2012 Premier League Darts: Week 11

The oche moved back to the seaside this week as Bournemouth hosted week 11. It was the return fixtures from the opening week which contained two draws. One of those draws was between Raymond Van Barneveld and Simon Whitlock who were up first in the BIC. Whitlock secured the first break of throw in the third leg after both players missed darts at the double. That was followed by a 116-checkout for the Australian to hold the break before exceeding it with a 155-check-out to make 4-1. There was a reprieve for Van Barneveld when Whitlock missed four darts at the double to allow the Dutchman break the throw and close the gap to 6-4. But any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Whitlock instantly broke back to earn at least a point which soon became two, moving the Aussie onto 14 points for the season, a tally which is deemed to be enough to progress into the semi-finals.

The Premier League lost to Kevin Painter on the opening night in the O2, now Gary Anderson faced a must-win match against the Artist to have any attempt at keeping his crown. Painter instantly broke the throw, courtesy of Anderson missing three darts at the double. Anderson posted his first leg of that match in leg four to get a break back but Painter responded with a 101 check-out to make it 4-1. Anderson came back from the break and hit a 140 check-out to make it 5-2 which then became 6-3 after Painter missed three darts at the double. But the Scot did exactly the same in the following leg to give Painter a point, the Artist then finished the match off 8-4 in the Mad House. Anderson is now rooted to the bottom of the table.

James Wade also lost on the opening week against Andy Hamilton. But ten weeks on and the Machine is playing to almost secure a semi-final place whereas Hamilton is playing to hang onto the coattails of the top four. Hamilton secured an instant break of throw after Wade missed two darts at the double but redeemed himself by breaking back. The next four legs would then all go with throw to make it 3-3 going into the break. Wade pulled out a 116 check-out to continue this trait at 5-4 before Hamilton topped it with a 123 finish to level once more. Wade then took it one further with a 124 check-out but then missed two darts at his beloved double ten to secure a point. The Machine then held his throw to make it 7-6 and Hamilton did likewise to gain his deserved point, leaving Painter the only player without a draw so far.

The only game Phil Taylor hasn't won so far in this Premier League was the the 7-7 draw against Adrian Lewis on the opening night. The first break of throw came in the fourth leg for the Power to take a 3-1 lead which soon became 4-2 at the interval. Lewis managed to instantly break the throw following the adverts and then held his own to level the match. Jackpot then smashed in a 160 check-out to crucially break the throw and take a 6-5 lead and then held to guarantee himself a point. Taylor then missed three darts at the double to force a deciding leg, allowing Lewis to give Taylor his first loss of the league. Lewis also moves ahead of  Barneveld into fourth.