(VIDEO) Premier League Darts lookback: Van Gerwen just in top four after inconsistent start

In the run-up to the resumption of Premier League Darts action on April 19, DartsNews takes a look back on how a player has started this year's tournament with Michael van Gerwen the first to receive the spotlight.

Michael van Gerwen has something to make up for in this Premier League Darts. To everyone's surprise, he missed the play-offs for the first time last year after seven consecutive finals. The man from Vlijmen certainly makes a better impression than last year, but the inconsistencies have not disappeared from his game.

Van Gerwen started the competition with a draw against Dimitri van den Bergh. After trailing 5-6, that was the best the five-time Premier League champion could do, but Van Gerwen missed a good chance to make it 6-5 himself. Mighty Mike missed two darts on the double and then needed a 12-darter in Van den Bergh's leg to avoid defeat at the start of the Premier League.

The second match against Peter Wright was one to forget quickly. The fire was stoked by Wright in the run-up to this match. The Scot recently stated that Van Gerwen wasn't going to win a televised tournament this year. The Dutchman then dismissed these statements as banter. This verbal battle however did not bring out the best in both players. Van Gerwen only threw a 92 average, which made the two points the only positive point.

Against Rob Cross the number two of the world did come out on top. Thanks to an average of 107.58 the former world champion was defeated 7-3.

One day later, however, Van Gerwen lost his unbeaten status. The Dutchman missed too many doubles in his match against James Wade and had to acknowledge his superiority in The Machine with 7-3. Van Gerwen's average in this match was 90.91, his second lowest average ever in the Premier League.

Van Gerwen's fifth game was similar to his opening game. The Dutchman played quite solid (99.71 average) and that resulted in a point against Nathan Aspinall. There was a chance of winning though, because Van Gerwen missed a matchdart in the last leg.

With two wins, two draws and one loss, Van Gerwen is one of four players on six points, one point behind league leader Jonny Clayton. Number nine José de Sousa is only two points behind Van Gerwen, which means he still needs some points to remain active in the Premier League Darts after Judgement Night.

Rank: 4

Tournament average: 98.04

180s: 9

Checkout percentage: 43.3 procent