Day 1: Afternoon session, part 1

:00:44. > :00:53.Welcome to Cardiff. Next year's Champions League final will be held

:00:54. > :00:58.across the road at the Principality Stadium. This year, all about the

:00:59. > :01:08.darts. Welcome to the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff for the 2016 Unibet

:01:09. > :01:10.Champions League of Darts. The world's top 16 players are in the

:01:11. > :01:16.capital of Wales. It is massive. It is being here are

:01:17. > :01:56.the biggest stages. The top eight players on the TV.

:01:57. > :02:09.Giving us more exposure and gametime. We looking forward to it.

:02:10. > :02:13.I want to do their best and win it, the same as every other professional

:02:14. > :02:23.darts. It is the first time it has been here. It is going to be

:02:24. > :02:35.ridiculous, very hard, unfortunately. Very competitive,

:02:36. > :02:39.some special moments, I'm sure. Great for TV, great viewing. Looking

:02:40. > :02:58.forward to it, glad I have been picked.

:02:59. > :03:12.To have the top eight in the world, amazing. I know I can win. To show

:03:13. > :03:18.it in this tournament. We really are in for a cracking weekend at the

:03:19. > :03:23.Cardiff Motorpoint Arena. We have pulled in the top guns, for our

:03:24. > :03:29.experts panel. Mark Webster, Paul Nicholson. Good afternoon.

:03:30. > :03:34.Ground-breaking for the darts? It is, when it was announced, players,

:03:35. > :03:42.fans, broadcasters. Saying, oh, my God. This is fantastic. The audience

:03:43. > :03:46.this sport deserves. I want to get up and play. I have a great seat.

:03:47. > :03:50.Looking forward to working with you. We have the best eight players in

:03:51. > :03:55.the world. We will find out the best this week. Great opportunity for the

:03:56. > :04:01.players and the sport, to show how dramatic and wonderful it is. Of

:04:02. > :04:08.course. The PDC has covered every angle. BBC Sport was the final

:04:09. > :04:14.thing. What a great chance for the top eight players in the world to

:04:15. > :04:19.show it. One thing you know about the Welsh, they love sport and

:04:20. > :04:23.drama. Making a lot of noise. What will the nerves the life of the top

:04:24. > :04:28.players? They are the top eight in the world because they are the best

:04:29. > :04:32.players now, and have been for the last couple of years. When it is a

:04:33. > :04:36.new tournament, there are more jitters in the stomach. Interesting

:04:37. > :04:45.to see how these guys have adapted. All of them have played here in the

:04:46. > :04:49.Premier League darts. I think they will be nerves, they will have to

:04:50. > :04:54.manage that. Michael van Gerwen, top in the order of merit, he has to be

:04:55. > :04:59.the man to beat. Flying, winning three consecutive Euro tours,

:05:00. > :05:07.ranking events. The form plays into his hands. He will be tough to beat.

:05:08. > :05:14.Those guys will have a go, he's there to be shot at. He will have to

:05:15. > :05:20.lose one day. But there to be shot at. They are split into to macro

:05:21. > :05:30.groups. Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor renewing their rivalry, being

:05:31. > :05:35.drawn together. Drawn with the Scottish duo. The ?100,000 first

:05:36. > :05:46.prize on offer for the champion. Let's take a look at group B.

:05:47. > :05:49.Reigning world champion Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, James Wade,

:05:50. > :05:58.the former youth world champion, Michael Smith. Caroline Barker will

:05:59. > :06:05.bring us a flavour of the drama. They are a quiet bunch, this luck. A

:06:06. > :06:11.bit louder as they go through. Dan Dawson, the commentator. This is

:06:12. > :06:15.where the drama starts. Whether you are Michael van Gerwen, the world

:06:16. > :06:18.champion, Gary Anderson, Phil "The Power" Taylor, this is where it

:06:19. > :06:30.starts. The walk on, your own signature tune. The attention is

:06:31. > :06:39.even for nobodies like us. They will be signs. I don't know who that

:06:40. > :06:50.gays. Lots of butchers. Everybody in fancy dress. -- who that guy is. It

:06:51. > :06:55.is about who controls the nerves. Michael van Gerwen lookalike. He has

:06:56. > :07:00.done that costume well. The walk on music pumping, the heart going.

:07:01. > :07:04.Completely, that is when they know they had to produce their best, in

:07:05. > :07:09.just a few seconds time. It is nerve wracking. We see some of the guys

:07:10. > :07:13.unable to deal with the pressure when they get on stage. You will not

:07:14. > :07:22.get that from these guys, they know what it takes. They walk up the

:07:23. > :07:27.steps. This is exactly what Gary Anderson and company will do in a

:07:28. > :07:32.few minutes time. Is that what we are going to do common nickname is

:07:33. > :07:38.all weekend? Let's take a look at this afternoon's order of play. Gary

:07:39. > :07:43.Anderson and Michael Smith, Anderson leading the head to head for- to.

:07:44. > :07:47.Adrian Lewis against James Wade. Phil Taylor beating Peter Wright on

:07:48. > :07:51.17 occasions. Michael van Gerwen plays Robert Thornton. More matches

:07:52. > :07:58.to come later this evening when we switched to BBC Two. First up, will

:07:59. > :08:07.the Flying Scotsman gets off to a flyer? How can I explain Gary

:08:08. > :08:12.Anderson in a few words? He loves to win game he loves the prize money.

:08:13. > :08:21.Set his heart on retiring when he is 55 years old. Grumpy old man. Very

:08:22. > :08:26.laid-back bloke. Very good player. Solid player over the last couple of

:08:27. > :08:30.years. Very solid. Probably second best in the world behind Michael.

:08:31. > :08:35.He's just good. That is his strength. Does not make many

:08:36. > :08:43.mistakes. Super dart player. Really good form at the moment. Lovely

:08:44. > :08:49.throw, makes it look so easy. Nice person to get along with. You have

:08:50. > :08:54.to outscore him, to be consistent. Pile the pressure on him. Gets his

:08:55. > :09:00.head down, in the practice room. Quite quiet, get his headphones on,

:09:01. > :09:07.gets on with his drop. If the hits his doubles, unbelievable. Scoring

:09:08. > :09:11.fantastic, when he hits his doubles, these dangerous. His only weakness

:09:12. > :09:16.is missing the doubles. Scoring is amazing, the finishing has come on a

:09:17. > :09:22.long way. Finishing used to let him down. Now he does both. Strong,

:09:23. > :09:26.powerful force. He has a weakness, sometimes missing doubles, when not

:09:27. > :09:35.concentrating. Lately doing that really well. One to look out for.

:09:36. > :09:41.When Gary turns up, I can score, there is one that can score, but

:09:42. > :09:45.cannot finish. One that can score, cannot finish. When the right one

:09:46. > :09:51.turns up, happy with my game. You have to love a sportsman who gives

:09:52. > :09:56.honest answers. That is Gary talking about himself. Which game turns up.

:09:57. > :10:01.He has always been an honest player to himself and other people.

:10:02. > :10:06.Especially during interviews. What you see is what you get. Scoring

:10:07. > :10:09.power he possesses has made him the world champion over the last couple

:10:10. > :10:14.of years. He has pushed up on his doubles. The motivation to retire

:10:15. > :10:19.earlier than he could has made him extra special. If you are the world

:10:20. > :10:25.champion from you must be walking out into the arena thinking, I can

:10:26. > :10:27.win this tournament. He will be very confident, defending his title at

:10:28. > :10:33.Alexandra Palace, that takes some doing. He will be very confident.

:10:34. > :10:38.Michael van Gerwen is the favourite, but Gary has beaten him. Michael

:10:39. > :10:43.Smith has beating Gary on two occasions. What are his strengths?

:10:44. > :10:48.When he gets his scoring going, he is as good, if not better than Gary

:10:49. > :10:51.Anderson. Needs to stay positive, get rid of negativity. Don't shake

:10:52. > :10:57.your head, give your opponent anything to aim at. How will he be

:10:58. > :11:01.feeling? Excited, but nervous. Not in the best form. New tournament,

:11:02. > :11:08.hopefully he can play himself into form. Thank you, very much indeed.

:11:09. > :11:13.Live darts over the weekend on the BBC. If you want to know more about

:11:14. > :11:15.the sport, we have hired a crack team to give you your cut out and

:11:16. > :11:27.keep guide. As for the darts, they can be no

:11:28. > :11:36.longer than 12 inches. Maximum weight, 50 grams was the red bit in

:11:37. > :11:39.the middle, the bull's-eye, five foot, eight inches from the centre

:11:40. > :11:54.of the bull's-eye to the floor. This is the oche, where the players throw

:11:55. > :12:00.from. Every leg starts at 501, with the object to be getting to zero,

:12:01. > :12:05.finishing on a double. Each player throws three darts, the score is

:12:06. > :12:09.extracted from the total of the three of them. Each player must

:12:10. > :12:15.finish the leg on a double or bull's-eye. If the player fails to

:12:16. > :12:23.score, this call reverts back to the beginning of the throw. Each set is

:12:24. > :12:29.the best of 19 lakes, apart from the final. They are brilliant. Here we

:12:30. > :12:35.go from history being made in Cardiff. Champions League, 2016

:12:36. > :12:41.getting under way. Let's join our MC, John McDonnell. Hello, a very

:12:42. > :12:48.special welcome to the Motorpoint Arena in the great city of Cardiff.

:12:49. > :12:57.Welcome to the event, the Champions League of Darts, brought to you by

:12:58. > :13:04.the PDC, coming to you live from the BBC. Ladies and gentlemen, it is

:13:05. > :13:08.time to meet the players. Firstly, would you please welcome, a former

:13:09. > :14:20.World Youth Champion. And now, ladies and gentlemen the

:14:21. > :14:29.2016 Premier League champion, the reigning two time back-to-back

:14:30. > :14:37.champion of the world. The Flying Scotsman.

:14:38. > :15:28.Great noise inside the Motorpoint Arena. Fred Flintstone thoroughly

:15:29. > :15:38.enjoying himself. A huge welcome to our commentators.

:15:39. > :15:44.COMMENTATOR: Thank you, an absolute treat to be there. Absolute thrill.

:15:45. > :15:50.What age first match we have in store. Two mates from the same

:15:51. > :15:56.stable. They have been bickering all weekend about this. Gary has been

:15:57. > :16:00.telling Michael he will beating quickly, so he can have a nap before

:16:01. > :16:04.the evening session. Michael saying he will show the world champion who

:16:05. > :16:11.is boss. Gary Anderson, 49 years of age, from Scotland. He was once so

:16:12. > :16:17.disgusted by the darts P3, he threw them in a lake. Now world champion

:16:18. > :16:33.twice in a row. Michael to throw first, game on. -- darts he threw.

:16:34. > :16:39.Who will be throwing the last dart on Sunday night? Gary Anderson one

:16:40. > :16:43.of the favourites for the title. Michael Smith got himself into the

:16:44. > :16:53.top eight, the Premier League. The form since then, disappointing. This

:16:54. > :16:59.is a big opportunity. Michael Smith announced himself to the world of

:17:00. > :17:05.darts in the World Championship 2014, a stunning victory over the

:17:06. > :17:11.reigning champion, Phil "The Power" Taylor. Since then, building on the

:17:12. > :17:16.promise. One of the world's top eight players, taking on his mental.

:17:17. > :17:24.Not long before that he beat Michael van Gerwen with a 130 average, in

:17:25. > :17:31.one of the events in Barnsley. Gary Anderson, first to finish. Cannot

:17:32. > :17:46.take that out. He will be back. The first 210 legs winning the first of

:17:47. > :17:49.the group B matches. Quite of the few players mentioned about Gary

:17:50. > :17:54.Anderson's finishing. The scoring has always been there, when he hits

:17:55. > :18:00.the doubles, when he wins world title. A break of the throw in the

:18:01. > :18:04.first leg of the match. One out of one, for his doubles so far. Cannot

:18:05. > :18:09.argue with that start from Anderson. Looking confident. Michael Smith has

:18:10. > :18:15.to get his teeth into this match very quickly. He don't want to be

:18:16. > :18:18.going into the second game knowing you have to win the last two at a

:18:19. > :18:35.minimum to stay in the group. Good cover. Treble 19 twice. Cannot

:18:36. > :18:41.leave a finish, the second dart in the single. Still looking in command

:18:42. > :18:52.in this leg. Unless Smith can fill this one in. He gets another.

:18:53. > :19:03.Leaving himself 167. 170, the highest possible finish, two treble

:19:04. > :19:10.20s, and a bull's-eye. Kennedy 167. Again Anderson with a chance. Going

:19:11. > :19:18.for two tops. Double ten. He has missed. Mackail-Smith has to step in

:19:19. > :19:22.for the 74. Cannot afford to give Anderson another shot at double. A

:19:23. > :19:33.long way off from Michael. Really was a long way off double top.

:19:34. > :19:38.Double one. He gets it. You don't want to be giving Gary Anderson a

:19:39. > :19:47.second chance. More importantly he got her leg. -- got that.

:19:48. > :19:55.Slightly different mindset, Alan, to a straight knockout match. Even

:19:56. > :20:02.though you don't want to lose, you can afford to. You think of that if

:20:03. > :20:05.it happens, you don't want to be thinking that at the start of the

:20:06. > :20:18.tournament. It can have a negative effect. Just go and win. Think about

:20:19. > :20:20.that at a later stage. Smith with the 140 start, looking good to get

:20:21. > :20:34.this leg. Fancy watch darts at the Lakeside,

:20:35. > :20:40.they will remember Gary Anderson. He was a BDO player until 2009, once

:20:41. > :20:46.reaching the semifinal. Once famously throwing his darts into the

:20:47. > :21:21.lake after losing a quarterfinal. Double two. He has to get it. Well

:21:22. > :21:26.done. Really needed that one. He had missed four darts at double before

:21:27. > :21:28.that double to. Just creeping into the corner. That will settle him

:21:29. > :22:36.down. Certainly will. 16s, for tops. Double top for the

:22:37. > :22:43.leg. Not to be. Should go down for 19s. Favourite route, does not do it

:22:44. > :22:49.this time, only getting the setup. Leaving Anderson another three darts

:22:50. > :22:50.at the board. Giving him too many opportunities to win the leg.

:22:51. > :23:11.Anderson taking them. Really getting his teeth into this

:23:12. > :23:20.one. His fans starting to enjoy it, as well.

:23:21. > :23:29.Certainly getting a pretty decent crowd this afternoon. It should be

:23:30. > :23:37.rammed this evening. Tonight, Sunday afternoon, in this fantastic

:23:38. > :23:44.Motorpoint Arena, in Cardiff. He has switched to the PDC in 2010, Gary

:23:45. > :23:52.Anderson. Reaching the world final in 2011, losing to Adrian Lewis, he

:23:53. > :23:58.hit 9-darter along the way. In 2015 he beat Phil Taylor 7-6 in the

:23:59. > :24:05.final. Getting revenge against Lewis earlier this year. The final witchy

:24:06. > :24:16.won 7-5, it had the most 180 's in a match. 34, plus one 170 checkout in

:24:17. > :24:22.the penultimate leg. -- 180s. Certainly quite a few. That is a bad

:24:23. > :24:29.dart from Anderson. Good opportunity to get within one, for Michael

:24:30. > :24:35.Smith. Double top, for Michael Smith. Double ten. He has to start

:24:36. > :24:41.hitting these. Pressure on, he gets it. Gary Anderson has been in

:24:42. > :24:46.control of the match so far. Certainly that will make Michael

:24:47. > :24:52.Smith feel a whole lot better, to get within one leg. Important to

:24:53. > :24:59.stay with your opponent, then at some point, hopefully have a purple

:25:00. > :25:09.patch. Once you get the rhythm, you can roll off two, three, four legs

:25:10. > :25:16.just like that. We are yet to have a maximum in five and a bit legs.

:25:17. > :25:20.Unusual, certainly be Gary Anderson. One of those things, you either get

:25:21. > :25:29.a load, or they struggled to get them. The fans at home, and the

:25:30. > :25:35.crowd love to see a maximum. It just gets everyone going. Gets everyone

:25:36. > :25:43.off their seats. Getting there cards and placards out. We love to see the

:25:44. > :25:51.veterinary gargling it out. -- the veterinary.

:25:52. > :26:06.Would have been a better shot to stay there, simple reason he had a

:26:07. > :26:13.good lie. He needs tops. He levelled the match.

:26:14. > :26:34.Now he will be relaxed. It has not played his best yet. Certainly

:26:35. > :26:40.feeling a bit more confident. He burst onto the scene two and a half

:26:41. > :26:44.years ago at the World Championship. He was the reigning World Youth

:26:45. > :26:50.Champion, when he beat Phil Taylor, the reigning champion in the second

:26:51. > :26:56.round. At Ally Pally. Everybody suddenly took notice. We certainly

:26:57. > :27:00.did. We had seen him around the circuit for a few years, he had the

:27:01. > :27:05.potential. The question was, could he do it on the big stage against

:27:06. > :27:09.the big players? He proved it on that occasion. It went to sudden

:27:10. > :27:13.death, he took it out on a bull's-eye. Coped with the pressure.

:27:14. > :27:18.We thought this was another one of the young protege is coming through.

:27:19. > :27:25.Put himself into the top eight. Really moving on from there. So many

:27:26. > :27:30.tournaments, you just need to have a good run in one of the big events.

:27:31. > :27:38.Leaves himself double top. Did not go to the maximum, he would have

:27:39. > :27:45.busted. Michael puts the pressure on. Pressure, what pressure?

:27:46. > :27:53.Starting to motor, now. Taking it leg by leg. Smith was throwing first

:27:54. > :27:58.in that last one. That is why Gary Anderson is the world champion, he

:27:59. > :28:03.is relentless in his attack. We mentioned they are good mates. They

:28:04. > :28:09.are from the same stable, Tommy Gilmour is their manager. Laughing

:28:10. > :28:12.and joking about this all morning. Does that translate to the stage?

:28:13. > :28:18.They are used to it, all the players are the same. Winding each other up.

