Fabulous Price goes back-to-back in Newcastle

With a memorable Night Eight victory in Newcastle on Thursday, Gerwyn Price defeated Michael van Gerwen 6-1 and secured back-to-back Cazoo Premier League victories.

Price arrived in Tyneside after winning in Nottingham the week before, and he continued his blistering form to cut Van Gerwen’s lead at the Premier League summit to seven points.

The Welshman produced an astronomical 114.96 average – the highest of the competition this year – to clinch his third nightly victory of the season, following his victory on Night Two in Cardiff.

Price came through an all-Welsh affair in his Night Eight opener against Jonny Clayton, cruising to a 6-1 win despite a subpar performance from his World Cup partner.

In the semi-finals, the 38-year-old ended the hopes of hometown hero Chris Dobey, holding off a late rally from the Bedlington thrower to win a rematch of Nottingham’s Night Seven showpiece.

Price, on the other hand, upped the ante in the final against the Dutchman, denying the league leader a fourth nightly victory in five weeks.

The 2021 World Champion took advantage of Van Gerwen’s early errors to build a 2-0 lead before reeling off three straight legs in 12, 13, and ten darts to seal the victory.

Last week, Van Gerwen suffered his first Premier League whitewash defeat against Dobey, and Price appeared poised to repeat the feat, only to wire a match dart at tops in leg six.

The three-time World Champion pinned double ten to start his account, but Price responded magnificently, landing his second ten-darter of the tie to wrap things up in style – achieving the Premier League’s highest match average since 2017.

“I’ve played really well over the last few weeks,” reflected Price, who is now eight points clear of fifth-placed Dobey.

“It’s nice when you can play like that, particularly against Michael, because you need those type of performances to win.

“I’m grateful it happened in the final. I slipped up once and Michael won the leg. I just wish I won 6-0!

“I’m in a good position, but every night is worth five points, so with this format, it’s not over yet.

Every time you’re winning you are enjoying it. You get momentum, you get confidence and hopefully it continues, but there’s a long way to go yet.”

Van Gerwen’s lead at the top of the table was not extended, but victories over Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall secured him a spot in his fifth nightly final of the season.

The 33-year-old hit a spectacular 150 checkout to beat Wright in Thursday’s first quarter-final before posting a ton-plus average in a rout of Aspinall.

Dobey produced a fantastic comeback to defeat world number one Michael Smith in the evening’s other quarter-finals, much to the delight of the partisan home crowd at the Utilita Arena.

Dobey was greeted warmly as he made his entrance to Newcastle United’s anthem “Local Hero,” before raising the roof with a spectacular 137 checkout in the first leg.

Smith rallied to take a 3-1 lead, but Dobey was unstoppable on home turf, winning five of the final six legs to defeat the World Champion 6-4 for the second week in a row.

Meanwhile, Aspinall broke his darting curse against Dimitri Van den Bergh, winning a dramatic last-leg decider by averaging 101 and landing seven 180s.

Van den Bergh missed a match dart at the bull in the final stages, and Aspinall took advantage to move into the top four and claim his first victory over the Belgian in 11 meetings.

2023 Cazoo Premier League

Night Eight – Thursday March 23

Utilita Arena, Newcastle

Quarter-Finals

Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Peter Wright

Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh

Gerwyn Price 6-1 Jonny Clayton

Chris Dobey 6-4 Michael Smith

 

Semi-Finals

Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Nathan Aspinall

Gerwyn Price 6-4 Chris Dobey

 

Final

Gerwyn Price 6-1 Michael van Gerwen