By David Williams
Gerwyn Price gained revenge against Luke Littler but was unable to make another final of the last leg of darts’ Premier League.
Price had lost his previous two matches against the 17-year-old World Championship runner-up, but knocked him out of the quarter-final at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, 6-5.
The Ice Man – the 2021 world champion – just missed double 12 for a nine darter at 3-2 down but came back to level at 3-3.
Littler went 4-3 up but again Price came back to win the next two legs before the young Englishman levelled at 5-5 but Price triumphed 6-5 in a tense last-leg decider.
But Welsh star Price was unable to repeat that form in the semi-final and lost 6-3 to current world champion Luke Humphries.
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Michael van Gerwen then admitted he was not at his best despite winning night three with a 6-5 final win over Humphries.
The Dutchman won in Berlin last week and he again showed his mettle in a last-leg decider against the world champion.
Van Gerwen, who is three points clear of Michael Smith at the top of the table, said: “Even without my best performance I think I did a great job and sometimes that is really important.
“Double six let me down tonight but outside that my finishing and the way I played the game was a good standard.
“Of course my score could have been a lot better but sometimes that is darts. Another win, it is good.
“I always believe in my ability and I think I did the right things at the right moments.
“I have put so much pressure on myself. No targets. I’d say I’m at 90 per cent of my game.”
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Humphries led 1-0 and 4-2 and perhaps should have made it 5-2 but the Dutchman came back to 4-4 and a 180 in the ninth leg helped him forge ahead 5-4 only to see Humphries respond to level and take it into the final leg when another 180 gave Van Gerwen the advantage and he clinched victory with double top.
In his first season in the competition Humphries said: “It was important to play well.
“I was proud of the way I played and I am where I want to be, in the top four.
“It is my first year in it and I am going to enjoy it.”
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