Well I was proved completely wrong and Mr Priestley slightly less wrong by the overlords of the oche as my two tips for the final crashed out in the semis, but with hindsight I wasn’t too disappointed with how it panned out as we were treated to a belter of a night at Wembley, and one that will never be forgotten.
Semi Final One: Phil Taylor 3 – 8 Adrian Lewis
Reminiscent of the very first week of the tournament as Jackpot proved why he is the champion of the world yet again by handing out a thrashing to the greatest player of all time.
It looked like Adrian might be struggling with his first couple of throws, but a maximum put him back on course and Taylor missed his one chance at tops to let his opponent back in to go one up.
It appeared it was the Power who was suffering as Lewis took the second against the throw without Taylor having a go at a double, and he was three up in no time with another 180 along the way.
The Power took the fourth needing just one dart at double 10 which showed he was still very much in the game and then hammered home the point with a 96 checkout to break the throw and come within one leg. Things were clearly not quite right though as it was unlike the great man to miss two shots at double ten to even things up and Lewis needed just one attempt at tops to go in at the break 4-2 up.
Jackpot held in the seventh with ease and continued at his predatory best as he pounced on one missed double from Taylor to break again and open up a four leg lead. The World Champ was in incredible rhythm now as he got seven darts into a nine darter, and eventually went out in ten to go 7-2 ahead.
The world number one notched up his third leg in the tenth but it was all over in the eleventh as Taylor missed two at double 16 which summed up how his night had gone, and Lewis moved in on double 18 to claim a resounding victory.
It was an incredible performance from Adrian Lewis who managed to defeat a man who has won thirteen games on the trot, and beat him comfortably. Taylor was nowhere near his best, which is a compliment to the man as he still averaged 99.5, but it needed Lewis to capitalise, and he did just that averaging 104.6.
You did feel that if anyone could beat Taylor it would be Lewis, but I still didn’t see it happening, especially not in the way it did. Usually you wouldn’t back the man who beats Taylor in the semi to win the final as they’re so mentally drained, but the win was so straight forward that you had to back him to take the final as well.
Semi Final Two: Raymond van Barneveld 6 – 8 Gary Anderson
Not the absolute highest quality that we have come to expect from these two men, but still a cracking match which went right down to the wire and proved how far Gary Anderson has come in the last couple of years.
It didn’t look like it was going to be his day at first as he made an incredibly slow start and was three-nil down in no time at all, missing six darts to take the second leg, and not really challenging the throw in the first and third.
The Scotsman finally kicked into life in the fourth leg, opening up with a maximum and then smashing in another to go out in 11 darts and get a leg on the board, but Barney continued his early dominance with a 13-darter to re-establish his three leg lead with ease.
The Dutchman then had a dart at double 16 to go in at the break four up, but couldn’t hit it and Anderson came back in to win the leg and crucially stay in touch at the break.
A vital break of throw came in the first after the interval with Anderson moving within one leg, and then a strong leg on his own throw saw the Scotsman level things up.
Barney was looking rattled now as the missed doubles continued to rack up and Anderson went ahead for the first time in the match, but it didn’t last long as it was Dream Boy paying for missed doubles this time as the Dutchman levelled up.
A maximum in the eleventh from Anderson saw him break again as this see-saw match continued, and it certainly continued in the next as Barney hit a 137 finish to make it 6-6.
It looked like it was finally swinging Anderson’s way though as two maximums put him on his way to take the leg and go within one of winning the match and one more was all he needed as double 18 set up a replay of the world championship final from a few short months ago.
It really was a mixed bag from both players as missed doubles were the order of the day and will have left Barney hugely frustrated not to win the match. The scoring from both men, particularly Anderson was fantastic and that’s what got him to the final.
Despite the seemingly poor quality at times, averages of 96 and 98 showed how good the scoring was at times, Anderson hitting seven 180s and his guts to come back from three down meant that he deserved the win.
