MICHAEL van Gerwen outlived the pack to win consecutive Premier League weeks with a close-fought 6-5 victory over Luke Humphries in Glasglow.
The seven-time Premier League champion averaged below 100 throughout the night and did not throw the best of the darts, with Humphries leading 4-2 at one point in the final.
But it was the experience of van Gerwen which beat out world number one Humphries in his debut campaign, as “MvG” came out best in a last-leg decider.
Despite Humphries throwing an average of 101.37, which was way above van Gerwen’s 93.85, it was not meant to be, and “Cool Hand Luke” still waits for his first Premier League week victory.
Van Gerwen, who is chasing a third consecutive Premier League trophy win, was happy to have come out on top, acknowledging that he was not at his best.
He told Sky Sports: “I won tonight and I didn’t even play well, that’s a good thing.
“Last year I said to myself I want to win so many weeks, I want a certain number of points. This year I do it different, I play week by week, no targets now. There’s been a lot of pressure on my shoulders.
Elsewhere in the night, teenage prodigy Luke Littler was knocked out in the quarter finals in a 6-5 loss to Gerwyn Price.
Home nation heroes Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall failed to win in front of a Glasgow crowd, and after three opening nights, both players are still winless in the Premier League.
