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2022 World Champion Peter Wright cruised to a seamless 6-1 victory in the final against Jonny Clayton as he baptised the brand-new format of Cazoo’s Premier League Darts, taking home five points and a £10,000 bonus.
The 51-year-old brushed off Michael Smith in a 6-3 quarter-final victory and a nail-biting 6-5 triumph over Gary Anderson to set up a night one final against arguably his closest rival in the PDC as it stands, Welshman Jonny Clayton.
‘Snakebite’ averaged an impressive 113.02 against last year’s Premier League winner Clayton, who surprisingly struggled with his scoring as he averaged just 88.72 against Wright, compared to 96.49 against James Wade in the semi-final and 103.61 against Joe Cullen in the quarter-final.
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Peter got it all right on the opening night as the World Champion dominates Jonny Clayton in tonight's final, sealing a 6-1 victory with a 113 average! ?
Incredible standard from Snakebite! ? pic.twitter.com/5qtuxjhdqr
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 3, 2022
The 2022 World Champion and PDC number two boasted a 66.67% (6/9) checkout success in the final which marked a new era for Premier League Darts as the tournament ditched the round-robin format in favour of an eight-person knockout each night.
World number one Gerwyn Price bowed out in a nine-leg quarter-final defeat to James Wade as the Cardiff-born star endured a difficult night on the outer ring. Price hit just three of 14 attempts, accumulating a 21.43% in the encounter as Wade ran away a 6-3 winner.
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James Wade takes out three ton-plus finishes in defeating an out-of-sorts world number one Gerwyn Price 6-3!
'The Machine' will face off against Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals…
? Up next ? Peter Wright v Michael Smith pic.twitter.com/G5ZVnMgSoI
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 3, 2022
However, the world number four could not carry the momentum as Wade botched a 4-2 lead against Clayton in the semi-final, with ‘The Ferret’ winning the next four legs and advancing to the final. Despite an impressive scoring performance from Wade, a 91.45 average was not enough to keep up with Clayton’s 96.94 average.
2022 Masters champion Joe Cullen made his Premier League debut but a 10.53% (2/19) checkout rate meant his night was over before it had even started as Clayton secured a routine win. The Welshman’s 6-2 victory set the tone for the night and it was two predictable faces in the final.
World Championship finalist Michael Smith has plenty of experience under his belt in the competition, finishing runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in 2018, but the ‘Bully Boy’ rarely got the chance to checkout as Peter Wright marched on.
Smith completed all three of his attempted checkouts on the night but averaged almost 12 fewer points than Wright per throw with not a single 180 to light up the Motorpoint Arena. Wright walked away with a 6-3 win, accumulating a total of 18 leg wins on the night.
Gary Anderson knocked out tournament favourite van Gerwen early on as the two-time competition winner took advantage of the throw, and despite a lower scoring average, he still came out on top.
Van Gerwen landed two ton-plus finishes, including a 135 checkout, but a 66.67% checkout rate from the ‘Flying Scotsman’ saw Anderson carry on as he looks to win his first premier event since 2018.
It was a close encounter at 6-4 but the Dutchman will be hungry for revenge in Liverpool on night two as the five-time champion aims to add another title to his elusive trophy cabinet.
Anderson’s teammate from their shared World Cup success in 2019, Peter Wright, booked his place in the final with a narrow 6-5 victory and went on to top the Premier League table after night one.
Peter Wright tops the table after Night 1 of the @CazooUK Premier League pic.twitter.com/KdzyuuXF41
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 4, 2022
Next week’s fixtures see quarter-final encounters between Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton and Michael Smith, James Wade and Joe Cullen and Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson.
The likes of Price, van Gerwen and Smith will be frustrated with early exits, but with a total of 16 nights on the Premier League calendar, darts’ elite have more than enough time to make up ground and come back stronger.
Only four players will advance to the play-offs and four will be sent home. At this point in the competition, gathering as many points and matches won as possible while also ensuring a positive leg difference can move the needle greatly in your favour.
As they say, every match matters.
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