Premier League Darts Night Three

REPORTS from Belfast's Odyssey Arena from night three of the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts.

The £400,000 tournament crossed the Irish Sea for the third night of league action, with four games on the night including four-time winner Phil Taylor's clash with current champion James Wade.

2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Three - Odyssey Arena, Belfast
Mervyn King 6-8 Ronnie Baxter
Adrian Lewis 6-8 Terry Jenkins
Simon Whitlock 8-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor 8-2 James Wade

Latest Table

	P	W	D	L	+/-	Pts
Phil Taylor	3	3	0	0	+13	6
Mervyn King	3	2	0	1	+5	4
Terry Jenkins	3	1	2	0	+2	4
Ronnie Baxter	3	1	1	1	0	3
Simon Whitlock	3	1	1	1	-2	3
Adrian Lewis	3	1	0	2	0	2
R v Barneveld	3	1	0	2	-5	2
James Wade	3	0	0	3	-13	0

Highlights will be available from Friday evening in the PDCtv section of this website.

RONNIE BAXTER 8-6 MERVYN KING
RONNIE BAXTER claimed his first victory of the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts in style with a 164 checkout to see off Mervyn King at Belfast's Odyssey Arena.

Baxter had picked up just one point from his opening two matches, and threw away a 4-0 lead against Phil Taylor in Bournemouth - but made no mistake against King.

The Blackpool thrower thrilled the 7,000-plus crowd with three ton-plus finishes, including a brilliant 164 to claim victory in a deciding leg.

King had shared the opening four legs with Baxter - punishing a missed double 16 from his opponent in the first leg - but a 180 from the world number six and double 18 saw the Lancastrian break throw for a 3-2 lead.

A 112 finish put him 4-2 up at the break, only for King to roar back with a 13-darter to take the seventh leg.

King hit a third 180 to open the eighth leg, but missed two darts to level matters and Baxter landed double six to steal.

Finishes of 69 and 70 kept King in the hunt at 6-5, but Baxter ensured a minimum of a point at 7-5 with a superb 100 checkout which featured two double tops to bring the crowd to its feet.

An 11-dart finish, including a 180 and a 90 checkout, saw King force a decider - but Baxter landed the killer blow with a 12-darter in the final leg, sealing victory with a 164 finish of treble 20, treble 18 and the bull.

"It was frustrating being 7-5 up against Terry in the first week and to only draw, and then to be 4-0 up against Phil and not even get a point, but I managed to hold my nerve this time," said Baxter.

"Mervyn had beaten me twice in Swindon last weekend but I missed a few doubles in those games and he was superb, but I managed to take the two points this time, and to produce that finish to get the win was brilliant.

"You have to take the chances when they come along and I did that, especially with the 100 - two doubles are bigger than a treble so I went for that - and the 164 was a brilliant way to finish."

Match Stats

Mervyn King	6-8	Ronnie Baxter
11	100+	18
11	140+	8
4	180	3
32.63	Ave1	32.37
97.89	Ave3	97.11
90	High Finish	164,112,100
0	Legs Against Throw	1

TERRY JENKINS 8-6 ADRIAN LEWIS
TERRY JENKINS remains unbeaten in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts following a thrilling 8-6 win over Adrian Lewis in Belfast - sealing victory with an 11-darter at the end of a pulsating contest.

Jenkins had drawn both of his opening two matches, but finally took victory with a classy performance at the Odyssey Arena.

Lewis maintained his form of starting games well to lead 2-1 early on - but Jenkins won three in a row to take command at 4-2 and also led 7-4 before holding off the Stoke man's fightback to seal victory in style.

Jenkins made a fine start with a 180 in the opening leg, but missed double 13 to break as Lewis posted double top for the lead.

Jenkins also hit two 180s in the second leg, with double four getting him off the mark before Lewis replied with scores of 180 and 171 in taking the third in 13 darts.

Lewis missed double top to break as Jenkins levelled in the fourth on double ten, before providing a killer blow in the fifth.

Lewis hit another maximum, but two misses at double top allowed Jenkins a chance on 137 - which he superbly took out on double ten to break for the first time.

Double five put him 4-2 up, and he also hit a 180 in the eighth to maintain a cushion at 5-3, before a 121 finish on the bullseye gave Jenkins a three-leg lead.

Double top saw Lewis complete a 14-darter to peg back a leg, but Jenkins hit a 180 and double top to ensure he could not be beaten at 7-5.

Lewis checked out a brilliant 140 to take the 12th leg, and hit a 180 and double top to forc a decider at 7-6.

Both players opened with scores of 180 and 140, but Jenkins posted a 145 to leave 36 and returned to the oche to post double 18 and claim both points.

"I'm pleased with the win and also to be unbeaten," said Jenkins. "It's an achievement against this quality of player to have played three matches and not lost.