:28:19. > :28:22.If you go to the back room, when they are practising. They relax for

:28:23. > :28:27.the tournament, winding each other up. These two travel together, the

:28:28. > :28:32.same management. As soon as they get on the stage, they have respect for

:28:33. > :28:36.each other. When you are good mates, you want your mate to throw well,

:28:37. > :28:42.even though he is throwing against you. No, you don't. If you are

:28:43. > :28:52.playing your mate, you want to bashing. They both have two year old

:28:53. > :29:09.sons. Michael Junior. Gary,his son is called Ty. He said to Michael, we

:29:10. > :29:19.are expecting a baby, and Michael said, so am I. Both of them born

:29:20. > :29:30.around the same time. Looking good for the world champion. Still a long

:29:31. > :29:34.way to go. Who is to only half way, we have a break after ten legs. The

:29:35. > :29:42.players are used to break after five. They should be used to this,

:29:43. > :29:47.anyway. Sometimes, if things aren't going well, you need to break. If

:29:48. > :29:48.you are playing well, and hitting everything, you don't want to get

:29:49. > :30:02.off the stage. Here we go... Almost. Plenty of room there for Michael

:30:03. > :30:13.Smith. There it is. The first maximum of the Champions League.

:30:14. > :30:22.He is on a finish. 11. Treble 14 he has hit. He can't

:30:23. > :30:28.now finish. Will he be punished though? It's a big ask for 161. It

:30:29. > :30:42.is doable. Oh, how close was that to the treble

:30:43. > :30:46.18? In the mad house. He will feel better now he has hit that one, the

:30:47. > :30:57.mad house, second time he has hit it. Hit to win the third leg of the

:30:58. > :31:01.match as. Sure people down the Dog and Duck.... He is staying with him.

:31:02. > :31:20.It is important. Some point he has to make his move though.

:31:21. > :31:26.Hasn't yet led. Certainly a big feature of game

:31:27. > :31:35.players go all around the board. Certainly the 19s and 18s, scoring

:31:36. > :31:45.variations as well. The speed you have to do it, the

:31:46. > :31:49.speed. He didn't need to go for the bull. Had a quick check of the

:31:50. > :31:51.score. Michael way back half way through the leg. Could make a hole

:31:52. > :32:21.in it. Unlucky. So we are under way, that was very

:32:22. > :32:26.unusual, one maximum between them Very usual. They are undoubtedly two

:32:27. > :32:32.of the biggest scorers in the world. You talked about prematch never,

:32:33. > :32:35.maybe it is that, the fact it is an expectant crowd and audience, Mark

:32:36. > :32:40.would agree with me. Have they looked uneasy out there? Yes,

:32:41. > :32:43.Michael hasn't looked settled. He will be kind of happy with that,

:32:44. > :32:48.because the damage could have been worse, he has had a few messy leg,

:32:49. > :32:52.double one, I think needs a clean leg when he comes back, to settle

:32:53. > :32:56.him down. When you look at Gary Anderson, there have been many times

:32:57. > :32:59.where he has been smiling, his body language suggests he is relaxed

:33:00. > :33:05.more, into this event than perhaps Michael. Yes, I think so. We talked

:33:06. > :33:09.about Michael's negativity sometimes creeps in and it gets infectious in

:33:10. > :33:12.his game. The first start has not been up to scratch, to his

:33:13. > :33:18.standards, I am sure he would like to change that when he comes back

:33:19. > :33:21.out. Gary is at a stage of his career he has achieved so much

:33:22. > :33:28.where. So that might be working in his favour. What happens now in this

:33:29. > :33:31.three minute break when it is tight? More so for Michael, he doesn't want

:33:32. > :33:35.to get broke again, it will be a double break down, it is a long way

:33:36. > :33:39.back, Gary will be thinking if I can break him again I will be well in

:33:40. > :33:44.command. Massive leg in the context of the match. No-one has got into

:33:45. > :33:48.rhythm. Alan mentioned it in commentary commentary, you want to

:33:49. > :33:53.get a clean run of legs to pull away. These kind of guy, what they

:33:54. > :33:56.tend do when they are playing their best stuff, they can wrap off three,

:33:57. > :34:00.four legs in a row in quick time. We have seen they are quick and getting

:34:01. > :34:04.on with it. It is is very exciting to watch. When they hit the strap,

:34:05. > :34:09.we can see something better than this. In the context of the

:34:10. > :34:12.tournament, given the fact it's a round-robin, you really have to win

:34:13. > :34:15.your first match, because you don't want to be chasing later on in the

:34:16. > :34:18.group, do you. No, of course not. If you go into the second session with

:34:19. > :34:24.a win under your belt you are in control of the group. You don't want

:34:25. > :34:27.to be relying on favours from other players, legs, coming here and

:34:28. > :34:32.there, just win your three legs. What do you think will happen? I am

:34:33. > :34:37.looking at Gary. I don't think he will relinquish the lead. If he

:34:38. > :34:43.improves and starts to score heavier he will trouble him. Gary looks more

:34:44. > :34:48.rested and I think he might edge this 10-8. Yes, tough to disagree

:34:49. > :34:54.with Paul. Michael doesn't look settle and Gary rarely surrenders a

:34:55. > :34:57.lead. I would agree. It is worth us pointing out, cracking atmosphere

:34:58. > :35:01.here, it is very loud. People are loving it. This is the start of

:35:02. > :35:05.something you will see all weekend. Everybody has come here to have a

:35:06. > :35:09.good time. Good morning come to see great dart, it is start of what we

:35:10. > :35:13.are going to see for the rest of the weekend. Thank you very much. Back

:35:14. > :35:19.to the commentary team. Here we go. Three more practise

:35:20. > :35:24.darts apiece, and we are back under way, with Gary Anderson, the two

:35:25. > :35:29.time reining World Champion. Leading Michael Smith by six legs to

:35:30. > :35:35.four in a race to ten. As the boys were saying, Alan this

:35:36. > :35:41.is must hold, for Michael Smith. He has to get moving, no excuses any

:35:42. > :35:43.more, 6-4 down. Can't afford to lose too many leg, certain when he is

:35:44. > :35:50.throwing Needs a treble here.

:35:51. > :35:55.He has to stick with him as much as possible, then hopefully make his

:35:56. > :36:01.move, could be a big finish, a miss by Anderson, we know that can happen

:36:02. > :36:09.so often in this game, and then, you almost drive on from there.

:36:10. > :36:14.Absolutely huge arena. Terrific for watching darts. Absolutely packed.

:36:15. > :36:18.It is a sell-out tonight. I think there might be a couple of tickets

:36:19. > :36:23.left for tomorrow afternoon, nothing for Sunday 've finishing the

:36:24. > :36:26.semifinal and the final, if you are in the vicinity of the Motorpoint

:36:27. > :36:30.Arena you could do a lot worse with your Sunday afternoon, I can tell

:36:31. > :36:34.you. Needs a treble to finish. Michael

:36:35. > :36:39.Smith has at least a couple of visits here, to get him back within

:36:40. > :36:51.one, he has been level. Yet to be ahead.

:36:52. > :37:01.That puts pressure on this double top. Normally his favourite.

:37:02. > :37:09.Oh. Oh dear. That could spell trouble. And

:37:10. > :37:13.trouble it is. Gary Anderson has been relentless on double top. You

:37:14. > :37:23.can see the anguish with Michael Smith, he knows that was a big, big

:37:24. > :37:28.mistake. You feel it is last chance saloon

:37:29. > :37:32.fors in m he needs to get a run of two or three leg, not for the

:37:33. > :37:42.obvious, but for his own positive thought process. With this group

:37:43. > :37:46.system, feel you have to win at least two games to qualify, if you

:37:47. > :37:53.lose the first one, you almost feel like you are half way home.

:37:54. > :37:57.Just a reminder it is two groups of four player, they will play each

:37:58. > :38:01.other, top two go through to the semifinals tomorrow evening, in the

:38:02. > :38:12.final it is the best of 21 leg, here it's the best of 19.

:38:13. > :38:16.Following this one it is Adrian Lewis and James Wade. Pretty evenly

:38:17. > :38:28.challenged in all directions in that one.

:38:29. > :38:36.So this is for an 8-4 lead. 14 for bull's-eye.

:38:37. > :38:45.Or a treble obviously. So double 11, yes, he is not missing anything now.

:38:46. > :38:50.Easy as pie. That is not looking good for Smith

:38:51. > :38:55.now. He has hit his last five doubles in a row, Gary Anderson, for

:38:56. > :39:03.of them -- four of them double top. That one double 11 to go eight four

:39:04. > :39:07.-- 8-4 ahead and within two of a place in the Champions League. The

:39:08. > :39:12.Flying Scotsman is really flying. The Michael Smith, the woes

:39:13. > :39:16.continue, in his troubled season, in the sense of results, and

:39:17. > :39:26.performance, really. Because it has just not happened.

:39:27. > :39:30.His body language now just seemed to sigh on his way to the dartboard.

:39:31. > :39:35.That is not the first time in the match he has done it, he has done it

:39:36. > :39:50.on a few occasions with a few misses. Misses. Since he levelled

:39:51. > :39:56.the match at three legs apiece, he was broken, by Gary Anderson, that

:39:57. > :40:06.was a 13 dart leg from Gary, he has only one leg since then.

:40:07. > :40:18.Still, he is first to a finish here. He should stay there. 17s. Double

:40:19. > :40:27.18. That will give himself some geeing up there,s in m that was a

:40:28. > :40:37.nice clean kill. The St Helen's man. Needs a few more.

:40:38. > :40:41.He hasn't got the rhythm we are normally used to with Michael Smith

:40:42. > :40:46.and obviously hitting the treble 20, but just above it, all round it,

:40:47. > :40:50.moving round the board too often. That tells me he has not found his

:40:51. > :40:57.rhythm. On a regular basis throughout the match. Gary has

:40:58. > :41:08.plodded on, solid as ever. They are jumping.

:41:09. > :41:29.Treble 18 with the last one, to leave double 16. Excellent set up by

:41:30. > :41:37.the World Champion. Still hasn't hit a maximum but that is as good as,

:41:38. > :41:44.leaves him 32 points away from an 8-5 lead, 9-5 lead and he is one leg

:41:45. > :41:51.away from winning. One leg away in this first Group B match. That will

:41:52. > :41:55.make him feel a lot better, as for Michael Smith, he really has to pull

:41:56. > :42:08.his socks up. For his second game. Has to win that or he is going home.

:42:09. > :42:17.He is four up with five to play, the World Champion, here he goes. Still

:42:18. > :42:21.no 180. 180. He has that cheeky grin on his face, he knows he is in

:42:22. > :42:25.complete control of the match. Wanted to get a maximum there. He is

:42:26. > :42:43.homing in on that tenth leg. It is not getting that first dart

:42:44. > :42:50.right, is he. Way below, to the left or right.

:42:51. > :43:08.To stay alive. Another treble 19 for bull's-eye. Straight into the treble

:43:09. > :43:13.seven. Unluckry you have to say. That was the kind of thing he

:43:14. > :43:22.needed. Now then, this is for the match. He needs bull! First leg dart

:43:23. > :43:28.he has missed for a while. Double eight to stay alive. Must hit this.

:43:29. > :43:34.He has missed it. He has missed it. So Gary Anderson, 25 points away,

:43:35. > :43:40.double 12, he's done it. There's the win.

:43:41. > :43:47.It did look a bit like master and apprentice on the oche and Gary

:43:48. > :43:51.Anderson, the Flying Scotsman is off to a flierks he has won -- flyer, he

:43:52. > :44:33.has won 10-5. So a disappointing start for Michael

:44:34. > :44:38.Smith, but a terrific one for Gary Anderson, only previous televised

:44:39. > :44:42.meeting was in 2016 Premier League, Anderson winning 7-3 in Nottingham.

:44:43. > :44:45.Excellent start, and disappointment for Michael Smith and somehow now he

:44:46. > :44:51.has to go there and get his head on and try and stay in this tournament.

:44:52. > :44:54.It is going to be difficult now that first hurdle, he has hit it face on.

:44:55. > :44:57.Gary will be thrilled with that, knowing him like I do, he will be

:44:58. > :45:02.over and speak to news a minute, he will want to going bah the hotel and

:45:03. > :45:07.get sleep and reset for tonight. Gary is going to come in and have a

:45:08. > :45:11.chat shortly, as he makes his way up to the studio here, but when you

:45:12. > :45:15.looked that the and we were watching it, we said Gary has just relaxed

:45:16. > :45:19.quicker than Michael. He did not settle. No, I think the key to his

:45:20. > :45:25.game is the first start. When he lands it in the top section of the

:45:26. > :45:28.treble 20 a lot, he hits a lot of 180s and 140s and he gives himself a

:45:29. > :45:32.lot of chances of double. In this game he didn't do that, he was

:45:33. > :45:37.scratching round the board, trying to find what he was going for and

:45:38. > :45:42.like Mark said he was going at double five, double two, double 1,

:45:43. > :45:45.when you do that you are not hitting your first double shots crisply

:45:46. > :45:50.enough. We noticed shakes of the head, when you are not hitting your

:45:51. > :45:53.doubles, that has a massive effect on your confidence, and your

:45:54. > :45:58.concentration, which we talked about at the start It has had an effect on

:45:59. > :46:02.his confidence but feeding Gary, he can see his opponent is negative, I

:46:03. > :46:07.think that is probably the only weakness with Michael Smith's game.

:46:08. > :46:14.If he can eradicate that he can get stronger. Just one maximum in the

:46:15. > :46:18.match Flabbergasted. They deliver them for lunch tea and dinner, to

:46:19. > :46:21.only have one a surprise but maybe they are keeping them in the bank.

:46:22. > :46:25.We hope there will be some served tonight and this afternoon. The fans

:46:26. > :46:29.are loving it. Gary Anderson has joined us, good afternoon to you,

:46:30. > :46:32.you are live on BBC television, good afternoon to you my friend. Well

:46:33. > :46:37.done, congratulations, how does it feel to get off to a good start, you

:46:38. > :46:41.look like you are enjoying it I have not thrown like that for four weeks,

:46:42. > :46:47.I was back from Florida on Tuesday, I have no time to get ready for it.

:46:48. > :46:52.It was going for nervous against Michael. He is one of the biggest at

:46:53. > :46:58.that times I know, but he is not quite getting it on the stage yet.

:46:59. > :47:05.Yet. My man here is flabbergasted there is only one maximum. You can

:47:06. > :47:09.do better than that. I think I had three in 60 legs, the doubles were

:47:10. > :47:12.going in when I needed them. You have to be happy with the way you

:47:13. > :47:17.have come back the tour you have had a break, it will be a push to the

:47:18. > :47:21.end of the season to defend your world title, how does it feel to be

:47:22. > :47:26.back? I was panicking when I came back from Florida. I have not thrown

:47:27. > :47:29.a dart for ages so I have had about three hours today. Hopefully I will

:47:30. > :47:35.get off here, and go and have another three hours. We will talk

:47:36. > :47:38.about Phil Taylor, but he is obviously been contraiting on this

:47:39. > :47:44.even. Is that the. Same for your, is that why you had a break, you wanted

:47:45. > :47:48.to hit this tournament bang on form? So You do that with every

:47:49. > :47:52.tournament. I have just had a holiday, I haven't had one for five

:47:53. > :47:57.years. You look good by the way. The bags are kicking in. The last two

:47:58. > :48:01.years I had about 82 days home in two years, so I have been on the

:48:02. > :48:05.road a lot. Start to catch up with me, needed a wee break but I think I

:48:06. > :48:09.might have paid the price. What about coming out here, this crowd

:48:10. > :48:13.have been magnificent, you have have a great welcome, what is it like

:48:14. > :48:17.being first on on what is a brand-new tournament. Tournament. ?

:48:18. > :48:21.Never like being first on. We use this for the Premier League, you

:48:22. > :48:25.know and the crowds are bouncing, it is three-quarters full today, wait

:48:26. > :48:34.until you see it tonight. We have your final dart, this is the finish.

:48:35. > :48:36.You do like double 12. It has been named the Gary Anderson double

:48:37. > :48:41.because of the fact you won your world title with that the first time

:48:42. > :48:46.round. Now and again. I think I only hit it twice a year. Wiping a bead

:48:47. > :48:51.of sweat off the brow there. A wonderful atmosphere, it is a great

:48:52. > :48:54.venue, in many ways this is a massive opportunity, not just for

:48:55. > :49:00.you but for darts to showcase what it is about. It is. It is a long

:49:01. > :49:04.time since I have been on BBC, it is great, it is hard to think there is

:49:05. > :49:08.people that has never seen players like Michael Smith, not seen Michael

:49:09. > :49:13.van Gerwen play, you know, it is an eye opener, so it is great, even the

:49:14. > :49:18.youngsters, they have never seen the PDC players play. Great to see you

:49:19. > :49:21.Gary, thank you, thanks for popping in and having a chat. Good luck for

:49:22. > :49:29.the rest of the tournament. We will see you later, on to the next match

:49:30. > :49:36.featuring Adrian Lewis taking on James Wade. They are aiming to hit

:49:37. > :49:42.the Jackpot. Adrian Jackpot Lewis. It came about from last Vegas, I won

:49:43. > :49:49.$72,000 on a fruit machine, I couldn't claim it because I wasn't

:49:50. > :49:54.21. I should be called No Jackpot Lewis there you go. My first ever

:49:55. > :49:58.dartboard was hung on the landing in my house, I used to live in a

:49:59. > :50:01.council house and on the landing there.

:50:02. > :50:07.I was working in the building trade and we used to work alternative

:50:08. > :50:10.Saturdays, I said to the boss I said I won't be there this Saturday

:50:11. > :50:16.because I am playing a darts tournament in Newcastle. He said

:50:17. > :50:21.what do you want to play darts or pay the bills? I got to the

:50:22. > :50:27.semifinals, my first ever tournament with the pros, picked up a couple of

:50:28. > :50:33.grand and qualified for the open. I thought I can do this. What drives

:50:34. > :50:39.me? Everything really. I want to win as many tournaments as I can. That

:50:40. > :50:43.is why I practise every day. I want, you know, I want to be comfortable

:50:44. > :50:49.for the rest of my life and look after my family, really.

:50:50. > :50:56.Well he is smiling there, will he will smiling come Sunday evening.

:50:57. > :51:02.Mark Webster has rejoined us. Good to have you back, Adrian, win this?

