Peter Wright won Night One of the 2022 Cazoo Premier League, defeating hometown hero Jonny Clayton in the final as new era began in Cardiff on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Wright maintained the mesmerising standard that saw him become a two-time World Champion in January, averaging 113.02 to defeat Clayton in the final.<\/p>\n
A sell-out crowd of over 4,000 fans were in attendance at the Motorpoint Arena to witness the new knockout format in action for the first time on a landmark night in Premier League history.<\/p>\n
Wright got his ninth successive campaign off to a perfect start, averaging over 100 across the night; beating Michael Smith in the quarter-finals in their World Championship final rematch before edging out fellow Scot Gary Anderson 6-5 to reach the final.<\/p>\n
The world number two dominated the final against reigning champion Clayton to pocket the \u00a310,000 winners’ prize and land five points to take an early lead in the table.<\/p>\n
“I’ve got a new feeling when I play now,” said Wright, who earlier this week revealed the Premier League title was his main target in 2022.<\/p>\n
“I used to wonder how Phil [Taylor] concentrated for each match but now I’ve got that feeling. I believe I can go on and win every single tournament I play, but I also know I can play better.<\/p>\n
“The new format gives you time to get used to the stage, that’s why I think I played so well in the final.<\/p>\n
“You also get to experience the amazing crowd up to three times a night, so I love it.”<\/p>\n
The final saw Wright fly out of the blocks into a 3-0 lead, and he then went seven darts into a nine-darter before eventually wrapping the leg up in 11 to move into a 4-0 advantage.<\/p>\n
Clayton won the next leg but was unable to live with the pace of Wright, who kept the Welsh crowd quiet to seal the first title of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Home favourite Clayton is second in the early standings with three points thanks to his wins over debutant Joe Cullen and James Wade in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.<\/p>\n
Losing semi-finalists Wade and Anderson go away with two points thanks to their respective quarter-final victories against world number one Gerwyn Price and five-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen.<\/p>\n
Next Thursday sees the Premier League roadshow roll into Liverpool for Night Two of the league phase, as Wright renews rivalries with Van Gerwen in the pick of the quarter-final ties.<\/p>\n
The night’s opening matches will also see Price v Anderson, Clayton v Smith and Wade v Cullen as the \u00a31 million tournament continues at the M&S Bank Arena.<\/p>\n
2022 Cazoo Premier League Semi-Finals<\/strong> Final<\/strong> Night 2 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool Peter Wright won Night One of the 2022 Cazoo Premier League, defeating hometown hero Jonny Clayton in the final as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[943,124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-results"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nNight 1 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
\nThursday February 3
\nQuarter-Finals<\/strong>
\nJonny Clayton 6-2 Joe Cullen
\nJames Wade 6-3 Gerwyn Price
\nPeter Wright 6-3 Michael Smith
\nGary Anderson 6-4 Michael van Gerwen<\/p>\n
\nJonny Clayton 6-4 James Wade
\nPeter Wright 6-5 Gary Anderson<\/p>\n
\nPeter Wright 6-1 Jonny Clayton<\/p>\n
\nThursday February 10
\nQuarter-Finals<\/strong>
\nPeter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
\nJonny Clayton v Michael Smith
\nJames Wade v Joe Cullen
\nGerwyn Price v Gary Anderson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"