Gary Anderson has made his move in the Premier League.
In a thrilling first night in Rotterdam, the Team Unicorn star beat both Michael Smith and Rob Cross to move up to third in the table....and he wired D12 for a 9 darter!
Anderson averaged 110 in winning the all Unicorn clash with Smith 7-2 and he dominated Rob Cross, sweeping to a 7-3 victory but missed the sport’s holy grail in that match.
“I honestly thought the D12 was in when the dart left my hand,” he said. “But a great night for me in what was a terrific atmosphere to play in. The important thing is I am in the mix for the semi-finals now.”
His finishing was superb all night. Against Cross, he hit 5/5 on the doubles. His first miss was for the 9-darter in the eighth leg! Anderson nailed finishes of 120, 104 and 117 as he took control against Cross. The World Champion, under pressure, started to miss and Gary took full advantage as he finished with an average of 100.
He hit seven T20s, the T19 but kissed the top wire of the D12 in that 8th leg. But that leg completed a run of five straight legs in the match against Cross.
In the opening game of the night against Smith, Gary went on a run of four consecutive legs to take control at 5-1, with check-outs of 68, 62, 98 and 81.
Smith hit back with a 90 finish but Anderson won it in some style with a brilliant 138 check-out and that superb average of 110.
On Thursday in Rotterdam, Anderson plays Daryl Gurney while Smith takes on Peter Wright.
Meanwhile defending PL Champion Michael van Gerwen was beaten on home soil. TDutch ace lost 7-5 to Peter Wright. It’s only Van Gerwen’s second Premier League defeat and both have been at the hands of Wright.
Results Wednesday:
Michael Smith 2-7 Gary Anderson
Rob Cross 7-4 Daryl Gurney
Raymond van Barneveld 7-3 Simon Whitlock
Peter Wright 7-5 Michael van Gerwen
Rob Cross 3-7 Gary Anderson
PL Table:
1 - Michael van Gerwen 18pts
2 - Rob Cross 16pts
3 - Gary Anderson 15pts
4 - Michael Smith 14pts
5 - Daryl Gurney 11pts
6 - Simon Whitlock 10pts
7 - Raymond van Barneveld 10pts
8 - Peter Wright 10pts
By STUART PYKE
Image courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC
