PHIL TAYLOR inflicted Raymond van Barneveld's first defeat of the Holsten Premier League with an amazing 8-6 win to ruin the Dutchman's 39th birthday in Doncaster.
Taylor moved four points clear at the top of the table with the victory, but both he and van Barneveld are already through to the play-offs at the end of May.
After seeing van Barneveld come from 7-4 down to grab a draw in Bournemouth last month, history looked set to repeat itself when the Dutchman mounted another fightback from the same scoreline.
But, despite scores of 180 and 140 in the decider, he had just one dart at a double 18, with Taylor taking out double seven for victory.
"I honestly thought it would be another draw when Ray left himself double 18," admitted Taylor, who averaged almost 105 in the match.
Taylor had also won the opening game of the night at The Dome, coming from 3-0 down to defeat Ronnie Baxter 8-5.
Colin Lloyd moved back above Baxter into fourth place in the table with an 8-6 victory over Roland Scholten, while Peter Manley's play-off hopes remain alive after his 8-3 defeat of winless Wayne Mardle.
Click here to visit DartsTV.
Holsten Premier League Darts
Doncaster Dome
Phil Taylor 8-5 Ronnie Baxter
Colin Lloyd 8-6 Roland Scholten
Wayne Mardle 3-8 Peter Manley
Raymond van Barneveld 6-8 Phil Taylor
Current league table
|
Name |
P |
W |
D |
L |
+/- |
Pts |
|
Phil Taylor |
10 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
+40 |
19 |
|
R van Barneveld |
8 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
+28 |
13 |
|
Roland Scholten |
9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
+5 |
10 |
|
Colin Lloyd |
9 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
-13 |
7 |
|
Ronnie Baxter |
9 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
-12 |
6 |
|
Peter Manley |
10 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
-23 |
6 |
|
Wayne Mardle |
9 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
-25 |
3 |
Highlights will be available in DartsTV from Friday evening.
PHIL TAYLOR 8-5 RONNIE BAXTER
PHIL TAYLOR survived a scare before coming from behind to defeat Ronnie Baxter 8-5 and keep alive his unbeaten Holsten Premier League Darts campaign.
The defending champion made a poor start to the contest, and found himself trailing the world number three 3-0 before kicking into gear.
Baxter missed the bullseye for a 121 finish to move four legs up, with Taylor stepping in to take out 118 and get his challenge on the move.
He took the fifth leg with his opponent sat on four, although Baxter took the next to lead 4-2 at the break.
The pair returned in explosive form, trading maximums at will during the next phase of the match.
Taylor hit two in the seventh leg, but only landed double nine after Baxter himself spurned an 80 finish.
He then levelled matters by hitting double ten in the next, and moved ahead when Baxter was again off-target with his doubles.
The tenth leg saw both players open with maximums before Taylor landed a second 180 to set up a possible nine-darter.
He hit the seventh treble 20, but missed the treble 19 and only extended his lead to 6-4 after Baxter was off target with double 11.
Taylor's momentum helped him to take the next leg and secure at least a point, and though Baxter took out 80 with two darts to cut back to 7-5, the defending champion wasted little more time before wrapping up the win with double 16.
"I thought I was going to get whitewashed at the beginning," said Taylor.
"I had to really dig in, I was nervous and at one point I thought I'd be happy with a draw.
"He put me under a lot of pressure from the beginning and I was worried. But things started to flow, the 180s came and I had a few nice finishes.
"Ronnie's a great player, he's always smiling and he's a very talented player. He'll learn a lot from being involved in the Premier League this year."
COLIN LLOYD 8-6 ROLAND SCHOLTEN
COLIN LLOYD got his play-off campaign in the Holsten Premier League Darts back on track with a dramatic 8-6 win over Roland Scholten.
Lloyd suffered a double body-blow in Newport a fortnight ago, losing to both Scholten and Raymond van Barneveld as he slipped out of the top four.
However, he showed his fighting spirit to come from behind and snatch two points against the Dutchman.
Lloyd the first leg before Scholten found his range on the treble 20 bed and landed 180s in the next three as he moved 3-1 up, including a brilliant 136 finish.
