Michael van Gerwen has captured the weekly title in the Premier League Darts for the second week in a row. With an impressive performance he defeated Michael Smith in the final during the fifth week of play in Brighton.
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Van Gerwen started the evening with wins over James Wade (6-5) and Joe Cullen (6-1). Smith took care of Gary Anderson (6-1) and Jonny Clayton (6-2).
Both players saved their best game for last. Smith threw an average of 100.61 in the final, while Van Gerwen averaged 103.89.
Two 12-darters gave the Dutchman a 3-1 lead. Smith missed four chances to make it 3-2, then Van Gerwen made it 1-4 as he pinned double 4. A 12-darter and a 126 finish brought Smith back to 4-3. Van Gerwen then kept his own leg with a 25 finish, before taking the win with an 11-darter in the tenth leg.
The eight participants play sixteen times a tournament. The format is such that a player meets the other participants twice in a quarterfinal. During two weeks of play, in the eighth and sixteenth week, the draw is made on the basis of the points.
Points can be scored with results in the sixteen tournaments. A semi-final earns two points, a second place three points and a tournament win five points and a £10,000 bonus.
Based on these points the new Premier League Darts ranking is formed. The four best players advance to the Premier League Darts play-offs.
I stumbled into the world of darts quite by accident back in 2013. For a Journalism School assignment, I had to produce a live sports report and as it happened, the European Tour event in Veldhoven was the only available option. That weekend, I caught the darts bug. The post-match interviews especially appealed to me, as darts players tend to be much more open and approachable than what you usually see with footballers on television.
After a few detours, I joined Dartsnieuws.com in 2017 as editor-in-chief. I don’t have much competitive experience myself, although I once entered a PDC Development Tour weekend just to experience what it’s like from a player’s perspective. I even managed to win a leg against a Tour Card holder and, quite by accident, earned £50 in prize money.
In 2022, I was also involved in the founding of the TOTO Dart Kings, a commercial darts team, where I worked as media manager for three years. Unfortunately, due to new legislation in the Netherlands, that project came to an end in 2025.
Through my work in darts, I’ve been fortunate to travel to some incredible events, from Premier League nights at Ahoy Rotterdam, to several World Championships, and even the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Beyond darts, I’m a passionate sports fan in general. You can always wake me up for a game of tennis or padel, and I love following football, tennis, padel, cycling, Formula 1, and ice skating.
𝗠𝘃𝗚'𝘀 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗢𝗡! 🟢
Back-to-back 🏆
Michael van Gerwen defeats Michael Smith 6-4 in the Night Five final and he reigns supreme in Brighton!
Incredible.
#CazooPL