:51:03. > :51:08.Of course, he believes himself. He won't be deed if he loses it. He is

:51:09. > :51:13.thick skinned, he is confident and fluent. Wade has the upper hand in

:51:14. > :51:16.the meetings? That doesn't surprise me, because there was a spell with

:51:17. > :51:22.those two guys when they were playing each other that was

:51:23. > :51:26.guaranteed drama. We had Draft Gate, the second time India won a world

:51:27. > :51:30.title. These guys just like to just bash each other up on the dartboard

:51:31. > :51:34.and James Wade seems to turn up against Adrian Lewis, I am not sure

:51:35. > :51:40.why, but I guarantee you he will today. He will be up for this. We

:51:41. > :51:45.are bringing you the biggests and I am delighted to say Caroline is with

:51:46. > :51:48.James's wife. Let us get the frue the ward camp. What has it been

:51:49. > :51:52.like, you have been with the player, how are the nerves? They are OK. All

:51:53. > :51:58.the players are excited. It is a huge thing to be on BBC. Everyone is

:51:59. > :52:04.taking it seriously. It is great. They were watching the game before,

:52:05. > :52:10.They are practising and they are looking over going great shot, oh,

:52:11. > :52:15.is it going to hit? It is great. James says he is playing the best

:52:16. > :52:20.darts, he credits you with that. That is sweet. His overall

:52:21. > :52:25.performance has been fantastic, he is scoring better, he is getting

:52:26. > :52:31.great averages, he is playing well. Let us hope we will get a win. He is

:52:32. > :52:37.going to make the noise in a minute, have you every confidence he can

:52:38. > :52:41.win? Yes, I support James, he is the Machine, he didn't get the name for

:52:42. > :52:45.nothing. He will crack on, hopefully get the job done. Go and stake your

:52:46. > :52:50.-- take your place as well. Thank you. Both these players have been in

:52:51. > :52:56.the top ten for over a decade. This is a very big stage for both. Lewis

:52:57. > :53:03.has won 19 matches against Wade, but it's the man from Aldershot who

:53:04. > :53:10.leads the way. Lewis did win the Auckland Masters semifinal 11-9.

:53:11. > :53:16.Match two, back to our MC. Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back

:53:17. > :53:28.to the action, we are coming to you from the Motorpoint Arena, in the

:53:29. > :53:34.great City of Cardiff. A very special welcome to our viewers

:53:35. > :53:40.joining us across the BBC. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to

:53:41. > :53:47.meet the players. Would you please welcome from Aldershot England, the

:53:48. > :53:58.winner of seven major titles, it's time to meet the Machine. James

:53:59. > :54:07.Wade. "The Boys Are Back

:54:08. > :54:54.in Town" by Thin Lizzy Now ladies and gentlemen, from the

:54:55. > :55:02.Stoke-on-Trent, England, the former two time back-to-back champion of

:55:03. > :55:25.the world Jackpot. Adrian Lewis. MUSIC: "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand

:55:26. > :56:11.New Pigbag)" by Perfecto Allstarz So James Wade and Adrian Lewis

:56:12. > :56:15.clashing in Group B here at the Champions League of dart, Gary

:56:16. > :56:22.Anderson the world champion sits at the top of the table. These two

:56:23. > :56:30.players know each other very very well. Played on this big stage all

:56:31. > :56:36.round the world on many, many occasions. As you have mentioned a

:56:37. > :56:46.few times, James Wade has the edge of Lewis. Certainly, an array of big

:56:47. > :56:52.TV titles between these two players. Adrian Lewis twice a World Champion,

:56:53. > :56:55.Jackpot from Stoke-on-Trent, 21-year-old looking forward --

:56:56. > :57:03.31-year-old looking forward to a big weekend in Cardiff.

:57:04. > :57:09.First leg James to throw first. Game on. It is James Wade who has the

:57:10. > :57:12.advantage of throwing first here. World number three Adrian Lewis,

:57:13. > :57:17.world number six James Wade. Both occupying similar position in the

:57:18. > :57:20.game. They have won a host of major titles between them but the big

:57:21. > :57:23.difference and Adrian will be the first to point it out, is that he

:57:24. > :57:31.has got the big one, he has the World Championship, won it twice in

:57:32. > :57:38.a row, and that is the main one that has eluded James Wade. Not been to a

:57:39. > :57:41.final either. The seven titles he has won to not get to a World

:57:42. > :57:46.Championship final is something he is trying to put right. So many

:57:47. > :57:50.players, good players round in the game now, you have to play your best

:57:51. > :57:55.all the way through a tournament to be the winner at the end of it.

:57:56. > :58:00.Different kinds of players as well, wouldn't you say, in terms of, there

:58:01. > :58:05.are days and entire tournaments where Adrian Lewis, when he is on

:58:06. > :58:10.it, can produce darts that pretty much nobody in the world can live

:58:11. > :58:15.with, whereas James Wade is more of a scrapper, he can beat anybody but

:58:16. > :58:20.he tends to get through tight battles with his opponent. Very

:58:21. > :58:25.solid player James. Go for the maximum. Went down stairs for the

:58:26. > :58:32.19. Treble would have left double 12. Lewis has to be careful he

:58:33. > :58:36.doesn't leave anything dodgy here, good thinking of Lewis also. Wade

:58:37. > :58:42.has the first opportunity to get the first leg on the board. 20 for his

:58:43. > :58:49.favourite tops. Tops for Wade. And that will do for

:58:50. > :58:57.James Wade, a 15 dart leg, finished on double top. A 15 darter, that is

:58:58. > :59:03.a 100 average as Lewis misses out. Wade is always solid, one of his

:59:04. > :59:07.best attributes is his composure. Certainly when it gets to the nitty

:59:08. > :59:11.gritty. Adrian Lewis can sometimes be deceptive in the sense of it can

:59:12. > :59:18.go to a tournament not in great form and all of a sud season hit the

:59:19. > :59:23.ground running. -- sudden. Can he hit the 180? Not quite. As well as

:59:24. > :59:26.the two titles for Adrian Lewis he made the final of the World

:59:27. > :59:29.Championship, the most recent one losing out to Gary Anderson, that

:59:30. > :59:34.was a repeat of his first World Championship final.

:59:35. > :59:38.When he hit the perfect nine darter, in the very first set. First man to

:59:39. > :59:43.do it in a world final and look at this.

:59:44. > :59:49.Look at this from Adrian Lewis. We mentioned it in the last game, the

:59:50. > :59:54.two players certainly big 180 hitters and only one in the entire

:59:55. > :59:58.match, which was incredible. Lewis has got himself up and run,

:59:59. > :00:09.now he needs to get the leg. The important bit. Double 10. One

:00:10. > :00:22.apiece. Both players well and truly settled into this Group B encounter.

:00:23. > :00:34.Adrian Lewis, always talked of as a player destined for great things.

:00:35. > :00:48.Where was his third dart destined to go? Second maximum. He was plucked

:00:49. > :00:52.from the streets of Stoke by Phil "The Power" Taylor as a teenager.

:00:53. > :01:04.Certainly warming the ground up, two Max Evans in two legs. -- maximums.

:01:05. > :01:05.The crowd am enjoying this, hold weekend of it at the Motorpoint

:01:06. > :01:18.Arena in Cardiff. -- a whole. Phil Taylor school in

:01:19. > :01:22.the game by the great Eric Bristow, five-time world champion. Taylor

:01:23. > :01:31.passing on his experience to Adrian Lewis. He became a two time world

:01:32. > :01:44.champion. There may be more, James Wade wants to fill this out. Gets to

:01:45. > :01:58.Shanghai. Single 20, double 20, treble 20. He needs the treble. Gets

:01:59. > :02:04.it. Tops, for 2-1. It was plumb in the middle of double top for the

:02:05. > :02:13.Machine. He has had many nicknames, James Wade. None of them vertically

:02:14. > :02:25.good until the Machine. We love our nicknames. There is a first maximum.

:02:26. > :02:30.First run for James Wade. Three in total. It was slow in the first

:02:31. > :02:37.match, despite Gary Anderson averaging 96. This one taking off in

:02:38. > :02:48.great style. Three maximums already. 120 finish. Both averaging into

:02:49. > :02:55.100s. 106:100 and seven. Can they maintain this all the way to the

:02:56. > :03:08.end? You get the feeling there will be a

:03:09. > :03:14.battle here. The crowd responding to the big schools. The players

:03:15. > :03:25.responding. That is what we want to see. Adrian Lewis, treble 20. That

:03:26. > :03:41.should mean he gets at least one dart at double. On the coat-tails. A

:03:42. > :03:48.long way off with the first one. Despite being behind in the leg,

:03:49. > :03:59.great opportunity, massive opportunity. Clear daylight. Over

:04:00. > :04:03.the other side, double nine. He bought himself the opportunity to

:04:04. > :04:14.break the throw. Lewis closing it out. They have parity once again.

:04:15. > :04:28.The battle continues. Another? Why not. 180 in the last two legs. It is

:04:29. > :04:36.simmering away, the averages are both over 100.

:04:37. > :04:46.Four maximums, two apiece. Pretty good in this encounter. Both

:04:47. > :04:56.enjoying the atmosphere in the match. James Wade is an expert at

:04:57. > :05:04.averaging just one more point than his opponent. All he does. Don't

:05:05. > :05:08.need to bash it every time. That is the formula. You average 80, he will

:05:09. > :05:16.average 101. You average 105, he will average 106. Putting him in

:05:17. > :05:28.position to execute that game plan. He has been solid performer. Treble

:05:29. > :05:29.ten. Good last dart. Good setup from James Wade. Keeping his composure at

:05:30. > :05:44.the moment. Double top, double ten. He is the

:05:45. > :05:55.best double ten artist in the game of darts. Of course he misses it.

:05:56. > :05:58.Double five, well, well. We have mentioned James Wade? Composure,

:05:59. > :06:07.just before. He missed a great chance, there. He has got away with

:06:08. > :06:18.it. Now, can he make amends? He has two hit the single first, which she

:06:19. > :06:26.does. -- which he does. No problem with double two, James Wade. Having

:06:27. > :06:30.met so many times in the past, these are players we have used for the

:06:31. > :06:36.Premier League for the best part of a decade. They have met all over the

:06:37. > :06:43.world. Some very significant meetings between them. James Wade,

:06:44. > :06:50.he won the Grand Prix title, one of the big events of the year. The

:06:51. > :07:00.hardest event. You may say that, Alan. Takes a superb player to win

:07:01. > :07:11.it. Totally agree with you. Former Grand Prix champion, Adam! -- Alan!

:07:12. > :07:15.Two the big players in the game. They won't want their opponent to

:07:16. > :07:23.get 1-0 up on them. For various reasons. The main one, they want to

:07:24. > :07:29.stay in this tournament. Whoever loses will have to beat Gary

:07:30. > :07:34.Anderson to qualify for the semifinal. Never

:07:35. > :07:45.easiest task. The maximum from Lewis gets him down to a two dart

:07:46. > :07:48.check-out, unless dart needed another treble 24 a go at the

:07:49. > :08:05.bull's-eye. The biggest finish of the luck. -- treble 20, for a go.

:08:06. > :08:14.Level, at 3-3. Six consecutive holes of throw. Not without a few scares.

:08:15. > :08:23.Maybe just one break of throw will be enough. Maintaining the average,

:08:24. > :08:31.103. Wade just under 100. Pretty good standard from both. I'm sure we

:08:32. > :08:44.will see a few more maximums before the end of the match. A race to ten.

:08:45. > :08:53.We have mentioned about James Wade being so solid. That is what he

:08:54. > :09:04.does, usually finishing around 100. One of his good attributes, in the

:09:05. > :09:12.game. It is bottle James Wade possesses, in spades. If he gets

:09:13. > :09:23.into a scrap with you, very difficult man to shake off. He has

:09:24. > :09:35.gone 19s. Leaving himself double 12. Lewis, way back. If it gets the

:09:36. > :09:44.opportunity, another treble. James Wade, to edge ahead again. Straight

:09:45. > :09:53.into double 12. Certainly building up nicely, this encounter. Started

:09:54. > :10:00.off with very few fireworks, in the second, third, fourth, fifth leg.

:10:01. > :10:04.Slowed down a bit. We have had a maximum in each of the last five

:10:05. > :10:10.legs. Both finishing around the same sort of standard. Maybe just one

:10:11. > :10:27.mistake, one phenomenal leg to break throw. A bag of spammers, from

:10:28. > :10:36.Adrian. -- spanners. Need to consolidate that bad visit. 60

:10:37. > :10:44.ahead. A chance for James Wade, if he can up the scoring. Not happy

:10:45. > :10:48.with the lie, moving slightly right. That is because of the angle the

:10:49. > :10:56.dart is going in. Going down for 19s. Successfully. Just getting his

:10:57. > :11:05.nose in front. Adrian Lewis nose of the school can dig in and out of the

:11:06. > :11:10.hole. 100, enough. Neath two trebles for a dart at the double.

:11:11. > :11:18.Opportunity for James Wade, jumping all over it. He would have loved the

:11:19. > :11:24.maximum, to leave double 12. Good opportunity, he has given himself on

:11:25. > :11:31.64. For the first break of throw in the match. A two electrician. He

:11:32. > :11:42.will get one dart at the ? only one. H, double top. That is the route. --

:11:43. > :11:50.eight. Again, he misses a dart double top. Lewis gets two darts.

:11:51. > :11:58.Double Tempest Wade was disappointed with the mess. Not as disappointed

:11:59. > :12:08.as Adrian Lewis will be, he hits the double. Some pondering to do for

:12:09. > :12:14.Adrian Lewis. The first break of throw, could it be crucial? James

:12:15. > :12:19.Wade, multiple major champion. The most recent big tournament he won

:12:20. > :12:26.was the Masters in 2014, somehow managing to win. 9-2 down to Mervyn

:12:27. > :12:30.King in the final. It was incredible, really was. Surprised

:12:31. > :12:36.when he got the winning double. You don't often see that in the

:12:37. > :12:41.professional game. It can happen. Why are they sports, you cannot stop

:12:42. > :12:48.your opponent scoring. You have to do your own thing. -- it is one of

:12:49. > :12:52.those sports. A famous come from behind victory for Adrian Lewis,

:12:53. > :12:56.against James Wade, one of the biggest matches of their career in

:12:57. > :13:10.the World Championship. We heard Paul Nicholson mention it in the

:13:11. > :13:18.warm up. Draftgate. There was a breeze on the stagette Ally Pally.

:13:19. > :13:25.Adrian winning it 9-5, winning the title for options, he should go for

:13:26. > :13:36.the bull. Lewis, back on 232. Trying to steady up here. Tops, when he

:13:37. > :13:44.returns. Lewis may go for the bull. 20 would have left a bulky number.

:13:45. > :13:54.20, for double top, James Wade. This will shuffle across the oche. James

:13:55. > :13:59.Wade has opened up a bit of a comfort zone against Adrian Lewis.

:14:00. > :14:08.Adrian winning six out of the last seven they have played. Three

:14:09. > :14:17.maximums, Adrian Lewis, but no big finishing to get him going. Needs to

:14:18. > :14:23.start making his move now, you feel. Three legs behind against someone

:14:24. > :14:37.James Wade's quality, could spell danger. Number four from Djakpa. --

:14:38. > :14:48.Jackpot. Disappointed not to hit the maximum, Wade. Lewis trying to make

:14:49. > :14:55.a move there. Leaving himself 123. Still an opportunity for James Wade,

:14:56. > :15:05.here. A big visit, this one. Can you put one in the middle. He cannot.

:15:06. > :15:15.Lewis, starts on 19s, treble 18, bull's-eye. Just missing it. Wade

:15:16. > :15:20.would need two trebles for a dart at bull's-eye. This would be a killer

:15:21. > :15:31.treble 17. Killer bull's-eye. There it is. James Wade! Putting the Cat

:15:32. > :15:40.amongst the pigeons. 161 finish, he walks off, like he's taking the dog

:15:41. > :15:49.for a walk. Can't be cooler than that, James Wade. He lead 7-3. --

:15:50. > :16:25.leads. This one living up to his daily its

:16:26. > :16:30.billing. -- living up to its billing. Fantastic match. James was

:16:31. > :16:36.very clinical on his doubles. When he finds double top onstage early,

:16:37. > :16:43.quite ominous. That 161 finish has hurt Adrian Lewis. Let's take a look

:16:44. > :16:47.at that again, pretty terrific. James really has his sights set on

:16:48. > :16:54.this. Saying I don't want to give you a sniff. Once he has this,

:16:55. > :16:59.bull's-eye using. That is what the Machine does. He does not celebrate

:17:00. > :17:05.often. Lewis will have the pressure on him. Steely concentration from

:17:06. > :17:12.James Wade. The first leg was typical James Wade, 100, 100, 100,

:17:13. > :17:15.finishing with a 78. Missing a slight chance in Lake number seven.

:17:16. > :17:21.Apart from that, solid on the doubles. Deserving his lead. What

:17:22. > :17:25.does this say about these two? Neck and neck for such a long time. They

:17:26. > :17:33.came into the Professional Darts Corporation, the big-time, around

:17:34. > :17:36.the same time, 2006, 2000 seven. James making major finals before

:17:37. > :17:41.Adrian. That did not sit well with him. James winning the first World

:17:42. > :17:46.Matchplay, Adrien started to get better. Playing each other in the

:17:47. > :17:50.Premier League. The rivalry has blossomed over the course of the

:17:51. > :17:56.last ten years. James is behind a dream in the rankings. But he's

:17:57. > :18:01.playing slightly better darts. James has been solid in the head to heads,

:18:02. > :18:05.showing today. They are rivals, in each other's pockets. They like to

:18:06. > :18:12.beat each other, no one likes to lose. That will show in the rest of

:18:13. > :18:20.the match. Are there players you get on with, players you despise

:18:21. > :18:24.Christmas name names. There are some other guys you don't want to play

:18:25. > :18:28.against, for one reason or another. It is the same, it is a selfish

:18:29. > :18:33.man's game, we look out for ourselves. A lot of banter. We have

:18:34. > :18:37.fallen out with players, but you kiss and make up, you spend so much

:18:38. > :18:45.time with the players, hard not to. Let's go back to the action, joining

:18:46. > :18:49.Dan Dawson, and Alan Little. No friends onstage, if Paul

:18:50. > :18:54.Nicholson and Mark Webster were playing each other, they would be at

:18:55. > :19:06.each other's traits. I never fell out with anybody! A likely tale.