Lloyd responded with a 96 checkout before Scholten landed another maximum and a 121 finish to go into the break 4-2 up.
He extended that to 5-3 with a 118 checkout before Lloyd mounted a fine comeback, taking the next three legs without reply.
The tenth leg proved crucial, with Scholten missing seven darts at the double to take it before Lloyd took out double 16.
Scholten hit a 106 finish to square the game at 6-all, but a 111 out-shot ensured a point for Lloyd.
The world number one then clawed his way in front in the decider, and a brilliant 177 left him 24, and he landed double 12 with his last dart to seal victory.
"It's always tough against Roland but he let me off," said Lloyd. "I would have taken a point when I was behind, but I'm definitely going to accept both points!
"Roland took out some great finishes and it was demoralising, but he gave me a shot in the tenth leg, I stuck in there and took the chance.
"I've battled this far and have got to keep fighting, but people haven't seen the best of me so far in this tournament.
"I'm in fourth place and I'm trying my heart out to keep hold of that. There's a little battle going on for that spot and I'm up for it."
WAYNE MARDLE 3-8 PETER MANLEY
PETER MANLEY kept alive his play-off hopes in the Holsten Premier League Darts with an 8-3 win over Wayne Mardle in Doncaster.
Manley grabbed just his third win of the campaign at The Dome, completing the double over winless Mardle in style.
The World Championship finalist led throughout after stepping in to take the first leg against the darts.
He moved 2-0 up before Mardle took out double eight to get off the mark, but Manley won the fourth with his trademark double top.
Mardle hit his first maximum of the game on the way to taking the fifth leg, but Manley sneaked the sixth on the bull to go into the break at 4-2.
Despite missing doubles in the next, Mardle managed to pull back to 4-3, but Manley pulled clear in style by winning the next two legs.
He then took out double top after Mardle was off-target with his second dart at an audacious finish including two double 18s.
Manley hit his second maximum of the match in the next, giving him the chance to wrap up victory with his last dart at tops after Mardle missed the bull with his only dart at a 124 finish.
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD 6-8 PHIL TAYLOR
PHIL TAYLOR inflicted Raymond van Barneveld's first defeat of the Holsten Premier League with an amazing 8-6 win over the Dutchman in Doncaster.
Taylor moved four points clear at the top of the table with the victory, also condemning van Barneveld to his first defeat in the tournament.
The pair enjoyed a superb battle, with only a mid-game spurt from Taylor seeing him pull clear of his rival.
After seeing van Barneveld come from 7-4 down to grab a draw in Bournemouth last month, history looked set to repeat itself when the Dutchman mounted another fightback.
But, despite scores of 180 and 140 in the decider, he had just one dart at a double 18, with Taylor taking out double seven for victory.
"I honestly thought it would be another draw when Ray left himself double 18," admitted Taylor, who averaged almost 105 in the match.
"He's superb, absolutely brilliant and he's the reason I get up earlier every day to practice because we're feeding of each other's challenge at the moment.
"I'm delighted to have won and remain unbeaten. Even though I'm in the semi-finals, I want to keep that going and I won't ease up."
Taylor certainly showed no signs of easing up, returning to the stage at The Dome following his earlier win over Ronnie Baxter in top form.
He took the opening leg against the throw before van Barneveld hit back to move 2-1 up.
Taylor, though, found an extra gear to win four of the next five legs and establish a 5-3 cushion, including a punishing 121 checkout.
Van Barneveld hit his third maximum of the match on his way to taking the ninth leg, but Taylor hit back with two 180s of his own in the next.
Whilst a potential nine-darter went begging, he still took the leg in 13 darts before securing at least a point by moving 7-3 up when van Barneveld missed his doubles in the next.
Taylor missed double top for the match in the next, with the Dutchman taking out a 92 finish before then landing double 16 to take the game into the final leg.
"Phil played superbly," said van Barneveld. "In that last leg against the darts I hit 180, 140 and 105 and only got one dart at the double.
"You have to hit the doubles, especially against Phil, and he made me pay. I also missed doubles in the 11th leg and that was crucial."