Van Gerwen comfortably still leads Premier League Darts standings despite Berlin disappointment as Clayton revives play-off hopes

Even after the ninth round of play in Premier League Darts, Michael van Gerwen is still comfortably leading the standings. 'Mighty Mike' had a disappointing evening in Berlin on Thursday night.

The Dutchman lost in the German capital in his first match 6-5 to Jonny Clayton. The Welshman would eventually also take the weekly title in Berlin by defeating world champion Michael Smith in the final.

Van Gerwen leads the standings after nine rounds of play with 25 points. Gerwyn Price follows in second place with 20 points, while Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall both have 15 points.

Clayton narrowed his gap to the virtual playoff places with his weekly title and came in at 12 points. Behind that are still Chris Dobey (ten points), Dimitri van den Bergh (nine points) and Peter Wright (two points).