:19:07. > :19:10.James Wade in charge thanks to tour-macro consecutive legs. Then

:19:11. > :19:14.that 161 check-out only bull's-eye, that maybe the standout moment of

:19:15. > :19:19.quality, putting him in charge of this contest. Adrian Lewis may be

:19:20. > :19:28.forced to produce somewhere near his best, to get back into this. 7-3,

:19:29. > :19:35.6-4, that is massive. A massive difference in the game. If Lewis had

:19:36. > :19:40.taken that leg, going into the interval, you feel he is in the

:19:41. > :19:47.match. Needs to get himself in the scoring zone. Finishing a bit

:19:48. > :19:51.better. 7-3, apart from the scoreline, hitting 161, as I

:19:52. > :19:55.mentioned, it looked like it was every day the week, taking the dog

:19:56. > :20:02.for a walk. A dream's face told a story. He's hitting big shots under

:20:03. > :20:09.pressure at the right times, that wins you games of darts. -- Adrian's

:20:10. > :20:14.face. When he went and won his first big title, 2007, the matchplay, he

:20:15. > :20:20.beat Terry Jenkins in the final. He beat Adrian Lewis in the semifinals.

:20:21. > :20:33.Hitting a staggering 70% of his doubles in that game. T20, to tops.

:20:34. > :20:40.-- a big 20. James Wade, we have seen his finishing, he has 78 in his

:20:41. > :20:54.sights. 20, tops. More painful this. Pain, it is. -- more pain, for

:20:55. > :21:00.Lewis. Two legs away. They really hurt. Adrian Lewis did all the hard

:21:01. > :21:05.work to give himself an opportunity to get a break back. After the

:21:06. > :21:10.break, the chance to attack the James Wade throw, get himself back

:21:11. > :21:16.into the match. Wade with one dart, thank you very much. That tells your

:21:17. > :21:20.opponent you cannot leave them an opportunity. Immediately under

:21:21. > :21:24.pressure in the next leg, thinking if I do not take the double, I'm

:21:25. > :21:33.giving them another shot. The way that Wade is finishing, could spell

:21:34. > :21:39.danger. Averaging 104 at the moment. Adrian just under 100. He needs to

:21:40. > :21:45.get that purple patch we have seen so often in his career. Certainly

:21:46. > :21:51.capable, as we know. He now has to produce, the time is running out. We

:21:52. > :21:58.have seen Adrian Lewis Ferring averages of 110 plus in long format

:21:59. > :22:03.games. Peppered with 180s. The UK Open, when he won the title, he was

:22:04. > :22:08.stunning, nobody would beat him. He needs to summon that right now.

:22:09. > :22:13.Unfortunately you cannot turn it off and on with a tap. He had the

:22:14. > :22:23.opportunity, to slide underneath with the second one. Forcing the

:22:24. > :22:26.third 13. Deflected into one. Would have left himself a better finish.

:22:27. > :22:36.Giving James Wade three more darts to win the leg. This is to go one

:22:37. > :22:42.leg away. Quite frankly, to have his foot figuratively on Adrian Lewis's

:22:43. > :22:50.wrote. He's just not missing many, when it comes to the doubles, James

:22:51. > :22:55.Wade. 9-3. The end may be nigh, the Machine may be about to go top of

:22:56. > :22:59.the table. Quite right, we have seen with this performance, fantastic

:23:00. > :23:06.from the Machine. He fires in another maximum. Great darts from

:23:07. > :23:18.the Machine. Seven in the match so far. The crowd are responding. It

:23:19. > :23:25.was quiet, now in full voice. Stand up if you love your darts, that is

:23:26. > :23:30.echoing out around the arena. Ageing Lewis has two wins seven straight

:23:31. > :23:40.legs. I am not sure... It will become very difficult, if you are

:23:41. > :23:53.averaging 60, and they're coming out of the board. It is just not

:23:54. > :24:00.happening for Adrian. James Wade doing what James Wade does. Another

:24:01. > :24:05.dart out of the board. This is rapidly turning into a heavy defeat,

:24:06. > :24:15.for Adrian Lewis. They were level at 3-3. James Wade going for treble

:24:16. > :24:20.nine. Hitting treble 14. He will come back with a rematch darts, to

:24:21. > :24:25.win a seventh consecutive leg against the two time world champion,

:24:26. > :24:34.Adrian Lewis. And to go to the top of the group. His favourite, treble

:24:35. > :24:42.nine, to leave tops. Double five. Fantastic performance. The Machine,

:24:43. > :24:49.James Wade. They were at 3-3, from there, James Wade went into massive

:24:50. > :24:54.maximum mode. The big finish stone. Adrian Lewis could not keep with

:24:55. > :24:55.him. James Wade winning this encounter, going to the top of the

:24:56. > :25:36.table. Fantastic 10-3 win. Favour Terrific start for James Wade in the

:25:37. > :25:43.Premier League. Lewis winning 7-5. Also in the Auckland Masters, Lewis

:25:44. > :25:49.winning 11-9. Sheesh impressive performance. Those two guys, they

:25:50. > :25:56.deliver a good encounter. We talk about the 161, that the did hurt

:25:57. > :26:00.Adrian Lewis. He came back, did not threaten James Wade in my opinion.

:26:01. > :26:04.He has time to regroup tonight. James will be buoyed by this

:26:05. > :26:09.performance, saying I can win this tournament. Everybody talking about

:26:10. > :26:16.van Gerwin, Taylor, Peter Wright, but I am still here. James putting

:26:17. > :26:22.down a marker. The 161 killed the game, he never recovered. He went on

:26:23. > :26:28.to win 10-3. Giving his leg average good. He will be buoyant. Wanting to

:26:29. > :26:32.get another win to ensure qualification. Seven maximums in

:26:33. > :26:38.that match, a mark of the quality. The lads are settling down, the

:26:39. > :26:44.nerves are gone. Adrian Lewis produces a loss of 180s over James

:26:45. > :26:47.Wade. I have noticed in James' game, he is starting to get his scoring

:26:48. > :26:59.but chilly boots back. -- starting to get his scoring boots

:27:00. > :27:06.back. I have noticed the crowd has been warming up. We had our first,

:27:07. > :27:14.stand up if you love your darts. How was that for you? Really good, quite

:27:15. > :27:19.shocked how Adrian played. I made the most of that, moving onwards and

:27:20. > :27:24.upwards. He promised me, he will have a turnaround on Gary and

:27:25. > :27:28.Michael. I am good, happy. You say you are shocked about him, you are

:27:29. > :27:33.supposed to say it is how well he played? Not at all, Adrian did not

:27:34. > :27:40.play how he can. I made the most of that. In moments, I was really good.

:27:41. > :27:44.In moments, I was not. We were having a look at the monitor,

:27:45. > :27:49.watching some of those shots. You watch Gary Anderson, talking about

:27:50. > :27:56.the Machine, he's in good form. Gary is Gary. Probably, in my opinion,

:27:57. > :28:01.consistently Michael van Gerwen is the best player in the world,

:28:02. > :28:08.without doubt. You have two other players, phenomenally good. They can

:28:09. > :28:14.do things other players cannot. That is Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson.

:28:15. > :28:18.They are phenomenal. Michael van Gerwen without doubt the best player

:28:19. > :28:24.in the world. Not a lot being done about it, until I play him. Still to

:28:25. > :28:30.come. The intensity of the weekend means you will play Gary Anderson.

:28:31. > :28:36.You have taken a step away, coming back this past week to get into it.

:28:37. > :28:47.Does not hold you any fear? You have to get to Michael. Every final,

:28:48. > :28:52.every title, challenge easing. -- he is in. I have to play the best

:28:53. > :29:02.player in the world, Gary Anderson. He has had a long break, quite

:29:03. > :29:07.mature. This guy is old. No, he has done it. Michael van Gerwen, Gary

:29:08. > :29:11.Anderson. Quite funny, a lot of people seem to be looking past Phil

:29:12. > :29:16.Taylor. Players who have played the game for a long time and we all know

:29:17. > :29:20.how good Phil Taylor is. So many people overlook the man committee is

:29:21. > :29:28.phenomenal. Still, at times, different gravy. If he wants to turn

:29:29. > :29:32.up, he will be there. That gravy is warming up. Well done.

:29:33. > :29:37.A couple of things that were interesting there that James said to

:29:38. > :29:41.Caroline, first of all, I played well in patches, no I didn't play

:29:42. > :29:44.well in patches. Then compared the consistency to Michael van Gerwen.

:29:45. > :29:49.That is the reason why the Dutchman is so far ahead of the rest, surely?

:29:50. > :29:52.Yeah, absolutely. His consistency, especially this month, leading into

:29:53. > :29:57.this event, has been incredible headlines. Winning two European Tour

:29:58. > :30:01.events. He won in Perth at the back end of August. Obviously, we had a

:30:02. > :30:05.triple header of pro tour events in Barnsley coming into this. He won

:30:06. > :30:08.all three. He won a lot of money this month. An incredible amount of

:30:09. > :30:13.confidence on top of what he already had. He will take some stopping.

:30:14. > :30:18.James Wade can live with him. The start of the Premier League campaign

:30:19. > :30:21.they had at the start of the year, James Wade beat gir van Gerwen in

:30:22. > :30:26.the -- Michael van Gerwen in the first match. He said, fighting talk,

:30:27. > :30:30.until I play him. That's the confidence you need to be showing. A

:30:31. > :30:34.great statement from Wade. I'm glad he said that. Not many of us have

:30:35. > :30:39.talked about him. That was a great performance. He was critical of

:30:40. > :30:43.himself saying he played some poor darts. There weren't much.

:30:44. > :30:48.Crucially, he looked in the groove as well. He looks happy as well.

:30:49. > :30:52.When James Wade is smiling, it's a happy world. Sometimes he gets a bit

:30:53. > :30:54.grumpy. He admits that. When he's playing well and he's happy, he can

:30:55. > :31:14.be dangerous. Let's look at Group B: Next up it is Phil the power Taylor,

:31:15. > :31:23.he's been reminiscing. Last time you and the BBC were one,

:31:24. > :31:29.a big darts tournament. Can you remember what you looked like? Yes,

:31:30. > :31:35.longish hair, I think a tash. I think the last time I played on BBC,

:31:36. > :31:40.were probably around '93. Look at where darts has come since then.

:31:41. > :31:46.Massive. It's really taken off, yeah. Not just in the UK, where it's

:31:47. > :31:51.always been massive. It's gone big worldwide now. For you, being part

:31:52. > :31:55.of that growth, that pride to then see this tournament this weekend,

:31:56. > :32:01.does it get through? Yeah, for me, this is brilliant. Get back on BBC.

:32:02. > :32:06.It's a milestone. I never thought for a second, you know Barry was

:32:07. > :32:09.always saying, I'm going for BBC and ITV, yeah, yeah, good luck. I never

:32:10. > :32:15.thought for a second that it would happen. We're here with you now. Do

:32:16. > :32:18.you look back at where you've been, what's happened before, the

:32:19. > :32:23.championships that you've won? Not now. What you've done before doesn't

:32:24. > :32:27.make a scrap of difference any more. The youngsters coming through really

:32:28. > :32:31.are, I won't say disrespectful, but they don't care. You're only as good

:32:32. > :32:35.as your next game. That's how it should be. It's like any world

:32:36. > :32:38.record or anybody in the Olympics or football, Brazil are great, but

:32:39. > :32:41.nobody's frightened of them any more. It's brilliant. It keeps you

:32:42. > :32:45.on your toes. That's kept me going for so long. I tell you what I want

:32:46. > :32:49.to do more than anything is to play well on BBC. I'd love to do a nine

:32:50. > :32:52.darter on BBC because I've never done that. It's a different

:32:53. > :32:56.audience. You're going to get people watching you this week, who can't

:32:57. > :33:00.afford Sky or can't afford to go down to the pub to watch it. You get

:33:01. > :33:05.people who don't really know who you are and it's lovely. Who's the big

:33:06. > :33:09.rock, the big wall in front of you then? Michael's the player in form

:33:10. > :33:15.at the minute. To be honest, they're all good players now. You have the

:33:16. > :33:20.top eight in the world. You aren't going to get no more, you can play

:33:21. > :33:23.number one or eight, it's like tennis, there's not a big gap

:33:24. > :33:27.between us. We come to Sunday night on the BBC, who's it going to be?

:33:28. > :33:31.It's one of them competition that you can't forecast who's going to

:33:32. > :33:35.get through. It's on a round Robin. It depends who plays well and who

:33:36. > :33:38.plays poor. It depends who gets through. It's hit-and-miss. It's

:33:39. > :33:42.difficult. It's like the World Cup final. You've got the top eight

:33:43. > :33:49.teams in the world, who's going to qualify? Who knows. Who do you want

:33:50. > :33:55.to be stood opposite you. Who would I like to play in the final? Adrian

:33:56. > :34:01.Lewis. Why? Because he was my little lad at one time. He used to practise

:34:02. > :34:06.with me every day. I have a soft spot for him. What a lovely chat.

:34:07. > :34:09.16-time world champion. Did you notice there that it's noisy here,

:34:10. > :34:13.obviously it's going to be, lots of people loving the darts here,

:34:14. > :34:16.Saturday afternoon. Did you notice that interview was on two big

:34:17. > :34:20.screens here and loads of people were glued to the screens. That's

:34:21. > :34:23.how much they respect that man. They respect all of the players but more

:34:24. > :34:28.so with Phil Taylor because what he's done for the game and where

:34:29. > :34:33.he's put it on the map. His success through the '90s and the early 00s,

:34:34. > :34:37.and even till about three years ago, he still wants to compete. It's that

:34:38. > :34:42.drive and hunger and ability that people really respect. Also, he is

:34:43. > :34:48.really targeting this competition. Yeah, of course. It's great. He

:34:49. > :34:56.hasn't won a major title for a while. He'll be fansying it. There's

:34:57. > :35:02.lovely archive then with him - hair and a moustache. We all age. I'd

:35:03. > :35:07.forgot whan he looked like in '93. When we won the world title in '92

:35:08. > :35:12.and the first in 1990, he looked slightly younger then. He really

:35:13. > :35:15.didn't know himself just how great he was going to be at this point in

:35:16. > :35:20.our lives. The fact that he is, I think he can even look back at his

:35:21. > :35:25.history and say, you know what, that was a great time because that game

:35:26. > :35:29.with Mike Gregory, is the greatest game of darts ever. Talking of hair

:35:30. > :35:32.and moustaches, he's up against Peter Wright, a man who spends a lot

:35:33. > :36:17.of time doing his hair. Lucky boy. Let's get this party started. Let's

:36:18. > :36:21.go. That's what's so great about darts, full of wonderful characters.

:36:22. > :36:25.You've got more than me. I've seriously got hair envy going on

:36:26. > :36:30.there. If I had hair, I doubt if I'd be doing that. What a character.

:36:31. > :36:34.Peter Wright is the epitome of the superhero of darts. Away from the

:36:35. > :36:39.oche, he's placid, likes to keep himself to himself. He's a very nice

:36:40. > :36:42.person. When he gets that outfit on and the hair done, he turns into

:36:43. > :36:46.somebody else. He has transformed his career over the last four years

:36:47. > :36:50.to what we've got today. Do you give him a chance this afternoon? Of

:36:51. > :36:55.course, I do. He believes in himself. Five years ago, he wasn't

:36:56. > :37:00.in the top 32, he said he would be on the big stage. He deserves a spot

:37:01. > :37:07.here. The first rule of punditry, pull your reputation on the line.

:37:08. > :37:12.Who will win? Peter Wright. Wow. I'll be awkward, Phil Taylor. The

:37:13. > :37:22.players are standing by. Let's rejoin our MC. Welcome back to the

:37:23. > :37:31.action, this is the champion league of darts. Time to meet the players.

:37:32. > :37:34.Ladies and gentleman, a former world finalist and now it's time to get

:37:35. > :39:09.this party started! And now, ladies and gentleman, here

:39:10. > :39:17.he is, from Stoke-on-Trent, England - he's the record-breaking, history

:39:18. > :39:30.making, 16-times the champion of the world

:39:31. > :40:15.17 wins for Phil Taylor against Peter Wright. Peter's beaten him on

:40:16. > :40:24.six occasions. There have been three draws. This place has gone bonkers.

:40:25. > :40:28.Let's join our commentary team. COMMENTATOR: Two of the most

:40:29. > :40:33.recognisable faces in darts. You can't really miss Peter Wright, can

:40:34. > :40:38.you, 46 years of age from Scotland - that hair, that art work takes

:40:39. > :40:42.hours. His wife does he. Mind you, he can play a bit Mr Consistent.

:40:43. > :40:48.He's widely expected to win a major and soon. He's already reached a

:40:49. > :40:53.World Championship final. For Phil Taylor, well, what more can you say

:40:54. > :40:57.about him? World champion a staggering 16 times. He is 56 years

:40:58. > :41:02.of age now. He says he feels fresh as a daisy, having taken an

:41:03. > :41:05.unprecedented, for him, three-week break mid-season. He's recently

:41:06. > :41:10.beaten the world number one, Michael van Gerwen. That was in Sydney

:41:11. > :41:17.August. So England against Scotland in Wales. This is the start of Group

:41:18. > :41:24.A and once again, it is a race to ten legs. It's Phil Taylor against

:41:25. > :41:29.Peter Wright in this opening encounter. I'm looking forward to

:41:30. > :41:39.this one. This has got the makings of a very, very good game indeed.

:41:40. > :41:43.Peter Wright has done the first thing he needed to do, win the

:41:44. > :41:48.bull's-eye. He's starting the match. First question is: What darts is he

:41:49. > :41:51.throwing today? Because Peter Wright has a reputation as someone who

:41:52. > :41:56.likes to chop and change his equipment. I had a chat with him in

:41:57. > :41:59.the practice room, he was throwing the darts that he's throwing now,

:42:00. > :42:05.but even then, he wasn't so sure what he was going to use. I had the

:42:06. > :42:12.same chat with you only about half an hour after you did. I chatted

:42:13. > :42:19.with his wife. She said, "He better have changed his mind." We went To a

:42:20. > :42:25.tournament last week in Europe, he used a set of darts on a Saturday,

:42:26. > :42:28.one with a -- won with a 94 average. He turned up on the Sunday morning

:42:29. > :42:32.and had a completely different set up. He played much better on the

:42:33. > :42:42.Sunday and reached the final, where he was in his own words, obliterated

:42:43. > :42:47.by Michael van Gerwen. He actually says he's working with his dart

:42:48. > :42:51.sponsors to produce three or four different sets of darts that he can

:42:52. > :42:55.take up on the stage, one set maybe for hitting twebl 20, another set

:42:56. > :42:59.for the doubles. A spare set in case he doesn't fancy it. It could well

:43:00. > :43:04.be the evolution of what players actually do take up there. He's

:43:05. > :43:10.looking at a set where he can hit a lot of 180s. This set can do that.

