PL Darts: Road to The O2

The world’s 10 best players have been whittled down to four so it is time to remember why Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis deserve their places in the Premier League Darts play-offs, which take place at The O2 on Thursday, live on Sky Sports.

Michael van Gerwen

It seems a long time ago that Van Gerwen started the season with a 4-7 defeat to James Wade in Leeds and perhaps therein lies the secret to defeating the mighty Dutchman.

Back-to-back wins over fellow semi-finalists Anderson and Lewis, in Newcastle and Dublin respectively, were followed by a 7-1 thrashing of Michael Smith that yielded a 123 average, the highest in televised history.

He stormed to the top of the league with a 7-2 win against Peter Wright in Exeter that sparked debate about whether he is already the greatest player in the history of darts. A top-of-the-table clash against Taylor in Glasgow saw Van Gerwen relinquish a 5-1 lead to draw 6-6.

He made it three draws in a row after Robert Thornton and Raymond van Barneveld caused him to wobble in Liverpool and Cardiff, handing top spot to Taylor.

He drew with Anderson then beat Lewis to solidify his play-off push before a 7-1 win against Wade put him top of the league. Even missing a nine-darter with his final arrow could not prevent Van Gerwen picking up maximum points against Van Barneveld in Manchester.

Van Gerwen finished the regular season …

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