Premier League Darts Night One Round-Up | Michael van Gerwen the King on Tyneside, vanquishes debutant Gian van Veen

The opening night of the 2026 Premier League Darts immediately became a Dutch affair. Both Michael van Gerwen and debutant Gian van Veen managed to reach the final. In this all-Dutch showdown, experience proved decisive, with Van Gerwen eventually proving too strong for his compatriot in a 6–4 victory, meaning Van Veen was unable to mark his debut with a nightly win.

Gian van Veen made an immediate impression on his Premier League debut by reaching the final. That already started in his opening match, where he faced 19-year-old world champion Luke Littler. The contest was evenly matched for a long time, but it was clear that Littler was vulnerable. The score remained close until 4–4. After Van Veen held his own throw to go 5–4 ahead, he survived a set dart from Littler on double five. As a result, the Dutchman was able to win his very first Premier League match.

In his semi-final, “The Giant” then dealt with Jonny Clayton, who had impressed in his opening match against fellow debutant Josh Rock with an average of nearly 110. In the semi-final, however, things went very differently.

The Welshman had several scrappy visits such as 26 and 43 and simply could not reproduce the level of play he had shown in the previous match. Van Veen was able to do so and eventually pulled clear to a 5–2 lead. Clayton did rally to make it 5–4, but the Dutchman ultimately sealed the match with a fine 11-darter to secure his place in the final.

Van Gerwen faced out-of-form Stephen Bunting in the first round, but the Dutchman quickly found himself 2–0 down. He then responded strongly and, despite missing a number of doubles, won six legs in a row to claim a 6–2 victory and reach the semi-finals, where he would face Luke Humphries.

In that semi-final, the overall level was evenly matched, but Van Gerwen ultimately made the difference with his finishing. The scoring was close, yet “Mighty Mike” recorded a convincing 6–2 win thanks to excellent finishes of 87, 97, 104, 110 and 114. Those checkouts proved decisive and sent him into the final.

In the final, Van Veen in particular needed some time to warm up. He struggled to find his rhythm in the opening two legs, while Van Gerwen was immediately firing. With a 13-darter and a 15-darter, “Mighty Mike” quickly raced into a 2–0 lead. In the third leg, Van Veen finally got on the scoreboard with a fine 84 finish.

In the fourth leg, however, Van Veen missed three darts to break straight back and level the match, allowing Van Gerwen to extend his lead to two legs once again. After “The Giant” pulled back to 3–2, it was Van Gerwen who, with three 140s and an 81 finish, surged ahead to 4–2 in just 12 darts.

Although Van Veen kept fighting his way back, Van Gerwen remained rock-solid on his own throw. The world number three closed out a 110 finish to make it 4–3, after which Van Gerwen once again produced a strong holding leg to move to 5–3 and within one leg of victory. In Van Veen’s next leg, he let his chance slip, seemingly allowing the losing finalist of the most recent World Championship to close the gap to 5–4 with relative ease.

At that point, however, Van Veen missed, giving Van Gerwen his first three match darts. “Mighty Mike” failed to take them, allowing “The Giant” to stay alive at 5–4. But as had been the case throughout the match, Van Gerwen remained unshakeable on his own throw. With a 14-darter, he sealed the win and claimed victory on the very first night of the competition.