:43:11. > :43:16.With a very long point it makes the treble 20 look so big, even when

:43:17. > :43:19.you've hit it. He's admitted with a shorter, heavier dart, he's better

:43:20. > :43:23.on doubles. I think you're right, maybe we're looking at the possible

:43:24. > :43:25.evolution of future dart players, where he has more than one set on

:43:26. > :43:46.stage. He's first to a finish here. This 148 from Phil Taylor might

:43:47. > :43:58.hurt. He's had some time off. Not to be on this occasion for the

:43:59. > :44:01.finish. Wright should get rid of this really quickly.

:44:02. > :44:17.If he doesn't, Taylor will pounce. There it is. At the fourth time of

:44:18. > :44:21.asking, Peter Wright finds the double. Snake bite takes the lead.

:44:22. > :44:26.He just teased Phil Taylor a bit there. When a dart player hits their

:44:27. > :44:33.required checkout with the last dart, on a shot like that, you're

:44:34. > :44:40.just teasing them a bit. Nice, early maximum from the Power, gets them on

:44:41. > :44:44.their feet in Cardiff. The oompa loompas think that's pretty good.

:44:45. > :44:48.We've had a plethora of costumes this afternoon. I'm sure we'll get

:44:49. > :44:55.the same tonight. That nine means it's still on, the nine dart finish,

:44:56. > :45:00.the perfect leg of darts. You can't take 501 out in any less. It's a

:45:01. > :45:04.rare old thing. Certainly on the BBC, to see a nine-dart finish. One

:45:05. > :45:12.in the World Championship in 199 #1, nothing since. I think John Boy did

:45:13. > :45:19.one in Hull in 2007. If you watch your darts on the BBC, we haven't

:45:20. > :45:28.seen one for almost a decade. John Waterson got that one -- Walton got

:45:29. > :45:31.that one at the Masters. John Lowe being the first person to get a nine

:45:32. > :45:38.darter on television in the early 80s. Nowadays, we see them all the

:45:39. > :45:47.time on the PDC tour. Michael van Gerwen's had two this week. Two this

:45:48. > :45:55.week and another one from Simon Whitlock as well. Taylor levels the

:45:56. > :46:00.match. Where's that ring rust I was talking about. None whatsoever.

:46:01. > :46:05.Clean as you like. Going for the bull's-eye and 125 finish, if you

:46:06. > :46:10.hit the red piece, 50 points. If your opponent is on a finish as

:46:11. > :46:19.well, hit another 25 and another bull's-eye, simple as that.

:46:20. > :46:24.Last time Phil Taylor playing on the BBC was 23 years ago. The 1993 World

:46:25. > :46:34.Championship, when he lost in round two. A special bonus if you can tell

:46:35. > :46:41.us who he lost to. I had conflicting record. Alan Warren told me it was

:46:42. > :46:50.him. It was indeed what Mark Webster told me in the studio. It was indeed

:46:51. > :46:58.Kevin Spearlack of Essex, a famous left handed player. That's as good

:46:59. > :47:05.as a maximum. He looks to break the throw of Peter Wright. Peter's

:47:06. > :47:11.getting back in himself. That 177 from Phil has ignited snake bite. If

:47:12. > :47:19.Phil can stay there, he still bosses this leg. Oh, yes! Six perfect darts

:47:20. > :47:32.from Phil Taylor. We had ten perfect darts in a row,

:47:33. > :47:44.if you count both players. 177, 180, 180. An 11-dart leg. Rusty? Really?

:47:45. > :47:51.No. He's not rusty. He's more like iron man. The Power has been the

:47:52. > :47:56.advocate for having the correct breaks in the season. He's in his

:47:57. > :48:01.mid-to late 50s now. You may ask yourself, how can you still be a

:48:02. > :48:08.professional sportsman at that age. I tell you what he's done, aside

:48:09. > :48:11.from 180s, he's programmed his season very carefully as if to say,

:48:12. > :48:17.right, what's important to me, how do I rest, when do I rest? He's done

:48:18. > :48:27.it right for 25 years. Oh, this is just terrific! They are exchanging

:48:28. > :48:32.Max mums on the oche in Cardiff. A groan around the arena as the nine

:48:33. > :48:41.dart finish for Phil Taylor just failed. Peter Wright is still on it.

:48:42. > :48:46.Not any more. The obligatory groan againmentive like what I see with

:48:47. > :48:53.the -- again. I like what I see with the darts he's using. They look like

:48:54. > :49:01.torpedoes. Averages aren't Shabby, are they? 118. 24 for Phil Taylor.

:49:02. > :49:06.101. 6 for Peter Wright. Early stages of course. But the standard

:49:07. > :49:13.is sensational so far. This is what you get with PDC darts. You have

:49:14. > :49:16.players on top of their game. Peter Wright has played a lot of

:49:17. > :49:23.competitions this month. He'll be in great shape. It will be interesting

:49:24. > :49:35.to see how he deals with this Phil Taylor onslaught. He's missed. His

:49:36. > :49:43.route here has to be the bull's-eye. 25 guarantees him another shot to

:49:44. > :49:48.win the leg. That leaves him treble 20 and bull's-eye. He's got the

:49:49. > :49:57.treble 20. To hit back at the Power, it's bull. Went the right route.

:49:58. > :50:04.Just a little bit short. Another chance for Phil Taylor. He missed

:50:05. > :50:08.his first two darts at the double, but doesn't miss his third. Phil

:50:09. > :50:13.Taylor famously said a few years ago, when he was trouncing people

:50:14. > :50:20.week in, week out, doesn't happen so much any more, but Shane Burgess

:50:21. > :50:24.once said, "Well you do get chances against Phil Taylor, they just

:50:25. > :50:30.happen to be big finishes like 161, 164." In this case 135. Peter gave

:50:31. > :50:31.himself a chance. And he missed it. Now he's opened the door at the

:50:32. > :50:46.start of this fifth leg. Phil Taylor doesn't punish the light

:50:47. > :50:51.scoring. It's a bit like the World Tour Finals of tennis. The top eight

:50:52. > :50:55.players in the world, two groups of four, top two through to the

:50:56. > :51:02.semifinals. You don't get any Shabby matches. You don't tend to get easy

:51:03. > :51:08.matches. That's very accurate. If you were to have the top 16, top 24

:51:09. > :51:12.perhaps, you might have some guys who've slipped down the rankings a

:51:13. > :51:17.bit, low on confidence. The top eight in the world, you've got guys

:51:18. > :51:23.who are seriously playing well. If we're going to extend the tennis

:51:24. > :51:28.analogy further, is Phil Taylor the Roger Federer of darts? That depends

:51:29. > :51:35.whether you think Roger Federer is the best tennis player of all time.

:51:36. > :51:40.Can of worms? He is. He's known as the greatest of all time. Roger

:51:41. > :51:44.Federer and I meant that he's possibly, possibly, you never know

:51:45. > :51:48.and you never know with Roger or Phil, but possibly past his best.

:51:49. > :51:52.What a best it has been. It's possible. I do agree with you for

:51:53. > :52:02.the record that Roger Federer is the best. Some people think it's

:52:03. > :52:05.Djokovic or Nadal. I think it's Roger Federer. He's always been a

:52:06. > :52:09.gentleman. Phil has been accused, because he hasn't won a lot of

:52:10. > :52:14.tournaments, that he may be past his best. Us dart players sometimes

:52:15. > :52:17.don't like to say that because it ignites something in him. I'm not

:52:18. > :52:27.finished, I'm still here. He's still bossing this leg.

:52:28. > :52:34.This is a huge chance. If he doesn't hit this and Phil takes out 40, all

:52:35. > :52:42.of a sudden, we have a huge gap between the two players.

:52:43. > :52:49.It's there. All of a sudden, the crowd are getting involved with a

:52:50. > :52:54.few boos. That hand on the right-hand side is close to the

:52:55. > :53:00.colourful hair. He needed that, though. Didn't he need that. One

:53:01. > :53:11.darter, double top with Phil Taylor waiting on 40. He mentioned earlier

:53:12. > :53:19.on that it was Scotland versus England in Wales. Not many

:53:20. > :53:25.opportunities for Welsh people to support England. But it's definitely

:53:26. > :53:29.happening on this occasion. Look at the averages, around 105 for Phil.

:53:30. > :53:37.95 for Peter. He'll be disappointed with that. He likes to look at

:53:38. > :53:41.himself between the 100 and 108. You Taylor, 15 years ago, when he was

:53:42. > :53:45.the only person winning the PDC World Championship, he was hitting

:53:46. > :53:56.these kinds of averages for the first time in history and beating

:53:57. > :53:59.everybody. You mention Taylor's darts, how often do they tweak their

:54:00. > :54:04.darts. Can you do anything you want. Add a bit of grip to the point if

:54:05. > :54:08.you want. Add grip further back. You can take away grip, do anything you

:54:09. > :54:13.like. How tempting is it to tweak it and how often do you do it? Me

:54:14. > :54:18.personally, I hardly ever change anything. I like familiarity. Peter

:54:19. > :54:22.may change in the middle of a day. He might use these this afternoon

:54:23. > :54:29.and tonight, something completely different. His focus, when he uses a

:54:30. > :54:34.new set, is as sharp as ever. That's his thought process. If I've got

:54:35. > :54:39.something new in my hand I need to focus 100%. I don't want to get

:54:40. > :54:44.lazy. Sometimes it feels like you do that with a familiar set. Phil, on

:54:45. > :54:49.the other hand, earlier in the year, decided to engineer a dart together.

:54:50. > :54:55.He's been using them for nearly a year. He says they're the best darts

:54:56. > :55:00.he has ever had in his hands. Since then, he hasn't changed one single

:55:01. > :55:04.aspect. Did he tweak them because he had a spell missing double 16 and

:55:05. > :55:13.double 8 and felt he needed more grip? I think he wanted them to be

:55:14. > :55:17.perfect. Also, you're right, double 16 and double 8 he was seeing a

:55:18. > :55:21.minor weakness. That goes to show how great he is at looking at the

:55:22. > :55:28.small weaknesses. He seems to have fixed it. This is a moment. 154 for

:55:29. > :55:33.Phil Taylor. Otherwise Peter Wright has a chance to level this match.

:55:34. > :55:45.Oh, wow! 154 and that's going to hurtment Yeah, that was a right old

:55:46. > :55:54.kick in the back. But he stayed on treble 20, the proper way to go is

:55:55. > :56:02.treble 20, treble 18, double top. These days darts players are a lot

:56:03. > :56:06.smarter. He's hit it. Got the double 17 shot and taken it. He's got that

:56:07. > :56:12.two-leg advantage back. They're jumping in Cardiff. This arena

:56:13. > :56:18.really is jumping now. Imagine what it would be like if we had an

:56:19. > :56:22.Icelandic dart player. There are a couple around the country. This is a

:56:23. > :56:27.message to you. If you want to be popular, get practising.

:56:28. > :56:36.A reference to the euros, in case you missed it. Phil Taylor at the

:56:37. > :56:39.World Matchplay championships this year, when he faced Michael van

:56:40. > :56:45.Gerwen in the final, he was a bit under the cosh. He started doing the

:56:46. > :56:49.Icelandic clap himself. He had the crowd onside there. But it wasn't

:56:50. > :56:56.good enough. Michael van Gerwen took the title.

:56:57. > :57:05.Decent percentages those, four out of six. These days darts players are

:57:06. > :57:09.looking at two out of three hits these days. 20 years ago, even a bit

:57:10. > :57:14.longer, 33% was very good, one in three. But the way the game has

:57:15. > :57:22.evolved, nowadays, anything over 50% is classed as world class.

:57:23. > :57:29.What we want to see from Peter Wright here is just, he needs to

:57:30. > :57:37.buoy himself up a bit. He seems a bit flat. He has played a lot of

:57:38. > :57:42.darts this month. He needs something to happen here. On a finish already,

:57:43. > :57:52.Phil Taylor. That will help. He needs to hold his

:57:53. > :58:12.throw here. By virtue of hitting the bull's-eye,

:58:13. > :58:21.on the last visit, he has three clean in his hand to hit double 16

:58:22. > :58:26.and bring about 4-3. Double eight it is. You get the foaling from Peter

:58:27. > :58:29.Wright's body language that he's not playing his best darts today. He's

:58:30. > :58:31.still living with the Power. As long as you're still there, you've got a

:58:32. > :58:46.chance. What's your thoughts on the hair

:58:47. > :58:49.then? It's the most extraordinary thing

:58:50. > :58:56.I've ever seen, especially seeing it up close for the first time. I was

:58:57. > :59:00.wondering if he ever thinks, I can't just be bothered to go through it

:59:01. > :59:08.again. It takes hours. Takes his wife hours to do that, painting on

:59:09. > :59:12.the art work, spraying the mohican, gelling it. Can't remember the last

:59:13. > :59:18.time I saw Peter Wright with natural hair. I don't even think he knows

:59:19. > :59:26.his natural hair colour any more. In 1995 when he last played on the BBC,

:59:27. > :59:33.back at Lakeside championship, he looked so much younger. He had dark

:59:34. > :59:35.brown, bordering on plaque hair. He's a typical darting superstar

:59:36. > :59:46.nowadays. His trousers are not boring either.

:59:47. > :59:52.They haven't been boring for about three years! He looks very

:59:53. > :59:56.co-ordinated to the stage, that's not an accident, if you're thinking

:59:57. > :00:05.it at home. It's like you saw it last night and thought, I'm wearing

:00:06. > :00:11.green today then! Going for the balls I to leave double 16. Under no

:00:12. > :00:16.real pressure with Peter back on 240. Generally getting to the stage

:00:17. > :00:23.of the match, we had Lewis and Wade, with real turning point. If Taylor

:00:24. > :00:33.doesn't take this out we could have a game on. First time, middle of the

:00:34. > :00:37.bed and a two leg lead once again. There was a break after ten lakes

:00:38. > :00:46.and Peter Wright will be gunning for these two, he wants to be level

:00:47. > :00:48.going into the break. Look at that! He had 140 and he's disappointed.

:00:49. > :01:04.That is modern darts for you. Recently broke, yesterday broke the

:01:05. > :01:12.world record, Peter Wright. Most points scored in a minute. All eight

:01:13. > :01:23.had a go. But then Michael Smith stepped onto the oche and beat him

:01:24. > :01:28.with 581. There you go, set your cooker timers to a minute and see

:01:29. > :01:34.what you can do. 581 is the mark to beat. That is pretty impressive. I

:01:35. > :01:38.think when I get home after this tournament I'm going to have a go

:01:39. > :01:45.myself. Michael Smith is one big scorer, it doesn't surprise me he

:01:46. > :01:49.won it. I'd be pleased with 58. There is a board backstage, we will

:01:50. > :01:55.give you a practice session during the interval. Peter is doing the

:01:56. > :02:03.right thing here. He's got an opportunity to leave a double. 19s

:02:04. > :02:09.now to square it up. Very, very good darts from Peter. But now Taylor,

:02:10. > :02:17.all of a sudden, has 122, and the only route is 18s. It is a treble.

:02:18. > :02:26.Double 7... He wasn't so sure. I think he was looking at double 6.

:02:27. > :02:33.Double serve it is for 6-3, and 6-3 it is. That is a big moment in the

:02:34. > :02:38.context of this match. Peter Wright is looking to the heavens for some

:02:39. > :02:45.inspiration, but Phil is looking very, very good here. He's kept that

:02:46. > :02:49.105 average for a good four or five legs steadily. Peter has lifted his

:02:50. > :02:51.by about three or four, but Taylor is getting doubles and taking them

:02:52. > :03:04.out. If you are averaging near 106, it's

:03:05. > :03:12.pretty hard to beat you, isn't it? Yes, if we look at 15 darts its

:03:13. > :03:21.100.2. 14 darts is around 107-108. He is hovering between those amount

:03:22. > :03:25.of darts but doing it better in six visits. Hard to beat. Peter Wright

:03:26. > :03:29.can live with that, but I think that the moment he needs to lift that

:03:30. > :03:34.average by another three or four and he will cause Phil a few more

:03:35. > :03:40.problems. The thing about Phil Taylor in this match, he hits the

:03:41. > :03:44.doubles that heart. He took out 154 with a double 17, as Peter Wright

:03:45. > :03:53.thought he could level the match at 3-3. Then that 122 with the two

:03:54. > :04:01.treble 18s has opened a three leg lead. Phil Taylor has not been

:04:02. > :04:04.broken in this match so far. He has defended his throw four times out of

:04:05. > :04:10.four. That is the epitome of being a hard play to beat. This is for a 7-3

:04:11. > :04:17.lead going into the break. Double 16 the Phil Taylor to make it 7-3.

:04:18. > :04:22.Peter Wright has already hit 170 in this match but it wasn't a checkout,

:04:23. > :04:28.it was to leave a double wrote he never got a shot at. So right now

:04:29. > :04:33.can only square up. Bull's-eye probably here, and it is. He has set

:04:34. > :04:39.up well again but he might not get another shot. Phil Taylor has three

:04:40. > :04:48.darts in his hand... And he's hit it. Phil Taylor is looking fresh. He

:04:49. > :04:58.is looking like he's loving it. He leads 7-3 in a race to ten.

