Phil Taylor produced a Premier League record 117 average to beat Simon Whitlock 8-4 in Exeter, as James Wade finally got a first win.
Taylor breaks record, first wins for Barney and Wade
Phil Taylor broke a Premier League record as he produced a monumental 117 average to beat Simon Whitlock 8-4 in Exeter, where James Wade finally got his first win in the competition.
Wade finally got off the mark after three previous defeats by beating Kevin Painter, but world champion Adrian Lewis is still without a win after he was hammered 8-1 by Premier League champion Gary Anderson.
Raymond van Barneveld also got his first win of the campaign as he came from 6-4 to beat Andy Hamilton 8-6.
Taylor stole the show though, as he was in sensational form as he produced a brilliant performance against Whitlock, with the Australian doing well to win the four legs as 'The Power' remained unbeaten and top of the McCoys Premier League Darts table.
Not only did the 15-time world champion break a Premier League record with his 117.35 average, he also stuck in four 180s and was almost flawless with an 80 percent checkout rate to prove he is right back at his best.
Dedicated
"I'm over the moon," Taylor told
Sky Sports. "Simon helped as he was pushing me - the way he played was pushing me all the time, I thought there could have been a nine darter there the way we were pushing each other.
"I'm doing everything right now, I'm very dedicated and it's working so I'm sticking to it. I lost the World Championship and that was it. I was overweight and unfit and so I didn't win the World Championship because I wasn't right, but now I'm eating healthily and doing the right things."
Double-defending world champion Lewis just did not show up as he was woefully below par allowing Anderson to clear up with a comfortable 8-1 victory.
"I'm not even playing that well," Said the Scot who now lives in the West Country in Somerset. "Adrian struggled tonight to be honest and he was giving me chances so I just took them. I like him to hit the 140s and 180s so I can follow it, when they don't I tend to struggle but 8-1 tonight I'll take that.
"I'm about 40 minutes up the road, I've been down here eight years and Somerset is a great place, I love living down here."
Barney battle
Hamilton and van Barneveld did not miss a double between them in the first six legs as The Hammer moved into a 4-2 lead against the big Dutchman.
Barney stormed back though and took four legs on the bounce from 6-4 down to win 8-6, thanks to a nightmare finish for Hamilton as he missed four doubles to grab a draw.
While Barney had two draws to his name, Wade had lost all three of his previous games but finally broke that run by beating Painter 8-6, and he admitted he had not been as focused as he should have been this season.
"It's the same as every Premier League it takes a long time to get going," said Wade. "Now it's getting really tough, the players are brilliant and there's no weak link, well there is it's me!
"It's frustrating for me as I know I'm good enough to beat most players here every week but I'm not doing it. It's not a crisis but it'd be nice to get off to a nice start like everyone else has. But I'll keep fighting, I've always been a scrapper and I've never won by miles, I like to get stuck in so hopefully I can win a couple more
"But this is such a relief to win a game!"
