Betway Premier League Night Nine

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RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD swept past James Wade as the Betway Premier League visited Cardiff.

Wright's Support For Huybrechts

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PETER WRIGHT sent his support to Kim Huybrechts following the Belgian's Betway Premier League absence.

Huybrechts To Miss Cardiff Night

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KIM HUYBRECHTS is to miss the Betway Premier League Night Nine in Cardiff on Thursday.

Betway Premier League Cardiff Preview

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THE race to win spots in the Betway Premier League Play-Offs begins in earnest on Thursday in Cardiff.

Betway Premier League Cardiff Change

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THE order of play for Betway Premier League Night Nine at The Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff has been amended.

Betway Premier League Night Eight

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KIM HUYBRECHTS and Jelle Klaasen were eliminated from the Betway Premier League in Manchester.

Van Gerwen Set For Unbeaten Record

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MICHAEL VAN GERWEN is poised to break Phil Taylor's record of unbeaten televised matches.

Betway Premier League Manchester Preview

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MICHAEL VAN GERWEN is aiming to top the Betway Premier League table when he doubles up in Manchester.

Betway Premier League Night Seven

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RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD & Michael van Gerwen thrilled the Rotterdam crowd with wins.

Betway Premier League Rotterdam Preview

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MICHAEL VAN GERWEN, Raymond van Barneveld & Jelle Klaasen are set to star in Rotterdam.

Glen Durrant lifted the Unibet Premier League title in Coventry on Thursday after defeating Nathan Aspinall 11-8 in the final.

Durrant became the sixth player to taste Premier League glory with his triumph at the Ricoh Arena, and the first since Michael van Gerwen in 2013 to win the tournament in their debut season.

The 49-year-old had already made history as the third player to top the league phase, and in the Play-Offs Durrant delivered with victories over Gary Anderson - after surviving four missed match darts from the Scot - and Aspinall to scoop one of the biggest crowns in darts.

The Middlesbrough ace had claimed the £25,000 league winner's bonus last month, and scooped the £250,000 top prize for the biggest pay-day of his career.

"It's unbelievable," said an emotional Durrant. "This supersedes everything I've achieved before.

"Tonight I feel like the best player in the world and I've never had that feeling before.

"I'm feeling absolutely fantastic, I'm ecstatic. This means an awful lot to my family, friends and supporters.

"It's a mammoth achievement and it makes my move over to the PDC worthwhile.

"The game against Gary will go down as one of the worst games in Premier League Play-Offs history but I knew I couldn't play that badly twice.

"I stepped my game up massively for the final and I knew I had to to beat Nathan, who is a consummate professional and will go on to achieve many great things in darts."

The 16th staging of the Premier League, which began in Aberdeen in February, reached its climax on Thursday as Durrant and Aspinall played out the first final between two debutants since the tournament's inception in 2005.

There was nothing to separate the pair after the opening 12 legs of the final were all won on throw, but two legs later Durrant punished five missed doubles from Aspinall to go 8-6 up.

A 127 checkout followed for Durrant but Aspinall, who beat Peter Wright 10-7 in the semi-finals earlier in the night, replied with a 96 checkout to stop the rot.

However, Aspinall was unable to find a break of throw as Durrant closed out the win on his favourite double 16 to claim the title and £250,000 top prize.

"Obviously, I'm absolutely mortified to lose," said Aspinall. "After beating the World Champion I felt I had another gear and that I was going to win the final, but credit to Glen.

"He came top of the Premier League, he's probably been the best player throughout the competition and he deserves to win it.

"It's still been a great debut year for me and I'll be back next year to go one better."

Anderson had seen his hopes of claiming a third Premier League title ended when he saw four darts for victory against Durrant go begging in their semi-final, including three in a dramatic deciding leg.

Wright also lost out in the semi-finals following a season which had seen him achieve a nine-dart finish during the league phase before finishing second in the final table.

Unibet Premier League Play-Offs
Thursday October 15
Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Semi-Finals

Glen Durrant 10-9 Gary Anderson
Nathan Aspinall 10-7 Peter Wright

Final
Glen Durrant 11-8 Nathan Aspinall