:04:59. > :05:10.# Hey Baby # I want to know

:05:11. > :05:23.# If you'll be my girl # Hey Baby

:05:24. > :05:27.# I want to know... #. Phil The Power Taylor is absolutely

:05:28. > :05:35.loving it. We've had a number of Euro 2016 references. We have also

:05:36. > :05:39.had the Icelandic thunderclap. Phil is also doing it. He's loving it

:05:40. > :05:46.today playing so well. Yes, he looks the part. He hasn't given Peter a

:05:47. > :05:52.Smith. I think Peter has had one poke at bull. We have the 11 dart

:05:53. > :06:00.finish but also the 154, that was pretty impressive. The 154, he

:06:01. > :06:06.stayed sensible and went for treble 20. Normally you would switch to the

:06:07. > :06:12.18s but he went for the target and hit it. Peter is under lot of

:06:13. > :06:17.pressure, you can see that. Yes, but Phil is all over him, hasn't given

:06:18. > :06:24.him an easy leg. It will be a long way back for Peter now, two breaks

:06:25. > :06:30.of throw down, it's a big ask. We have a dart board here as Haddin

:06:31. > :06:33.commentary. The reason we have a dart board in the studios for our

:06:34. > :06:40.expert panel to show us what can be done on the oche. Come with me. What

:06:41. > :06:46.I want to talk about is Peter uses different darts. What is listening

:06:47. > :06:50.to -- interesting listening to them boys in commentary, might start a

:06:51. > :06:56.new tournament with new darts, how disruptive can that be? He argues

:06:57. > :06:59.this suit the environment, reckons they fly through the air little

:07:00. > :07:04.easier. That's not bad. He thinks he can score better with them. He

:07:05. > :07:09.reckons they don't sue in today. Is a big risk? Going into a new

:07:10. > :07:14.tournament with a brand-new set of darts? Would you ever change your

:07:15. > :07:18.darts? No, it's not for me, but he's very headstrong. He thinks by

:07:19. > :07:21.changing his darts all the time you will get there. He is itching to get

:07:22. > :07:26.a major and he hasn't got one yet. He will keep changing his darts and

:07:27. > :07:30.only gets there. You like familiarisation, what about other

:07:31. > :07:39.players on the circuit? I don't think dart players change their

:07:40. > :07:47.darts. Some week with a little. Peter is an extreme case. His darts

:07:48. > :07:50.are outdated quicker than milk, but it works for him, he is a top six

:07:51. > :07:54.player and he is confident with an headstrong, so good luck to him.

:07:55. > :07:59.Good stuff, thank you. As you can see, the players are back out there

:08:00. > :08:03.so let's rejoin our commentary team. COMMENTATOR: Peter Wright with a

:08:04. > :08:07.mountain to climb if he's going to win this opening group game.

:08:08. > :08:16.Unusual, but you can still win a tournament having lost a match. A

:08:17. > :08:21.reminder, the two winners will face each other this evening and the two

:08:22. > :08:27.losers will face each other. Which hopefully will leave everything

:08:28. > :08:34.still to play for come Sunday afternoon. Paul, anyway back for

:08:35. > :08:37.Peter Wright here? Well, if you look at the history of some of Peter's

:08:38. > :08:41.performances in the past, he has actually come from behind on a few

:08:42. > :08:45.occasions against some of the greatest players in the world,

:08:46. > :08:50.including Michael van Gerwen. So there is definitely a way back. But

:08:51. > :08:54.the way Phil is playing and the focus he is showing in his eyes, it

:08:55. > :08:57.seems like he has his mind on one job this afternoon and it looks like

:08:58. > :09:01.he will get it done. I tipped Peter Wright to win this game, because I

:09:02. > :09:04.have watched him play a lot this week. I have to say, I'm wrong so

:09:05. > :09:19.far. There is still time. Needs to hold this throw here, you

:09:20. > :09:25.think, to stand any chance at all. He did enter the Lakeside World

:09:26. > :09:30.Championship back... 21 years ago in 95. Lost in the first round and then

:09:31. > :09:33.essentially spent a decade in the darting wilderness before he was

:09:34. > :09:37.watching darts on telly with his wife and said, do you know what,

:09:38. > :09:43.I've beaten most of these guys. She said, give it another go, a proper

:09:44. > :09:48.go. And he is pleased he did. I'm sure, because at the moment he is

:09:49. > :09:53.the most colourful man in darts. This could be the most colourful

:09:54. > :09:58.shot... Nearly. A good lead. You mentioned Phil Taylor's been playing

:09:59. > :10:07.well, this will be the culmination of that. We've already seen a 161,

:10:08. > :10:10.but not this time from Phil Taylor. That double 16 is now under

:10:11. > :10:20.pressure. Peter can't afford to miss this. Double 8. Still double 8. He's

:10:21. > :10:22.got it. That is a huge dart for Peter Wright because Taylor wasn't

:10:23. > :10:35.going to miss double 12. Straight back in the red bit, Phil

:10:36. > :10:43.Taylor, and again. And that's just as good as a maximum. The nine

:10:44. > :10:48.appears by his name. Well, Phil Taylor has already hit a nine dart

:10:49. > :10:54.leg on television against Peter Wright, Insigne I'm just over a year

:10:55. > :11:03.ago. -- in Sydney. I was in the commentary box and I called it in,

:11:04. > :11:07.is it a Norman? Four out of nine. Good old commentators curse, isn't

:11:08. > :11:15.it? But most importantly he is well in front.

:11:16. > :11:23.You mentioned about Peter Wright's wilderness in the course of the late

:11:24. > :11:27.90s and the early 2000s, just walked away from the game because he didn't

:11:28. > :11:31.have a love for it. Wanted to take a break. I'm sure he's still through

:11:32. > :11:35.the darts, but didn't have the same commitment as he did in previous

:11:36. > :11:41.years. When he came back it took a little bit of time, but this is what

:11:42. > :11:46.we have now. We have the full-blown darting product. Very consistent,

:11:47. > :11:48.Peter Wright. He is expected to win a major before too long, widely

:11:49. > :12:04.expected to. You shouldn't win this leg in 258

:12:05. > :12:11.behind. But if, and only if... He can leave a finish now, and does,

:12:12. > :12:15.but the way Phil has been hitting his doubles, he won't be back.

:12:16. > :12:27.Double 16 for Phil Taylor to restore that lead. Missed by miles, but not

:12:28. > :12:30.that one! He's two legs away. Two legs away and I'm sure he didn't

:12:31. > :12:35.think he would have this kind of gap in the game. He was probably

:12:36. > :12:41.thinking it would be a tight one. It's a very, very interesting group,

:12:42. > :12:47.because it has another man who wears a green shirt, Michael van Gerwen,

:12:48. > :12:52.and we will see in the next game. Very interested to see what kind of

:12:53. > :13:00.mood Mr van Gerwen is in today, considering how much he has won in

:13:01. > :13:03.the last seven days. On a Premier League football player's salary.

:13:04. > :13:10.Something like ?80,000 he has won in the last couple of weeks? Two

:13:11. > :13:16.European tour events, ?25,000 each, three events in Barnsley, 10,000 a

:13:17. > :13:22.pop, that is ?80,000. Is it another omen? Phil Taylor might get a 180.

:13:23. > :13:33.If he wins this tournament he would have won, this month, ?180,000.

:13:34. > :13:41.Has that ever happened before? I think Michael has probably done

:13:42. > :13:47.that. He has won 18 tournaments this year. And that's exactly the amount

:13:48. > :13:51.he won last year, and still with three months to go. Doing better

:13:52. > :14:00.this year than last year, which is quite frightening. He is on next.

:14:01. > :14:05.Double 18 for Peter Wright. He is still there, just about, but he is

:14:06. > :14:09.still there, Peter Wright. We said a few occasions watching Peter Wright,

:14:10. > :14:14.the darts he is throwing right now look really good me. He if he had a

:14:15. > :14:19.couple of months with them, I think he would be very dangerous. But that

:14:20. > :14:24.same long time ago I almost gave up on speculating what he was going to

:14:25. > :14:25.throw. Now I'm just comfortable with him being comfortable with different

:14:26. > :14:40.darts all the time. That tin man didn't look very rusty

:14:41. > :14:44.either, did he? Happy people in Wales, happy dart fans. It will be a

:14:45. > :14:52.happy Phil Taylor if he picks up this victory. I made a joke earlier

:14:53. > :14:58.on that Phil Taylor uses so many sets of darts there might be a

:14:59. > :15:05.tungsten shortage. And actually... You might not be wrong! Sometimes

:15:06. > :15:10.two different sets in the same match. He did that in Australia, the

:15:11. > :15:16.back end of last month. That has not happened a lot in darting history.

:15:17. > :15:20.The only one other time I can think of, when Raymond van Barneveld, in

:15:21. > :15:28.the break of the match, actually brought another set from backstage.

:15:29. > :15:33.Phil Taylor on 168, which is not a possible finish, not on three darts,

:15:34. > :15:44.but he will know he has at least 649-5 lead with Peter Wright stuck.

:15:45. > :15:49.Phil decided to use the 20, that way he guarantees a shot at double the

:15:50. > :15:54.next time he comes to the board, as opposed to just renting a shot at

:15:55. > :16:03.the bull's-eye. Very smart work from Phil treble 20 for double 4. 16 for

:16:04. > :16:09.double 16. This is that guaranteed shot at a double. He has mist it,

:16:10. > :16:14.but he will be back. There is only one number in Peter Wright's mind

:16:15. > :16:17.and that is 180. You get the feeling the way Phil has been throwing his

:16:18. > :16:26.doubles in this match, this may be in vain. He has mist three of his

:16:27. > :16:27.last six at double 16, Phil Taylor. -- he has mist three of his last

:16:28. > :16:38.six. He does hit it when it matters. Just

:16:39. > :16:43.teasing him again, he has done that a lot in this match. Dart players

:16:44. > :16:47.know this. When you go miss, miss, you think in the back of your mind,

:16:48. > :16:50.just miss one more time and give me a chance at this and invariably it

:16:51. > :16:57.doesn't happen, because you just think, I'm not going to give you a

:16:58. > :17:01.chance. There you go. He has missed three darts at double 16 and three

:17:02. > :17:07.legs but has won all three legs with a double 16. And still on his throw.

:17:08. > :17:13.That is very, very strong. If you were to say that Phil if he wins

:17:14. > :17:17.this 10-5 or 10-6, will be very pleased with that. Peter Wright has

:17:18. > :17:22.gone from a 94 average earlier in the match to a 99. But I think on

:17:23. > :17:24.top of him playing decent stuff, that has more to do with the fact he

:17:25. > :17:39.hasn't had shots at doubles. And his overall average, which is

:17:40. > :17:45.currently almost 100, is not too different to his first nine average,

:17:46. > :17:50.which pretty much proves your point. Yes, the players these days are

:17:51. > :17:54.looking for something in the region of 110-120 for their first nine,

:17:55. > :17:59.that gets them below 200 for their first nine and then yes, their

:18:00. > :18:07.average will come down, if you don't have shots at doubles. But Peter

:18:08. > :18:08.will think 99 is OK. In previous generations that was brilliant. Not

:18:09. > :18:37.any more. Mast hit this. Options,... So close.

:18:38. > :18:44.66 left. Going for the bull's-eye to leave double 8, but all of a sudden,

:18:45. > :18:53.this is for the match. Treble 20. Treble 19 for double 12. He has left

:18:54. > :18:59.himself double 12. Fails to get it on this occasion. Peter Wright is at

:19:00. > :19:03.death 's door when it comes to this match. Can he pulled himself back

:19:04. > :19:10.from the brink? It is a good guide for tops. But it was almost too far

:19:11. > :19:21.away, even though it was a good guide. Three darts at double 6 for

:19:22. > :19:28.Phil The Power Taylor. Double 3, and there it is! He does look fresh,

:19:29. > :19:36.does look on it, does look in the mood. Phil Taylor beats Peter Wright

:19:37. > :19:52.10-5 in the opening match in the Champions League.

:19:53. > :20:05.# Hey baby # I want to know

:20:06. > :20:15.# If you'll be my girl #. Phil Taylor gets off to a flyer.

:20:16. > :20:20.Great excitement on the final leg. Yes, wanted to go out in style with

:20:21. > :20:28.a 141 finish but it wasn't to be. Peter Mr two more darts and Phil

:20:29. > :20:31.wasn't going to miss again. Vassart is buying online commentary when he

:20:32. > :20:37.says he looks right up for this. Yes, he was ruthless. The 122 finish

:20:38. > :20:42.on the 154, just played sensible, stayed on the same target. Once he

:20:43. > :20:46.had the double break he defended it with ease and closed it out easily.

:20:47. > :20:50.The clinical victory and a good victory for Phil Taylor. Peter

:20:51. > :20:54.looked very disappointed at the end because he didn't get into the game,

:20:55. > :20:59.but that's because Phil did on him anywhere near it. He was under

:21:00. > :21:05.pressure with every throw because Phil was scoring with freedom. So

:21:06. > :21:09.far behind he was under pressure. At 7-3, a double break... Phil Taylor

:21:10. > :21:14.defended his throw and will be looking for tonight. We have been

:21:15. > :21:19.talking about Phil taking a bit of time away to concentrate on this

:21:20. > :21:24.event, he shows no sign of being rusty? No, Phil likes to manages

:21:25. > :21:28.time and not go to every tournament. He has justified it, having that

:21:29. > :21:34.month off, with a great performance. A perfect start for him, considering

:21:35. > :21:38.we could be looking at the big one next, against Michael van Gerwen?

:21:39. > :21:43.Yes, it's a possibility. Robert Thornton will have his say, but that

:21:44. > :21:48.will spur Robert on. Peter Siddle has a chance, as well. Early days

:21:49. > :21:54.yet. I have to ask you this, because you played in venues like this. You

:21:55. > :21:57.probably played in this venue. Phil is very experienced, tasted this

:21:58. > :22:02.type of atmosphere. Can I just ask you, what is it like when you are up

:22:03. > :22:06.there? This lot are so noisy? They're doing their thunderclap and

:22:07. > :22:11.singing all that song is a slam at the football. What is it right, can

:22:12. > :22:15.you blanket out? Yes and no. Phil was playing so well, enjoying it,

:22:16. > :22:18.getting involved with the crowd. It depends how it's going to start you

:22:19. > :22:25.can get drawn in and it can put you off. Phil played a solid game. He

:22:26. > :22:30.is. Just polishing our desk. Nice to see you. Is he talking rubbish? He's

:22:31. > :22:40.doing a great job! He is better on football. He's very good. United,

:22:41. > :22:46.4-1. Later score flash, the lunchtime game. Yes, 4-1. What is it

:22:47. > :22:53.like, you are loving out there? Yeah. Heat wise it's perfect woman

:22:54. > :22:57.not hot or cold. The crowd has been lovely, they haven't been

:22:58. > :23:01.disrespectful. Great stuff. You've taken a bit of time off in

:23:02. > :23:06.preparation for this, why is that? Is that because you so want to win

:23:07. > :23:12.this tournament? Jason, I've had three weeks in 25 years. If that's

:23:13. > :23:15.taking time off! The boys said you have taken some time off to

:23:16. > :23:20.concentrate because he wanted to win this? I do want to win it, really

:23:21. > :23:24.want to win it, back on BBC, of course I do. It is a major

:23:25. > :23:29.tournament. I know, my time is limited. Everything I go into, I

:23:30. > :23:32.want to win, of course I do, I will try my best. These people have spent

:23:33. > :23:38.good money to sit down and watch people perform, so I want to play my

:23:39. > :23:42.best. Quite right. There is a gap in games with the round robin, how will

:23:43. > :23:45.you spend your time? The Hotel is right across the road so I will

:23:46. > :23:52.shoot back, probably nicking your room whilst you are here! And watch

:23:53. > :23:56.some live darts, I hope! I tell you something, I was talking to a load

:23:57. > :24:00.of people who were coming down here this weekend, big darts fans and

:24:01. > :24:06.they were so, so happy that you are here as well. Thank you. I'm happy

:24:07. > :24:10.to be here as well. Lots of Welsh people as well. You are a massive

:24:11. > :24:13.star here. It is a working-class sport and I think most people who

:24:14. > :24:17.come and watch as a working-class people, that's what it is. There's

:24:18. > :24:22.more working-class people in this country than there are your top end.

:24:23. > :24:28.That's what it's all about! I know you are one of them. Me and Mark

:24:29. > :24:34.working-class, sorry! I will show you my biography later! You even

:24:35. > :24:39.have the right hair! You are delighted to be back. Over the moon.

:24:40. > :24:44.What I noticed in the build-up to this tournament, in the build-up to

:24:45. > :24:50.this tournament there has been many people saying I used to watch the

:24:51. > :24:53.darts in the 80s when it was on BBC television and it's kind of lost its

:24:54. > :25:00.way because I don't really know the players any more. I think the last

:25:01. > :25:05.time I played was 1993. I won in 1992 and lost in 1993. I think that

:25:06. > :25:10.was our final year. When Mark was just beginning. It's great to get

:25:11. > :25:14.back, of course it is. Everybody in Britain, Wales, Scotland, always

:25:15. > :25:22.classes BBC as the mother of TV. It is. ITV and Sky are great, don't get

:25:23. > :25:28.me wrong... Say it again. It is the mother of television! Used to be

:25:29. > :25:33.there when I was born. BBC and ITV were the major channels. I can't

:25:34. > :25:37.talk bout we saw a bit of archive of you earlier with hair and a

:25:38. > :25:42.moustache. Hair and a moustache? It was stopped on! I think the video

:25:43. > :25:50.cassette format was Betamax. Betamax! What you doing? Remember

:25:51. > :25:55.when the camera was like this? Phil, great to see when Cardiff. I'm over

:25:56. > :26:00.the moon. And to get a win, it's a bonus. They are all good players. If

:26:01. > :26:04.they notched down a bit you get a chance to beat them, if not, you get

:26:05. > :26:11.beat. I know you are a legend but can you get Mark's pen? Mark who?

:26:12. > :26:17.Thank you, fills. Next up, Michael van Gerwen.

:26:18. > :26:22.What got me into darts in the first place? When I was younger I used to

:26:23. > :26:27.play football outside with friends and things like that, when it's

:26:28. > :26:31.meant winter, -5 or something, you're not going to play football,

:26:32. > :26:35.so I played darts. I didn't know from the beginning I was a talent

:26:36. > :26:40.but the first use tournament I entered, I was quite young. I think

:26:41. > :26:42.I was 11 years old. I came third. When you win a trophy as a young

:26:43. > :26:46.kids, there's nothing more motivating than that.

:26:47. > :26:53.My first international use tournament was in Belgium. I came

:26:54. > :27:01.second, runner-up. I won a DVD player. I was over the moon.

:27:02. > :27:05.My style... Dominate the game from the beginning to the end. I can be

:27:06. > :27:09.aggressive, pumping myself up into the game, but it's everything I

:27:10. > :27:14.love, it's just my passion for the sport. My life is darts. I'd do

:27:15. > :27:19.anything to win my game. I love it, I love what I do.