Third-Place Play-Off: Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld
Not a whole lot to be said about this one, Barney wasn’t interested at all, and Taylor probably was but wasn’t showing it. There was a bit of a lack of professionalism, especially from the Dutchman, who was showing a bit of distain for the match and the £10,000 difference in prize money.
The first three went with throw, but Barney was relaxed in this state so wasn’t missing so many doubles and took the first break to g 3-1 up. The second break didn’t take long to come as Taylor took the next to stay within one.
The Power wasn’t looking in any kind of form though as he missed a couple at double 16 and found himself 4-2 down at the interval.
He came flying out of the blocks after the break though and broke straight away. The two men then opened up the eighth leg with a maximum as the standard was just improving slightly and Taylor took it to even things up.
The game was extremely tight but Barney took the ninth and tenth leg and looked like he might just push on to victory, but Taylor broke again to go just one behind his adversary and then eventually took out double two to level up again.
The Dutchman was well ahead in the thirteenth and really should have won it but fluffed his lines as Taylor stepped in to finish tops and go one away from victory and he wrapped it up in style hitting a maximum and then an 81 finish to take it 8-6.
The third-place play-off has to take place, but it really is a non-event and one the crowd just couldn’t get into despite it being a tight affair. Both men will be hugely disappointed with their night at Wembley and will be looking to put it behind them and move on, you worry for Barney though and how it’s going to effect the rest of his year.
The Final: Gary Anderson 10 – 4 Adrian Lewis
With these two getting to the final, we were all expecting an absolute thriller, but it turned out to be a one-sided affair, thanks to Gary Anderson finding his brilliant best to blow the man who beat him in the World Championship final away.
The Scot started like a train, banging in his first maximum in the first leg of the final and breaking the throw of Lewis in just 13 darts and then spectacularly taking the second with a 121 checkout and a bull finish.
Another 180 in the third saw Dream Boy break for a second time and go three ahead in no time at all and then just needed two darts at 76 to extend his lead to four legs.
Finally it was Jackpot’s time to shine in the fifth leg as he opened it up with his first 180 of the contest to drag his average up towards the high 80s, and he chalked up his first leg on double 8.
The Scot was relentless though as yet another maximum and a 101 checkout saw him go into the interval 5-1 ahead.
The break in play didn’t derail the Flying Scotsman at all as he came back to the oche and broke yet again with a 13-darter and then went 7-1 up with of all things a double three.
It was a massacre at the hands of Anderson and there was nothing the World Champion could do about it apart from just keep plugging away, but he looked punch drunk quite honestly. He came within a whisker of taking out a 131 in the ninth leg, but was immediately punished for the miss, and broken again as Anderson’s finishing was on the money again.
Lewis was nowhere near him in the tenth as Anderson went 9-1 ahead, but Jackpot showed his class by hitting a maximum to open up the eleventh leg and went on to win it comfortably.
Anderson seemed to just suffer from some nerves at the finishing line though as he missed four shots at doubles to win the match in the twelfth and Lewis stayed alive with double five, and then he took his third leg in a row to take it to 9-4.
There was a whiff of a comeback in the air, but a poor start to the fourteenth leg was penultimate nail in his coffin, the final one being a double ten from the Scot who by hitting that became the newly crowned Premier League Champion.
It was a sensational performance in the final who blew his opponent away with a blistering start and then held him at bay superbly to claim a resounding win.
You’d probably have to say that Phil Taylor has been the best player over the tournament, but you can take nothing away from Gary Anderson who thoroughly deserves the title after two brilliant wins on finals night, which Taylor couldn’t match.
It looks like it will be the first of many for The Flying Scotsman, and Adrian Lewis will certainly be in many more finals. He was disappointing in the final, but in destroying The Power showed what a force he is nowadays.
Well that’s it for another Premier League, it’s been a pleasure covering it with you all, and see you back for the UK Open.
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