Darts results: Gerwyn Price hits TWO nine-dart finishes in one night of Premier League Darts

The Iceman produced his maiden televised nine-darter during his epic World Championship quarter-final defeat to Michael Smith on New Year's Day but this blockbusting Belfast brace less than eight weeks later helped him achieve two wins en route to triumphing on night three of the Premier League season.

His first perfect leg came in a stunning 6-5 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals - but only after dropping one of his darts during his second visit - and he repeated the feat against James Wade before running out a 6-4 winner.

Price's magic moment against MVG put him 3-2 up in an absorbing contest, opening up with a 177 before firing in two treble 20s only to drop his third on the floor. Undeterred, the Welshman promptly threw it in the red bit to bring up his second maximum of the match and then finished the job with a 144 checkout.

The world number one had earlier thrown a 170 checkout to seal a sparkling 6-3 victory over Michael Smith in which he averaged 108.54 compared to Bully Boy's 103.55 and Price even managed to improve on that display against MVG with a mark of 108.9.

Van Gerwen, who beat Joe Cullen 6-2 in his opening match, will feel slightly unfortunate for losing a semi-final with a 106 average for the second week running having missed out to an inspired Jonny Clayton last week.

Usually a pantomime villain, Price then completed his transformation into Belfast's unlikely darting hero by becoming the first player since Phil Taylor in the 2010 Premier League final to hit two perfect legs in one night.

He followed up two maximums with the 141 checkout in leg three to send the crowd into a state of hysteria yet again and despite the best efforts of Wade, he went on to close out the win with another stunning average of 105.32 that sees him pick up five points for the night and pocket a cheque for £10,000.

Overall, Price averaged 107.5 across his three games and also fired in a total of 12 maximums as he got his season up and running in the most emphatic fashion possible.

The 36-year-old's five-point haul for his night's work puts him just one behind leader Clayton, who remains on eight points after losing 6-3 to Wade in the quarter-finals, and on this evidence he could well be back to his very best.

Price revealed earlier this week that he's making his boxing debut in April to raise funds for three charities but darts performances like these are every bit as Box Office.

He told www.pdc.tv: "Tonight I felt like I couldn't miss. I feel on top of the world right now. I told James in the practice room [before the final] I was going to hit another one, I just fancied it tonight.

"But, as well as I played tonight, I could've possibly lost in two games which shows how high the standard is at the moment. That's how well I've been playing recently, I'm feeling good in myself.

"I put it down to being been back in the gym and looking after myself. The last two-and-a-half weeks I've been putting some hard work in at the gym."

The Machine will also be massively encouraged by his efforts having headed to Belfast with a tournament average of under 90 from his three matches so far.

After overcoming man of the moment Clayton in his opener, he produced an average of 103 to defy Peter Wright's 105 in a 6-4 victory while he also managed a highly-creditable 99.9 to push Price in the final.

Premier League: Night three results and averages

Night 3, Thursday February 17
SSE Arena, Belfast

• Michael Smith (103.55) 3-6 (108.54) Gerwyn Price
• Joe Cullen (91.88) 3-6 (91.05) Michael van Gerwen
• Gary Anderson (96.43) 4-6 (100.35) Peter Wright
• James Wade (93.13) 6-3 (94.45) Jonny Clayton

Semi-finals

• Gerwyn Price (108.9) 6-5 (106.48) Michael van Gerwen
• Peter Wright (105.2) 4-6 (102.81) James Wade

Final

• Gerwyn Price (105.32) 6-4 (99.91) James Wade

Premier League Table & Format

NW = Nights won, RU = Runner-up, SF = Semi-final defeats, MW = Matches won

1. Clayton NW 1 RU 1 SF 0 MW 5 LegD +5 Pts 8
2. Price NW 1 RU 0 SF 1 MW 4 LegD +5 Pts 7
3. Wright NW 1 RU 0 SF 2 MW 4 LegD +4 Pts 7
4. Wade NW 0 RU 1 SF 1 MW 3 LegD +1 Pts 5
5. MVG NW 0 RU 0 SF 2 MW 2 LegD +3 Pts 4
6. Cullen NW 0 RU 1 SF 0 MW 2 LegD -5 Pts 3
7. Anderson NW 0 RU 0 SF 1 MW 1 LegD -4 Pts 2
8. Smith NW 0 RU 0 SF 0 MW 0 LegD -9 Pts 0

Each night will see quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to six). Each player will meet the other seven players twice over the course of the season in a quarter-final game, plus two further nights (Night Eight and Night 16) will feature additional fixtures in the same format. Those fixtures will be a draw bracket based on how the league table looks at the time. So, whoever is top will face the eighth-placed player in the first round.

• Night Winner - 5 points + £10,000 bonus
• Runner-Up - 3 points
• Semi-Finalists - 2 points

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SEASON FIXTURES, RESULTS AND TABLE

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