:27:20. > :27:24.Quite difficult to describe yourself... But passion,

:27:25. > :27:28.high-scoring and... And sometimes I play like a monster, isn't it? In

:27:29. > :27:33.the Premier League I had a 123 average, the highest average ever.

:27:34. > :27:36.When you do things like that people say you are from another planet.

:27:37. > :27:44.That's what keeps me going. I like to do everything to win.

:27:45. > :27:48.Football players, rugby players, they love the darts. Sometimes I go

:27:49. > :27:53.and watch them and then they come and watch us. It's a bit strange for

:27:54. > :27:58.me, because as a young kid you only dream about things like that.

:27:59. > :28:04.I'm lucky I found by talent and by talent is darts. I'm really glad I'm

:28:05. > :28:10.playing now, so good. In the future maybe we have a couple of new

:28:11. > :28:14.Michaels, so I need to make sure I am there, don't make mistakes and

:28:15. > :28:19.keep winning. So, Robert Thornton very much up

:28:20. > :28:24.against it, especially given Michael has won 35 successive matches, six

:28:25. > :28:28.successive tournaments, amazing. Ranked number seven, Thornton. He

:28:29. > :28:32.has competed in the PDC since 2008 and has only beaten the mighty

:28:33. > :28:38.Dutchman on five occasions. The players are standing by. Let's join

:28:39. > :28:41.John McDonald. John Niven ready just yet! We will join him shortly.

:28:42. > :28:46.Robert Thornton is very much up against it. A massive underdog, like

:28:47. > :28:50.every player is when they play Michael. He has to clutch to the

:28:51. > :28:54.positive results. He got a draw against him in the Premier League

:28:55. > :28:58.this year and beat in a minor major final of the Grand Prix last year.

:28:59. > :29:04.He has to store those positives but stick with him early doors. If the

:29:05. > :29:09.crowd were getting ready to welcome Phil Taylor, they are braced for the

:29:10. > :29:14.arrival of van Gerwen? He is box office, everybody wants to watch

:29:15. > :29:18.him. On an unbelievable run, won 55 of his last 57 matches and will take

:29:19. > :29:22.some stopping. It is a big ask for Robert but who knows, a group

:29:23. > :29:27.format, a bigot if -- bit different. John is now ready for us.

:29:28. > :29:38.Ladies and gentleman, welcome back to the champion league of darts.

:29:39. > :29:42.It's now time to meet the players. Ladies and gentleman, from Scotland,

:29:43. > :29:59.would you please welcome the former UK Open champion and the reigning

:30:00. > :30:03.world Grand Prix champion - ladies and gentleman, The Thorn - Robert

:30:04. > :30:12.Thornton! # And I would walk 500 more

:30:13. > :30:30.# To be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door#

:30:31. > :30:41.# I would walk 500 miles # And I would walk 500 more... #

:30:42. > :30:47.Now, ladies and gentleman, from the Netherlands. Amazingly he's won 19

:30:48. > :30:55.PDC events this year alone. It's time to meet the world number one

:30:56. > :31:32.and the former champion of the world... Mighty. Michael van Gerwen!

:31:33. > :32:02.What a noise, van Gerwen has five career televised nine-dart finishes

:32:03. > :32:08.to his name. He's won 55 of 57 matches. Winning nine tournaments.

:32:09. > :32:12.Incredible stuff. Let's go to our commentators. Incredible is the word

:32:13. > :32:17.for mighty Mike, the world number one. The man who has won every

:32:18. > :32:23.single big TV tournament in the PDC. They're having to make more just to

:32:24. > :32:27.give him new things to win. They're did that last year. Here in the

:32:28. > :32:34.Champions League of darts, MVG has his sights set on the title, what

:32:35. > :32:38.would be a 20th of 2016. It has been staggering stuff from the Dutchman.

:32:39. > :32:44.He's up against Robert Thornton here in a repeat of the Grand Prix final

:32:45. > :32:50.from last year. As that graphic will tell you, it was the Scotsman that

:32:51. > :32:56.won it, one of the great finals. It was nip and tuck, tense stuff. Some

:32:57. > :32:59.superb darts in that one. We get anything like that here, this

:33:00. > :33:03.afternoon, and we are in for a treat. We're in Group A, Phil Taylor

:33:04. > :33:12.at the top this afternoon group at the moment. Van Gerwen wins this,

:33:13. > :33:17.it's Taylor-MVG tonight. That's got fun written all over it. You're

:33:18. > :33:21.right Robert Thornton cannot be written off here. It's a big ask

:33:22. > :33:29.against the hottest player on the planet darts right now. He'll be up

:33:30. > :33:34.for it. Mike toll throw first - game on! MVG has the advantage of

:33:35. > :33:38.throwing first in this one. You get the feeling that over a relatively

:33:39. > :33:42.long format, this is a longer format than they typically play on the

:33:43. > :33:46.tour. They usually play first of six legs, this is first of ten. It

:33:47. > :33:52.allows these guys to find their range, get into a rhythm. You just

:33:53. > :33:56.expect, at the moment, with MVG that at some point the blue touch paper

:33:57. > :34:00.will be lit. He will go off. There'll be a series of perfect

:34:01. > :34:06.darts. There'll be legs where he goes out in 11, 12, 11 darts. Stuff

:34:07. > :34:09.that's very difficult to handle. When you said the blue touch paper,

:34:10. > :34:13.did you not mean the green touch paper? That's exactly what I would

:34:14. > :34:18.have said. The blue touch paper would have been to be in the blue

:34:19. > :34:23.corner. Not that I ever disagree with you! You're right Michael van

:34:24. > :34:28.Gerwen is capable of silly darts. The way he's been playing lately,

:34:29. > :34:36.there's no reason to say he won't do that today, maybe tomorrow. Yeah,

:34:37. > :34:45.you just kind of expect excellence from the world number one. Like

:34:46. > :34:51.this. Just like this. MVG has his own angels in the crowd. Not that he

:34:52. > :35:00.needs much divine inspiration over the last few months, or even the

:35:01. > :35:04.last few years. But he hasn't taken this leg out. Robert Thornton still

:35:05. > :35:18.can. Loves it, I tell you. 101 check out,

:35:19. > :35:23.break of throw, Robert Thornton into the lead here. We've been saying all

:35:24. > :35:28.afternoon to get the party started. That's a party spoiling shot.

:35:29. > :35:32.Speaking of Robert Thornton over the last few days, he was at the pro

:35:33. > :35:37.tour event in Barnsley, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. He was

:35:38. > :35:44.debuting some new arrows. He's not the kind of guy to change and tweak.

:35:45. > :35:49.He has made a serious change with this equipment. He has dropped four

:35:50. > :35:53.grams off those barrels of darts. That's the bottom piece, the stems

:35:54. > :35:58.and the flights have stayed the same. He has pieces of metal on the

:35:59. > :36:08.top of the flights, called flight caps. Four grams off a dart, that's

:36:09. > :36:16.a monumental change. Michael van Gerwen has fired in his second

:36:17. > :36:20.maximum of this encounter. It is Michael van Gerwen's mantra, can't

:36:21. > :36:26.afford any mistakes, says it all the time. In actual fact, it's the

:36:27. > :36:29.opponent who can't. It just piles the pressure onto you, every single

:36:30. > :36:34.shot, you feel you've got to hit something big. You've got to take

:36:35. > :36:40.the double out. If you don't, van Gerwen may take out things like 144.

:36:41. > :36:49.He's done this a barrel load of times. Might do it again. Did I say

:36:50. > :36:52.might? I did say might. Thornton can steal again with a 124. Now he

:36:53. > :37:01.can't. Van Gerwen comes back for double

:37:02. > :37:10.six. A break back immediately. Double six for a 13 darter.

:37:11. > :37:18.14 darts will do. One apiece. I don't know whether you've noticed,

:37:19. > :37:23.Robert Thornton with those new darts is throwing a little slower, more

:37:24. > :37:29.deliberate. Just getting used to the feel of the lighter dart in his

:37:30. > :37:32.hands. On a complete flip side, Michael van Gerwen is using a dart

:37:33. > :37:41.that he's had in his hands for almost a decade. That is a first

:37:42. > :37:44.maximum for Robert Thornton. We know he's a big scorer when he gets

:37:45. > :37:48.going. That's the strength of his game. Very good on treble 20 and

:37:49. > :37:53.double top. That propelled him to the Grand Prix title. He's not just

:37:54. > :38:03.a one-off that Grand Prix title. Far from it. Obviously a world master.

:38:04. > :38:08.Almost ten years ago now. Top of that, winning a UK Open title and en

:38:09. > :38:14.route beating pretty much everybody there was to beat that week in an

:38:15. > :38:18.open draw. That was a stand-out performance for the career of Robert

:38:19. > :38:24.Thornton. Last year, in winning the Grand Prix, I think that solidified

:38:25. > :38:29.his legacy. He is probably the third best dart player to come from

:38:30. > :38:35.Scotland in history. Between Jockey Wilson and Gary Anderson. That's not

:38:36. > :38:41.bad from Michael van Gerwen though, three trebles to leave double 14.

:38:42. > :38:46.Van Gerwen is the kind of player that put three darts very close

:38:47. > :38:59.together. Only needs one on that occasion, though. Thorntonering a

:39:00. > :39:04.break -- This Morning, staring a break -- Thornton is staring a break

:39:05. > :39:07.in the face. You do find that van Gerwen, when he gets in front,

:39:08. > :39:12.doesn't usually relinquish a lead. The way to beat van Gerwen, it's

:39:13. > :39:16.easier said than done, of course, but Raymond Van Barneveld did it at

:39:17. > :39:22.the Grand Slam final a few years ago now. Get in front, stay there.

:39:23. > :39:24.That's all you have to do. Get a lead of two or three legs an don't

:39:25. > :39:56.let him get back into the match. MVG has stolen a march in this leg.

:39:57. > :39:58.Effectively has stolen the darts from Robert Thornton. Doesn't really

:39:59. > :40:09.capitalise on this occasion. And that is the voice of Ross Spray,

:40:10. > :40:37.just warming up that voice. Will he come back? 88 is treble 20,

:40:38. > :40:44.single 18. Went for the treble to leave the double but got greedy. Now

:40:45. > :40:52.Thornton left double ten, takes it. We're back on key at 2-2. A bit a

:40:53. > :40:56.collector's item there as Michael van Gerwen missing the big 18. That

:40:57. > :41:02.would have given him a dart at the bull's-eye. In actual fact, the

:41:03. > :41:10.Thorn only needed one dart at the double ten himself. As long as he

:41:11. > :41:17.can stick with him, he is giving himself an opportunity. We see van

:41:18. > :41:21.Gerwen play a lot in the last few weeks. He's been involved in a few

:41:22. > :41:27.6-5 matches. This is longer than that. When you boil it down, and

:41:28. > :41:31.you've got van Gerwen in a corner, and he has to win a last-leg

:41:32. > :41:36.decider, there are two players in the world who do better than anybody

:41:37. > :41:39.else - James Wade and Michael van Gerwen. Because they have ice going

:41:40. > :41:44.through their veins at times like that. They produce things that other

:41:45. > :41:54.players simply cannot under that kind of pressure.

:41:55. > :41:58.Woody from Toy Story very sad about that.

:41:59. > :42:16.I wonder where Buzz has gone. ? Only just misses. These are the kind

:42:17. > :42:27.of opportunities that Thornton may have to take.

:42:28. > :42:30.Well, he could. Could he? Oh, just misses outside. Thornton unable to

:42:31. > :42:40.take the 158. Well, well, well. He's going to go

:42:41. > :43:00.straight for it. Now it's tricky. It's low. You don't get many

:43:01. > :43:08.opportunities like that against the man in green. Will he give him

:43:09. > :43:17.another one? He might, you know. Maybe not. It's a big smile on the

:43:18. > :43:23.face of MVG, as if to say, "I just dodged a Scottish bullet." Very,

:43:24. > :43:30.very close to offering up yet another opportunity. That is one

:43:31. > :43:34.relieved Dutchman. I'm pretty sure he didn't actually smile that much

:43:35. > :43:40.when he won on Thursday in a pro tour event. Very focussed on stage.

:43:41. > :43:48.I like this new deliberate Robert Thornton. He looks more focussed. He

:43:49. > :43:52.looks ready and he's putting together something where he

:43:53. > :43:56.genuinely believes he can contend this week and defend his world Grand

:43:57. > :44:05.Prix title, which he will do in about a week's time. It's not been

:44:06. > :44:11.great for Robert Thornton since that Grand Prix win. If not the crowning

:44:12. > :44:17.glory of his career, but since then he's only made a quarter final in

:44:18. > :44:24.the World Cup of darts with Gary Anderson as well. If Thornton puts a

:44:25. > :44:33.dent in it, that's not really a big enough one. We've seen a 154 today

:44:34. > :44:38.from Phil Taylor. Yet again Thornton is leaving himself these kinds of

:44:39. > :45:01.shots to stay with MVG. Handy now. Van Gerwen with 90.

:45:02. > :45:07.Bull's-eye to open up a two leg gap. He's snuck it in there as well. We

:45:08. > :45:14.had a look twice, because it was disguised by the first dart. That

:45:15. > :45:17.shriek from the man in green, says yes, that has hit the middle. We

:45:18. > :45:24.have daylight between these two for the first time. Thornton has managed

:45:25. > :45:31.to stick with MVG so far. He needs more of that. Much more of that. I

:45:32. > :45:34.was going to say there's a saying in fashion, blue and green should never

:45:35. > :45:44.be seen without a colour in between. That colour is red. Lots of it.

:45:45. > :45:49.Fashion tips with Paul here, the Champions League of darts. Wait,

:45:50. > :45:51.wait, Robert Thornton. Oh, five perfect darts to start the leg,

:45:52. > :46:03.denied an opportunity. Their averages are very similar.

:46:04. > :46:08.Somewhat lower than what we expect from Michael van Gerwen, but

:46:09. > :46:11.something about the Thornton game does trouble MVG in big-stage darts.

:46:12. > :46:23.That is definite. An important last dart from van

:46:24. > :46:39.Gerwen to leave 128. This is a shot where van Gerwen will

:46:40. > :46:50.look at the 18s first. That means treble 20 for bull.

:46:51. > :47:00.Robert Thornton has two darts in hand for double 16. He hits double

:47:01. > :47:05.eight. A little shriek of his own as if to say - I'm not going anywhere.

:47:06. > :47:13.Robert Thornton isn't letting Michael van Gerwen out of his sights

:47:14. > :47:19.yet. That's the key. MVG has just threatened to pull away. And

:47:20. > :47:25.Thornton has just reeled him in. What do you think about the point,

:47:26. > :47:31.Dan, that Michael van Gerwen has won more money than anyone this month?

:47:32. > :47:33.But also played more matches than anybody else? Is that going to

:47:34. > :47:40.affect his performance here this weekend? Is he going to be too

:47:41. > :47:45.tired? There's a term, I think you may have coined it, darts fit.

:47:46. > :47:49.Michael van Gerwen doesn't practice much away from the tournaments,

:47:50. > :47:55.because he's in the finals of most of them. He's winning about half the

:47:56. > :47:58.tournaments he enters. He's getting lots of competitive action against

:47:59. > :48:05.the best in the world. So he doesn't need to go away and hit the practice

:48:06. > :48:12.board for hour after hour. He just seems to have this momentum, 19

:48:13. > :48:25.titles this year. 80 grand in prize money won this month. The big Aussie

:48:26. > :48:29.Simon Whitlock once said, he didn't practice on Mondays, Tuesdays and

:48:30. > :48:34.Wednesdays because he didn't need to. Thornton on 113 to level the

:48:35. > :48:53.match. Tops, his favourite. That's why. It

:48:54. > :48:57.is four apiece. He's up for this. This echoes what we were watching

:48:58. > :49:02.last year in the Grand Prix final. Robert Thornton is not letting

:49:03. > :49:08.Michael van Gerwen go. He was two legs behind and he's doing things

:49:09. > :49:12.right. He's scoring steadily. He's leaving tops and he's taking it.

:49:13. > :49:19.When he does that, he troubles anyone on this darting planet. He

:49:20. > :49:24.really does. Three major titles to his name beating 16 time world

:49:25. > :49:31.champion Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen in the Grand Prix, Daryl

:49:32. > :49:38.Fitten in the Masters. You don't win like that unless you have the game

:49:39. > :49:44.to beat the best. I don't think it's ever been questioned whether Robert

:49:45. > :49:49.Thornton has got the game. At the moment, we're watching money who is

:49:50. > :49:55.genuinely confident with what he's throwing, with the new, slim darts.

:49:56. > :50:00.He's asking questions of the Dutchman. That could well be a very

:50:01. > :50:07.valuable bounceout if van Gerwen doesn't take this. An extra 60

:50:08. > :50:13.points there would mean Robert Thornton would have two darts to

:50:14. > :50:24.break the throw and go 5-4 up. As it is, the most he can get is one.

:50:25. > :50:39.The crowd are getting involved now. You get the feeling they're in the

:50:40. > :51:07.corner of the man in blue. You could cut the tension in here

:51:08. > :51:13.with a cheese knife. Again, the first time was disguised. So used to

:51:14. > :51:20.watching van Gerwen and having these ton-plus averages. Why is it, Dan,

:51:21. > :51:29.that every time he plays Thornton it turns into a street fight? Even the

:51:30. > :51:37.world number one cannot produce perfection over and over again. But

:51:38. > :51:41.Robert Thornton is a player, who, if he is slightly off the top of his

:51:42. > :51:44.game, is capable of taking advantage. He beat him in the Grand

:51:45. > :51:55.Prix final. Since then, it hasn't gone well. He's not won over the

:51:56. > :52:01.last 12 meetings, Robert Thornton. So he knows how hard it is to

:52:02. > :52:06.edgester a victory gents Michael van Gerwen. You don't make it to the

:52:07. > :52:13.Champions League unless you have the capability. I think the ability of

:52:14. > :52:17.both guys has never been in question, apart from possibly a time

:52:18. > :52:22.after van Gerwen won the world Masters and a lot of people said he

:52:23. > :52:28.wasn't living up to his billing and full ability. I think he would say

:52:29. > :52:35.he was teasing us all, saying you can have a chance for a few years.

