Delight for Dobey on Premier League Debut

Chris Dobey had a dream start to his debut Cazoo Premier League season, defeating reigning champion Michael van Gerwen on Night One in Belfast on Thursday with a sensational 160 checkout.

Dobey stunned the field with a hat-trick of victories at a sold-out SSE Arena, capping off a life-changing seven days for the 32-year-old.

Dobey, who appeared as a Challenger in the Premier League in 2020 and 2021, began with a 6-3 victory over world number two Peter Wright before defeating Nathan Aspinall 6-4 in the semi-final.

A thrilling final in which Dobey landed a 170 checkout in the second leg reached a deciding leg in which Dobey landed a sensational 160 checkout to take the five league points.

​​“I’m living the dream,” said a delighted Dobey.

“The 160 checkout had to go because Michael was waiting on 127 and he’s well capable of taking that out.

“Michael has got a great record against me, and it gets in your head but I knew I could do it after beating him on TV for the first time at the European Championship.

“I know what I can do, and right now my confidence is sky high.

“I felt that I deserved my place in the tournament, I didn’t have anything to prove to myself but I think I’ve proved a few people wrong tonight.

“I’m getting a taste of it now and I love it. I want to be here all the time.

Van Gerwen earns three league points by defeating Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh, in their first meetings since the World Championship final, to move up to second place on the preliminary table.

In other matches, quarterfinal winners Aspinall and Van den Bergh each leave Belfast with two points after defeating Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price, respectively.

On Thursday, February 9, the Cazoo Premier League roadshow visits Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena for Night Two of the league phase, where Welsh teammates Price and Clayton take on Dobey and Smith in the quarterfinals, respectively.

Aspinall will play Wright in the other quarterfinal matchup of the evening, and Van Gerwen will compete against Van den Bergh.

2023 Cazoo Premier League

Night One – Thursday February 2

The SSE Arena, Belfast

Quarter-Finals

Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Jonny Clayton

Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Michael Smith

Chris Dobey 6-3 Peter Wright

Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Gerwyn Price

Semi-Finals

Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Chris Dobey 6-4 Nathan Aspinall

Final

Chris Dobey 6-5 Michael van Gerwen