Van Den Bergh ends his campaign in style - Night 16 Premier League Darts review

Quarter Finals

Gerwyn Price 6 - 2 Peter Wright

Whilst at some venues this year Price's walk-ons haven't been met with quite as many boos and jeers as there once were, the Scottish crowd never forget his incident with Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts in 2018 and made it quite clear they wanted Wright to win this one. Despite this, 'The Iceman' was able to silence the crowd early on with an early break of throw. From here on in, Price never looked back and closed out the match with a spectacular 129 finish. As for 'Snakebite', he'll be disappointed that he couldn't perform to his best ability yet again in the Premier League, especially in front of a home crowd.

180s: Price 3 - 3 Wright 

Averages: Price 103.15 - 87.53 Wright

Nathan Aspinall 6 - 1 Jonny Clayton

By far the most eagerly anticipated match of the night, the play-off dream was very much still alive for both Clayton and Aspinall. However, 'The Ferret' was in the driving seat with a two-point lead so Aspinall knew he had to win to have any chance of making the O2. 'The Asp' came out like a man possessed in the match, reeling off the first five legs in a row. Clayton then hit a stunning 160 checkout, followed by a sarcastic celebration, but the damage was already done as Aspinall comfortably progressed.

180s: Aspinall 4 - 1 Clayton

Averages: Aspinall 103.09 - 93.13 Clayton

Dimitri Van Den Bergh 6 - 4 Michael Smith

After three 'nights won' on the spin, every man and his dog would've backed Smith to win this one. However, it was 'The Dreammaker' who got off to a flyer, winning the first four legs of the match in front of a bemused Aberdeen crowd. Unsurprisingly, 'Bully Boy' managed to claw his way back into the match and at 5-4 down looked like his quality was just going to be too much for the Belgian. But Van Den Bergh held his nerve and won the final leg on his throw to cause a huge upset.

180s: Van Den Bergh 3 - 3 Smith

Averages: Van Den Bergh 100.05 - 95.07 Smith

Michael Van Gerwen 6 - 3 Chris Dobey

Van Gerwen was the strong bookies favourite to win this match, however Dobey has shown he's no mug in his debut Premier League season and on his day can beat anyone. It was however, MVG who started the brightest, as he went 5-0 up in the match and looked to be cruising to a comfortable victory. It then became clear, that something was wrong with the Dutchman as he kept holding his shoulder and throwing some wayward darts. Dobey won a few legs towards the end but 'Mighty Mike' managed to bundle over the finishing line. It was unknown however whether he'd be fit enough for his semi final clash.

180s: Van Gerwen 4 - 2 Dobey

Averages: Van Gerwen 98.63 - 92.00 Dobey

Semi Finals

Gerwyn Price 6 - 3 Nathan Aspinall

After Smith's loss, Price had guaranteed himself top spot no matter what, but could still help out his friend and countryman, Jonny Clayton with a win. As for 'The Asp' it was an all or nothing game and whilst he was the underdog he has proved in the past that you can never write him off. The early stages of the match were scrappy with both players breaking each other's throw. It was 'The Iceman' who held first to go 3-1 up as Aspinall appeared to get into a spat with an idiot in the crowd. Both players then played steady but Aspinall was not able to break back and confirmed that he would be the one to finish in the demoralising position of fifth place. 

180s: Price 3 - 2 Aspinall

Averages: Price 96.28 - 88.88 Aspinall

Dimitri Van Den Bergh BYE v Michael Van Gerwen 

After getting treatment on his shoulder during the other semi final, MVG made the decision to withdraw from the match and in doing so Van Den Bergh booked his place in the final. This was a wise choice from 'Mighty Mike' as no matter what, he'd be playing Smith at next weeks playoffs so it would have been foolish to risk further damage.

Final

Dimitri Van Den Bergh 6 - 5 Gerwyn Price

After reaching the final with a slice of good luck, Van Den Bergh would go in to the match as the underdog yet again, however he did have the incentive to win a night, something only he and Peter Wright were yet to do. The match began in a bizarre fashion and was described as a "break of throw-athon" by Sky Sports Commentator, Rod Studd as neither player was able to win on their darts. It took until the eighth leg for ''The Dreammaker" to finally stop the madness and in turn went 5-3 up. Price then started to play and won the next two legs, meaning the last match of the campaign's league stage would go down to a deciding leg. Price had the darts and looked favourite, however, with the crowd on his back, missed three match darts. Van Den Bergh then kept his cool to win the match and put a sweet end to what has been an otherwise sour Premier League for him.

180s: Van Den Bergh 5 - 4 Price 

Averages: Van Den Bergh 99.25 - 93.13 Price

Overview

It will be Van Den Bergh and Clayton who will return home the happiest tonight. For 'The Dreammaker', he showed that he deserves to be up on the Premier League stage and will take confidence from the fact he beat Smith, Van Gerwen and Price in the same night, technically. As for 'The Ferret', I'm sure he'll be buying his mate, Price, a few pints through the week for beating Aspinall and sending him through. However, Price won't want to accept too many of these as it will be Clayton he plays next week at the O2. The other play-off semi will be between Smith and Van Gerwen, however could MVG's injury troubles affect this match? Will he have to withdraw again? Time will tell.