:52:36. > :52:40.After that, I want everything. I spoke to dart players who shall

:52:41. > :52:42.remain nameless, who would say, I don't know what Michael van Gerwen's

:52:43. > :53:05.done. He misses and Thornton comes back,

:53:06. > :53:11.look at the same target for five apiece. For the first ten legs, if

:53:12. > :53:15.you said to Robert Thornton, you can have 5-5 with Michael van Gerwen, he

:53:16. > :53:20.would be a happy, little Scotsman. He's got to hit double ten. Which he

:53:21. > :53:24.does! It's in the corner, but that will do. MVG 5, Thornton 5. And we

:53:25. > :53:42.have got a game on here. # Hey, hey baby

:53:43. > :53:42.# Ooo-ahhh # I wanna know

:53:43. > :54:06.# If you'll be my girl# STUDIO: We are all square in the

:54:07. > :54:10.2016 Premier League first meeting. Mark Webster, we've got a little hum

:54:11. > :54:14.dinninger on our hands. Definitely. We said Robert had to get the better

:54:15. > :54:17.of the early exchanges. He's more than done that. Being super

:54:18. > :54:21.critical, he could have been in the lead. He had three clean at double

:54:22. > :54:26.19. He'll be delighted. He has Michael engulfed in a game, and a

:54:27. > :54:30.scrappy one. That suits Robert. It's the first match that we've had in

:54:31. > :54:33.the opening set of matches whereby you actually don't know who's going

:54:34. > :54:37.to win this one. The previous three the guy who's gone in at the

:54:38. > :54:42.interval leading has gone on to win it. It's on a knife edge. It will

:54:43. > :54:47.suit Robert. When we resume the game, Robert against the throws. He

:54:48. > :54:50.can have a go. There's no pressure to hold his throw. He's playing with

:54:51. > :54:54.a new set of darts. They're going well. He needs to tighten up on a

:54:55. > :54:58.few doublings. He will be delighted with the score line. Michael got off

:54:59. > :55:03.to a great start. Yeah, he got out of the blocks. We feared for

:55:04. > :55:07.Robertery. If he got an early break, would he get back in it? But he's

:55:08. > :55:12.hung in there. He has to keep going. There was a key moment and Mark will

:55:13. > :55:18.demonstrate just about the sticky situation that Robert found himself

:55:19. > :55:22.in. Take a look at this, because Robert was going for double 19 and

:55:23. > :55:25.basically he found himself blocked. Yeah, it's not necessarily the wrong

:55:26. > :55:29.thing to do. Robert was throwing confidently. Lock at the first dart

:55:30. > :55:33.there, he's trying to find his way, it's difficult. It's blocked. He's

:55:34. > :55:38.give himself a lot of work to do there. You can't be super critical.

:55:39. > :55:42.He thought I'll go for it. When you're in that position, what would

:55:43. > :55:48.you have done? Personally, I'd have ripped the score and gone for 18,

:55:49. > :55:52.double 10. He was buzzing. He thought get it in straight away and

:55:53. > :55:55.then ease got the break of throw. He's not let it affect him. He's got

:55:56. > :55:59.himself back on level terms. You know these boys and what Robert is

:56:00. > :56:05.like as well. What's elike there now back stage? He's obviously buzzing

:56:06. > :56:09.to be 5-5 and to still be in with this possibly beating the favourite?

:56:10. > :56:13.He'll be bubbling. A positive score loin for Robert. He's playing the

:56:14. > :56:17.best player in the world. He's hung in there. He'll give himself a

:56:18. > :56:22.chance now. Everybody is talking about the tie between Michael and

:56:23. > :56:27.Phil. The players are back. Back to the lads.

:56:28. > :56:32.COMMENTATOR: Phil Taylor awaits the winner of this one. We don't know

:56:33. > :56:38.who that's going to be right now. Robert Thornton, a man who only won

:56:39. > :56:45.the European Tour last year, he said, "My wife describes me as a pit

:56:46. > :56:49.bull with the heart of a lion." He will need that kind of stuff if he

:56:50. > :56:52.wants to close out the victory against the world number one and

:56:53. > :56:57.pose some serious questions for Michael van Gerwen in the group

:56:58. > :57:03.stages of this new Champions League. There was another saying in 2016 -

:57:04. > :57:08.don't put Robert in the corner, because he will come out swinging

:57:09. > :57:12.and he will get out of that corner. At this point in time, van Gerwen is

:57:13. > :57:21.still in charge because he has the throw. Thornton will definitely be

:57:22. > :57:27.getting his sights on that and possibly a game with Phil Taylor

:57:28. > :57:32.later on today. That is three perfect darts from Robert Thornton.

:57:33. > :57:37.You do sometimes wonder, after a brief break where they go off stage,

:57:38. > :57:45.if it can just knock players out of their rhythm. But what a way to come

:57:46. > :57:50.back from the break. Just the four perfect darts. Like you said

:57:51. > :57:56.earlier, there's the one. You've got to hit it at some point. You can't

:57:57. > :58:00.finish a game of darts in 501 without hitting an odd number at

:58:01. > :58:10.some point. You may as well get rid of it sooner rather than later.

:58:11. > :58:18.Despite five trebles in his first two visits to the board, Michael van

:58:19. > :58:29.Gerwen has got himself down to a very manageable finish here.

:58:30. > :58:38.Well, that will do, to set up the shot.

:58:39. > :58:50.A few guys at home think that's a flamboyant celebration, that's

:58:51. > :58:53.nothing compared to what he will give us throughout the course of

:58:54. > :58:58.this tournament, if he keeps winning. A lot of people think he's

:58:59. > :59:04.like the Hulk, when he gets going, you don't want to be close to that

:59:05. > :59:09.right hook. I said to Carl Froch once, how do you think it would feel

:59:10. > :59:22.being on the end of that? He said, "No thanks."

:59:23. > :59:29.Robert is still taking the game to van Gerwen. He's not going to give

:59:30. > :59:34.up. The way it's gone so far, you've got to feel this game could be won

:59:35. > :59:35.by the odd leg. We might go all the way for the first time this

:59:36. > :59:45.afternoon. A little bit unfortunate that,

:59:46. > :59:57.Robert Thornton. He seen that dart deflect out of the target area. Not

:59:58. > :00:01.many players out 180 Michael going, but he has almost twice as many of

:00:02. > :00:08.the world number one in this match, and that's astonishing. It is

:00:09. > :00:13.astonishing. He has hit more 180s than 140s. That tells me he's in

:00:14. > :00:20.good touch. And more importantly, the new darts he has, this is why he

:00:21. > :00:30.chose to move to the new darts, wanted more 180s. He sets up the

:00:31. > :00:34.shot nicely. MPG is no normal player, but he still won't take it

:00:35. > :00:43.out. Double 12 the Thornton for a level game once again. Double 6,

:00:44. > :00:50.can't afford to miss at this visit. Can't afford to miss, Robert. And he

:00:51. > :00:56.doesn't just missed but by quite some way. Van Gerwen smells blood.

:00:57. > :01:05.Gets it, gets that break, and now, after the break we have a slightly

:01:06. > :01:13.different game, courtesy of missed darts from the Scotsman. We thought

:01:14. > :01:17.maybe Robert Thornton was taking the game to Michael van Gerwen, but

:01:18. > :01:22.ended up losing the next two legs. The Thorn is giving himself what

:01:23. > :01:33.appears to be an increasingly large hole to dig his way out.

:01:34. > :01:38.They are marginally shorter than Robert Thornton and better

:01:39. > :01:43.sometimes! Green is definitely the colour today. Green is everywhere.

:01:44. > :01:48.There is blue all over Robert Thornton, a very proud Scotsman.

:01:49. > :01:53.Representatives countries are many, many occasions. Van Gerwen has

:01:54. > :02:01.represented the Netherlands on many occasions, too. Michael van Gerwen,

:02:02. > :02:08.World Cup of Darts captain. Only won it the once. The Netherlands have

:02:09. > :02:23.won it twice. Raymond van Barneveld won the very first one.

:02:24. > :02:33.Needs to find a treble here, Robert Thornton. Doesn't get one. There

:02:34. > :02:41.could be a three legged gap opening up in this one. Needed the treble.

:02:42. > :02:46.This would definitely hurt. But he's not going to get it. Did you notice

:02:47. > :02:54.the concerned look on the face of MCG? You don't see him give his

:02:55. > :02:59.opponents much of a sniff at any point when it comes to psychology.

:03:00. > :03:05.He's not going to give Robert Thornton another shot at the board

:03:06. > :03:11.here. Starting 5-5, come back from the break, 8-5 to van Gerwen. A long

:03:12. > :03:18.way back now for Thornton. It certainly is. Robert Thornton, you

:03:19. > :03:24.wonder... You wonder with Michael van Gerwen averaging around 94-95,

:03:25. > :03:29.occasionally in tournaments he will go and win them playing darts nobody

:03:30. > :03:35.can touch, but sometimes he might only give you one game, one game

:03:36. > :03:40.where he not quite on his top form, and that gives you a chance, and

:03:41. > :03:46.nobody even gets close after that. Maybe this is the one. We remember

:03:47. > :03:54.the World Championships from last year. He played a fella from that

:03:55. > :03:58.Germany, they were involved in a real classic. Everybody thought

:03:59. > :04:06.Michael van Gerwen would win it easily, but he didn't. He had to go

:04:07. > :04:10.all the way. Eventually he was eliminated by Raymond van Barneveld

:04:11. > :04:15.in one of the best games we've ever seen. Van Gerwen doesn't make it

:04:16. > :04:23.easy, whether it's an average game, a poor game or a brilliant game.

:04:24. > :04:27.That's not the worst deflection in the world for Robert Thornton,

:04:28. > :04:32.leaves him 100. Van Gerwen would have needed all three to see off the

:04:33. > :04:37.160, but that isn't going to happen. Once again asking the question of

:04:38. > :04:44.Robert Thornton. Double top, double top it has to be, Robert Thornton.

:04:45. > :04:52.Oh, he's not giving it a chance! Van Gerwen doesn't need asking twice.

:04:53. > :04:57.Four leggeds in a row after the Thornton onslaught at the back end

:04:58. > :05:03.of session one. Now van Gerwen is growing for the match and it could

:05:04. > :05:06.be all over and we might see that van Gerwen- Taylor Mac later. It's

:05:07. > :05:15.looking very, very likely at the moment. It's not very often you put

:05:16. > :05:20.-- see some people at a five leg run together. But Robert Thornton will

:05:21. > :05:28.keep fighting and keep sticking in there, but it gets harder doesn't

:05:29. > :05:37.it? This year someone has beaten MVG by the score of 6-0. That doesn't

:05:38. > :05:46.happen almost ever, but Ian White did it in approach for final earlier

:05:47. > :05:49.this year. -- a pro tour Viner. He is racing, racing towards the

:05:50. > :05:58.finishing line, the world number one. He was pegged back at 5- five

:05:59. > :06:02.with a tenacious display. But it could be five darts he closes this

:06:03. > :06:09.out in and that's exactly what he does. An 11 darter fell MVG. He will

:06:10. > :06:14.take on Phil The Power Taylor tonight in this opening group stage.

:06:15. > :06:20.Thornton, it will be an all Scottish clash against Peter Snakebite right.

:06:21. > :06:38.-- Peter Snakebite Wright. # Hey baby

:06:39. > :06:47.# I want to know # If you'll be my girl #.

:06:48. > :06:50.And that is how it's done, ladies and gentlemen. A brilliant match,

:06:51. > :06:56.excellent performance from Michael van Gerwen, never in doubt, never in

:06:57. > :07:00.doubt, Mark? No, looking at it now probably not. Robert Haddin thinking

:07:01. > :07:03.at the halfway stage. That is why Michael is world number one, he can

:07:04. > :07:06.win when everything is going his way. It is the mark of a great

:07:07. > :07:08.player when you're not playing your best and you still win a game and he

:07:09. > :07:30.won it fairly comfortably. You watch him in action, 5-5 at the interval

:07:31. > :07:32.and it resembles a lot of other sportsmen and sports teams. They are

:07:33. > :07:35.on the ropes. It is the mark of the champion, that you can bounce back

:07:36. > :07:37.and win it in that style, so comfortably? Robert Madley angered

:07:38. > :07:41.him at the break, 5-5, but he put his foot on the gas. I think he only

:07:42. > :07:43.averaged around 98 in the end, but that is good enough for Michael. He

:07:44. > :07:46.has closed out the victory. It was 98, his first nine darts averaging

:07:47. > :07:51.106. Starting legs pretty well but put his foot on the gas and did a

:07:52. > :07:56.professional job. When you look at it from Robert's point of view,

:07:57. > :08:00.there are pluses to take out of it? Yes, he scored well, just missed a

:08:01. > :08:04.few key chances. When you're playing Michael and those chances come, you

:08:05. > :08:08.are under enormous pressure. He hasn't had the best results lately

:08:09. > :08:11.but showed positive signs with a new set of darts and he can build on

:08:12. > :08:15.that in his game against Peter Wright tonight. We are hoping

:08:16. > :08:17.Michael van Gerwen will join us in the studio shortly. Let's take a

:08:18. > :08:26.look at the latest standings, starting with group A. Phil Taylor

:08:27. > :08:30.at the top, then Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Robert Thornton.

:08:31. > :08:39.Michael van Gerwen has just beaten Robert Thornton 10-5. Let's take a

:08:40. > :08:43.look at group B. James Wade at the very top, after a devastating

:08:44. > :08:47.performance against Adrian Lewis, winning 10-3. But then Gary

:08:48. > :08:53.Anderson, who got us underway today beating Michael Smith convincingly

:08:54. > :08:54.10-5. Let's take a look at night's order

:08:55. > :09:10.of play. Michael van Gerwen has just arrived.

:09:11. > :09:13.Take a seat, taking on Phil Taylor, Saturday night entertainment you

:09:14. > :09:20.won't want to miss. Good to see you my friend. Well played. Fantastic

:09:21. > :09:26.performance. At 5-5, when you went back behind the screen what were you

:09:27. > :09:33.thinking? I was thinking, what am I doing? I played absolutely rubbish.

:09:34. > :09:37.I want to play better than this, but it was a busy period for me and I

:09:38. > :09:42.want to do something extra on this stage, for the fans here, for

:09:43. > :09:44.everyone and for myself. Because you probably need it later on in the

:09:45. > :09:52.tournament, the confidence and everything. I know I won 10-5 and

:09:53. > :09:57.that's a good result but I want to do better. Were you not happy with

:09:58. > :10:02.the start you made? I won the game and don't get me wrong... But I can

:10:03. > :10:08.do much better than this. I expect more of myself, as well. As Mark

:10:09. > :10:14.knows, this is not my game. I didn't play, I was a bit sloppy. At the

:10:15. > :10:17.break 5-5, we thought you would be a bit angry with yourself because you

:10:18. > :10:22.aspire for perfection. What kicked you into gear in the break? I don't

:10:23. > :10:27.know. The break came at the right moment. I was missing big numbers,

:10:28. > :10:35.things that normally don't happen to me. I like to do things like that...

:10:36. > :10:39.Robert played better than me. I thought, it's not going to be my day

:10:40. > :10:43.here. Eventually I could turn it around a bit and I played a bit

:10:44. > :10:47.better at the end and got a bit more confidence. I'm going to need it

:10:48. > :10:53.tonight. Did Robert surprise you, the way he played better this

:10:54. > :10:59.afternoon? Yes, it surprised me, a couple of good finishers, which I

:11:00. > :11:04.didn't expect. You always think about the worst thing that can

:11:05. > :11:07.happen. I just want to win my games. Whatever someone else is doing, I

:11:08. > :11:12.don't really mind, I just need to look to my own performance. It

:11:13. > :11:15.wasn't fantastic, but I won my game. That's all that matters when you

:11:16. > :11:19.look at the table. The big game tonight against Phil Taylor, not a

:11:20. > :11:24.knockout game but you have a few hours now. Will you stay practising

:11:25. > :11:27.or go and have a rest? Go and have a rest. Maybe have a little bit of

:11:28. > :11:34.food and make sure I'm prepared for tonight against Phil CV can do the

:11:35. > :11:37.same he did earlier on. What is it like? For us up here it is a

:11:38. > :11:41.magnificent atmosphere. What is it like when the music goes on the

:11:42. > :11:47.adrenaline is pumping? Then I want to do one thing, absolutely destroy

:11:48. > :11:53.my opponent, and try to do as best as possible. I wish I was a robot

:11:54. > :11:59.but I'm not a robot. Some people say I am, but I'm not. An inaugural a

:12:00. > :12:02.massive tournament opportunity for the best eight players in the world.

:12:03. > :12:06.What would it mean seeing all the titles you have won, where would it

:12:07. > :12:10.rank? I have never won this one before so I don't know. I only

:12:11. > :12:14.played one game and I was on the bus. I better try and concentrate on

:12:15. > :12:17.the next game before I think about the title.

:12:18. > :12:23.How much you looking forward to taking an Phil Taylor? I can't wait

:12:24. > :12:27.for it. Me and Phil we have a lovely rivalry. We know what to do against

:12:28. > :12:32.each other. I don't want to make mistakes against him. The last time

:12:33. > :12:39.I played him, actually, I lost him. Before that I beat him ten, 11, 12

:12:40. > :12:44.times in a row. He doesn't give you any guarantees. I've been

:12:45. > :12:47.introducing these boys to the work of television punditry and say you

:12:48. > :12:51.have to put your reputation on the line and call a winner for many of

:12:52. > :12:55.the matches. Be careful, he is sitting next to, who is your money

:12:56. > :12:59.on, van Gerwen or Taylor? I said at the beginning of the tournament you

:13:00. > :13:04.have to back Michael. It's a round robin event, so you have that

:13:05. > :13:07.luxury. I thing when something like that is afforded to you you can

:13:08. > :13:11.Hammer it home. I fancy your chances. It will be tough, he played

:13:12. > :13:14.well this afternoon, you have to play better, you will know that, but

:13:15. > :13:18.I know you will rise to the occasion. We are out of time but

:13:19. > :13:22.thank you, Michael. Thank you for joining us. Join us this evening on

:13:23. > :13:24.BBC Two at 6:30pm. Final score is on next. See you later, goodbye for

:13:25. > :13:53.now. If there is nothing new,

:13:54. > :13:54.then the Court of Appeal aren't going to change

:13:55. > :13:55.their decision.