Gerwyn Price flexed his muscles to beat Michael van Gerwen, with Luke Littler and Luke Humphries both outside the top four, sealing Antwerp’s first Premier League win of the season.
Van Gerwen defeated Littler 6-4 in an eventful semi-final with six pitching breaks in total, reaching his second final of the week on spin, averaging 100.7 and hitting in the 180s four times.
Littler missed the mark as he tried to reel in ‘The Big Fish’ in a scintillating third leg, but van Gerwen then put together a 10-darter to break en route to defeating the world number one.
Price, who beat Jan van Veen and Johnny Clayton to reach the final, now inflicts his first Premier League defeat with a 6-3 final victory over Van Gerwen in his first trip to Belgium.
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Van Gerwen defeated Luke Littler in the first semi-final, with the Dutchman hitting 10 darters to defeat the teenager’s throw
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Highlights of the quarterfinal matchup between Littler and Luke Humphries
Littler defeated defending Premier League champion Luke Humphries in a thriller in the final leg of a rollercoaster opening game that saw him score up to 14 points.
The 19-year-old made a stunning comeback, winning five of the final six legs and surviving three darts games to defeat his biggest rival in the drama of the deciding leg.
Before the match, Littler revealed that he was suffering from a bug.
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Humphries defeated Littler in the quarterfinals with a 12 dart leg and a 103 checkout.
Van Gerwen picked up where he left off in Newcastle with a comfortable 6-2 win over the below-average Josh Lock, with a Shanghai 120 finish being the highlight of the Dutchman’s victory.
After the match, Lock apologized to those in attendance on Instagram and admitted that he didn’t have a grip on the darts.
In the final, Van Gerwen lost 2-0 to Price before leveling up with a checkout of 167 at the bullseye, sinking an incredible 160.
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Van Gerwen scored an incredible 167 and completed a 160 checkout in the final against Price.
However, Price again extended his two-leg advantage with a combination finish of 82 before reaching D10.
The Welshman came close to winning by pinning D6 after being hurt by a dart error from ‘The Green Machine’.
Despite missing his match dart throw, Price ultimately secured victory, converting when it mattered most.
He said, “I played great in Germany (The Players Championship) and I’m trying to do that on the main stage. I did that towards the end and tried to stay focused. It was great. I was happy just to get two points, but five points is even better. And 10 grand!”
Price: There’s no way you can’t get a major!
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Price believes he is playing the best darts of his career and feels he can win a major title soon if he keeps playing like this.
“I think I’m playing the best I’ve ever played. I just haven’t won a tournament and that’s going to come someday,” Price said. He was in great form in Hildesheim earlier this week, but lost to Wessel Nijman in Players Championship 2.
“If I keep playing the way I’m playing, there’s no way I won’t be able to play in a major, Pro Tour or European (European Tour event). I just have to keep playing as much as I can and stay in good shape.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t win that tournament (The Players Championship 2)! Fair play to Wessel Nyman. He played great at darts and that’s all you have to do. If you play well at darts and win the match, you win the tournament. I’m going to win some!”
“Obviously ranking points and ranking tournaments are the top priority, but going out there week in and week out in front of the crowd and trying to perform and win and get points gives me confidence heading into the Pro Tour and the European Championship.”
“That’s probably my number one priority, but I just need to win this race to go into the Pro Tour (event) with confidence. So, yeah, that’s probably my number one priority at the moment.”
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Josh Locke missed the lead by a few miles, allowing Van Gerwen a break.
Creighton roared back from a 4-0 deficit to win six legs on the spin and beat a timid Stephen Bunting 6-4 in the quarter-finals, but ‘The Bullet’ remained tied for last place two weeks later with zero points.
“The Ferret” produced a showcase of his finishing, including six darts to nine in doubles, finishing with an average of 103.17 and six hits in seven at bats.
Price set up an all-Welsh semi-final against Creighton after the ‘Iceman’ fought back from a 3-1, 4-2 deficit to narrowly defeat last week’s runner-up Van Veen, who missed a match dart in the deciding leg.
The former world champion continued his dominant record against Creighton, edging the deciding leg with a 100.8 average and outspinning his World Cup teammates by 10 times.
Any early concerns for Littler and Humphries?
Littler and Humphries are currently outside of the playoff spots.
Sky Sports Darts’ Laura Turner talks about Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, both of whom are outside the top four of the Premier League table.
“I think this proves how tough this tournament is.
“If you have one or two small mistakes and you don’t feel 100 percent, anything can happen in this tournament, and then you start thinking.
“It’s only week two, so I don’t think they (Littler and Humphries) will start panicking yet.
“When it goes on for Week 3, Week 4, people start thinking, people start talking, they start questioning where they are in the league.
“I think the next few weeks are going to be very interesting as to what the table starts to look like.”
What’s going on on the third night in Glasgow?
Former two-time World Cup of Darts champion Price and Johnny Clayton clash in Glasgow
Littler headlines Glasgow next Thursday, taking on Van Gerwen in a rematch of the 2025 World Championship final, while Welsh duo Clayton and Price clash on Scottish soil.
In the other half of the draw, Bunting takes on Van Veen while defending champion Humphries tackles Locke.
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will defend his title and you can watch the match every Thursday on Sky Sports from February to May. Stream darts and other top sports now.