"I wanted to start well and I did that, but I let it slip a bit in the second half when I was 4-2 up. I could have won it easier, but I think I go to sleep and I play better when I'm under pressure and fighting back.

"My winning leg was an 11-darter but the way Adrian played was probably why I did that, if he hadn't hit a 180 and 140 like me I might not have wrapped it up.

"The 137 and 121 were important shots too. The 137 was a good shot but the 121 gave me a little bit of breathing space."

Match Stats

Adrian Lewis	6-8	Terry Jenkins
11	100+	11
11	140+	10
5	180	6
31.97	Ave1	30.70
95.90	Ave3	92.11
140	High Finish	137,121
2	Legs Against Throw	3

SIMON WHITLOCK 8-5 RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD
SIMON WHITLOCK produced a finishing master-class to overcome Raymond van Barneveld 8-5 and claim his maiden Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts victory.

The Australian continued his gradual improvement in form over the opening three weeks to condemn van Barneveld to a second successive loss.

Five-time World Champion van Barneveld could only watch on as Adrian Lewis took a 6-0 lead and an 8-3 win last week, and was left to rue a near-faultless display of finishing from Whitlock this time around.

Whitlock hit his first seven darts at a double in taking a 7-3 lead and his first miss came with the second attempt of a 'double double' in a 100 finish, before he ended the game with eight doubles from nine chances.

Whitlock opened the match with a brilliant 130 checkout, and hit scores of 180 and 140 in breaking throw with a 13-darter in the second leg.

Van Barneveld hit back on double eight to get off the mark and hit 180s in the next two legs, but could only watch on as Whitlock took out 64 and then 81 - for an 11-darter - to lead 4-1.

The Dutchman took out 95 and then double 16 to win the next two legs, but missed a dart at double 16 to level in leg eight as Whitlock landed a killer blow, checking out 140 to regain a two-leg cushion.

Whitlock hit a 180 in a 13-darter to take the ninth leg, and then took out 82 on tops to maintain his incredible run of finishing.

Van Barneveld set up a potential nine-darter as he fought to stay in the game, missing treble 19 with his eighth dart of a potential perfect leg, although he did take out double 16 to win a fourth leg.

Whitlock then let him in to pull back to 7-5, with the Aussie only just missing the second double top of a party-piece 100 checkout as van Barneveld scrambled home double nine.

However, any hopes of a comeback to grab a point were swiftly dashed as Whitlock piled home double 16 for an 86 finish as he completed a memorable victory.

"I'm absolutely stoked to get such a great win," said Whitlock. "I played well early on but Raymond came back and I started getting a bit nervous towards the end, and I as just happy to win at the end.

"I'm really happy with my finishing and didn't realise it was so good during the game. It's all I practice and probably the easiest part of my game, and my scoring is what I need to work on.

"I feel my form is coming back now, I feel I'm getting better and more confident every week and I'll look forward to playing in Exeter next week."

Match Stats

Simon Whitlock	8-5	Raymond van Barneveld
15	100+	15
8	140+	6
3	180	5
31.85	Ave1	30.77
95.56	Ave3	92.32
140,130	High Finish	95
4	Legs Against Throw	3

PHIL TAYLOR 8-2 JAMES WADE
PHIL TAYLOR returned to top form in condemning reigning Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts champion James Wade to a third successive defeat this season with an 8-2 triumph in Belfast.

Wade's slow start to the 2010 season continued with another below-par display, as he failed to match Taylor's impressive scoring as the World Champion piled in six maximums and a 104 average.

Taylor's display saw him warm up in style for a clash against old rival Raymond van Barneveld in Exeter next week and show that he is approaching his best after overcoming a recent virus.

Opening scores of 140 and 180 from Taylor helped him to the first leg before he hit another maximum and double 16 to break Wade immediately.

He hit another 180 in the third, as double 16 put him 3-0 up, before Wade punished four missed doubles in the next to get off the mark on double ten.

Wade kicked off the fifth with a maximum of his own, but Taylor took out 71 to regain his three-leg cushion.

Wade produced his best leg of the game with a 12-darter in pulling back to 4-2, hitting a 180 which he followed up in style with a 128 bullseye checkout.

Taylor, though, found another gear after the break to leave Wade trailing, hitting 180s in successive legs in taking a 6-2 lead, double eight for a seventh leg and then tops to wrap up a comprehensive triumph.

"I'm over the moon to have won three from three," said unbeaten Taylor. "I'm enjoying it and feel like I'm getting back to my best after the virus I had at the start of the season.

"I'm not 100 percent yet but James didn't play as well as he can and at times I was waiting for him to kick in.

"I played steady and where I was hitting 90-odd averages I'm getting up now to 100-odd averages."

Match Stats