in the opening leg and again in the seventh and eighth legs to move into a 6-2 lead .
Wade however was keen to get a draw and began his fight back in the ninth leg , helped by a 171 score . He then went on to secure his first break of throw in the tenth , before a hold of throw ensured the match would go all of the way .
Ultimately however the fight back from Wade would prove to be futile as van Gerwen left tops after 12-darts in the deciding leg , meaning that despite a maximum from Wade he was able to secure the two points with a 13-dart leg .
“ It ’ s been an amazing night for me ,” said van Gerwen . “ Coming here I knew it would be a dream to win both matches and to be clear at the top of the table , so I ’ m very happy to have done that .”
After Week Ten P W D L +/ - Pts Michael van Gerwen 11 7 2 2 + 22 16 James Wade 11 6 2 3 + 16 14 Raymond van Barneveld 10 6 2 2 + 13 14 Robert Thornton 10 4 3 3 + 5 11 Phil Taylor 10 4 2 4 + 5 10 Andy Hamilton 10 5 0 5 0 10 Simon Whitlock 10 4 0 6 -12 8 Adrian Lewis 10 3 1 6 -17 7
0“ It ’ s been an amazing night for me ”
Michael van Gerwen
Photo : Mike Glover / UK Darts