Michael van Gerwen produced an inspired display to defeat Gerwyn Price 11-5 and secure a record-breaking seventh Cazoo Premier League title at The O2 in London on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Dutchman created another slice of history on a high-quality night of action in the capital, defeating World Champion Michael Smith and table-topper Price to retain the coveted title.<\/p>\n
Van Gerwen lifted his maiden Premier League crown at The O2 a decade ago, and his demolition of Price in Thursday\u2019s showpiece saw him overhaul Phil Taylor\u2019s tally of six Premier League titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels amazing,\u201d admitted Van Gerwen, who averaged 105 and converted three ton-plus finishes to scoop the \u00a3275,000 top prize.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know Gerwyn Price is in fantastic form. Michael Smith had won three of the last four weeks and I had been questioned about my form, and today it motivated me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always have to peak at the right moments, and when you\u2019re at The O2 competing against Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price, you have to perform at your A-game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I played some fantastic darts today, and what more can I wish for, to win this trophy for a seventh time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to produce something special and I\u2019m really glad I did. Everyone knows I had [injury] problems last week, and I worked really hard for this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not done yet. I love what I do, and there\u2019s more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opening five legs of Thursday\u2019s decider went with throw, but Van Gerwen struck the first decisive blow in leg six, producing a magnificent 170 checkout to move into a 4-2 lead.<\/p>\n
The Dutch superstar refused to relent as he extended his advantage to 7-2, following up a 13-dart hold with an effortless 128 finish to continue his charge towards the title.<\/p>\n
Price stopped the rot in sensational style, conjuring up a brilliant 161 on the bull before reducing the deficit to 4-7 after Van Gerwen uncharacteristically squandered four darts at a double.<\/p>\n
However, Van Gerwen restored his five-leg buffer after Price missed double 12 for 144 and 98 checkouts, and a spectacular 150 checkout moved the reigning champion to the brink of victory.<\/p>\n
Price had the opportunity to extend the contest in leg 16, but the Welshman paid the price for missing two darts at tops and tens, and Van Gerwen duly capitalised to cap off a dominant performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t find anything, but that\u2019s how it goes sometimes,\u201d reflected Price, who was featuring in his maiden Premier League final.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like this is one that got away, because I\u2019m playing some of the best darts I\u2019ve ever played.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was missing some targets by such a long way, I wasn\u2019t even close. I\u2019m not sure what happened, but congratulations to Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in the night, Price averaged over 107 to dispatch his World Cup partner Jonny Clayton, converting a stunning 131 checkout to wrap up an emphatic 10-2 victory.<\/p>\n
Table-topper Price kicked off Thursday\u2019s action with an 11-dart hold, racing into a 5-0 lead before 2021 champion Clayton opened his account in leg six.<\/p>\n
Price then extended his cushion with a three-leg burst of 12, 14 and 11-dart legs, before capping off an imperious display with a sensational 131 finish, culminating with a brace of double 20s.<\/p>\n
In the second semi-final, Van Gerwen defied a late rally from Smith to progress to a record-breaking ninth Premier League final, averaging 101 to celebrate a dramatic 10-8 success.<\/p>\n
Smith drew first blood with a superb 128 checkout, but a ruthless five-leg spell from Van Gerwen propelled the Dutchman into a 6-2 lead.<\/p>\n
The World Champion responded with 114, 86, 91 and 123 combinations in the latter stages, but Van Gerwen\u2019s superior scoring power saw him progress to a record-breaking ninth Premier League final.<\/p>\n
Van Gerwen – who now sets his sights on US Darts Masters glory in New York next week \u2013 pockets \u00a3305,000 in total from this year\u2019s Premier League, with three nightly wins earning him a \u00a330,000 bonus in addition to the \u00a3275,000 top prize.<\/p>\n
Price, meanwhile, claimed \u00a3125,000 as runner-up, and also walks away with a further \u00a340,000 in bonus prize money, having remarkably featured in ten finals across the 17 nights.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s four nightly wins during the season boosted his \u00a385,000 prize money to a total of \u00a3125,000, while Clayton earned \u00a3105,000 after featuring in the Play-Offs for a third consecutive campaign.<\/p>\n
2023 Cazoo Premier League Play-Offs<\/strong> Final<\/strong> Michael van Gerwen produced an inspired display to defeat Gerwyn Price 11-5 and secure a record-breaking seventh Cazoo Premier League…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[124],"tags":[],"lang":"en","translations":{"de":5317,"en":5314},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5314"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5316,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5314\/revisions\/5316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pdc.fw-web.space\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThursday May 25<\/strong>
\nThe O2, London<\/strong>
\nSemi-Finals<\/strong>
\nGerwyn Price 10-2 Jonny Clayton
\nMichael van Gerwen 10-8 Michael Smith<\/p>\n
\nMichael van Gerwen 11-5 Gerwyn Price<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"