Here's how things panned out on Night 16 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
ANDERSON PROGRESSES DESPITE DEFEAT
'The Flying Scotsman' Gary Anderson secured his place in the play-offs despite going down 8-3 to 'The Iceman' Gerwyn Price.
The Welshman suffered an early setback when he missed D20 for a 142 checkout and an important 2-0 lead when Anderson took out 110 to save his throw and level affairs in the early going. A missed dart at the same double proved costly in the third leg which allowed the Scotsman to open up a 2-1 lead. Fortunately for Price, he was able to break Anderson's throw in the fourth leg and level the scores once more.
Price punished a struggling Anderson by opening up a clear advantage, going 6-2 ahead before Anderson bit back with a stunning 170 checkout. The big finish from Anderson was ultimately to no avail as Price eventually prevailed 8-3. As things stood, Price was in the play-off positions but he faced a nervy wait to see if his last four spot would be cemented at the end of the night.
The defeat also left Anderson's play-off spot hanging in the balance and also meant he could no longer catch Glen Durrant at the top of the table, landing 'Duzza' a cool £25,000 league leaders bonus.
Gerwyn Price came out of his clash with Gary Anderson with the points, but would it be enough to seal his place in the play-offs.
DOMINANT DARYL ELIMINATES OFF-COLOUR MVG
For the first time since he became a Premier League Darts player, Michael Van Gerwen will play no part in the end of season play-offs at the o2 Arena after 'Superchin' Daryl Gurney hammered 'MVG' 8-2.
Northern Irishman Gurney took full advantage of Van Gerwen's poor form and raced into a commanding 4-0 lead with 'Mighty Mike''s average dropping as low as 76 at one point. Gurney's lead in turn sealed one of the play-off positions as it ensured Gary Anderson of his place in the last four. Gurney soon landed the first 100+ checkout of the match to go 5-0 ahead with a 121 finish.
Van Gerwen won his first leg of the match with a 121 of his own but any hopes of an unlikely comeback were soon extinguished as Gurney secured himself of a point to go 7-1 up. Van Gerwen took the eighth leg but it was merely a consolation as Gurney took out 104 and seal the win 8-2.
The win for Gurney will provide a small morale boost at the end of what has been a poor Premier League season which he will end in eighth position. Van Gerwen's defeat ensures he won't be in the play-offs and that for the first time in four years there will be a new name on the trophy.
There'll be no repeat of this scene in 2020 as Michael Van Gerwen misses out on the Premier League play-offs for the first time.
SNAKEBITE SNATCHES SECOND PLACE IN STYLE
World Champion Peter 'Snakebite' Wright made sure of second place in the Premier League table with an 8-5 win over 'The Bully Boy' Michael Smith.
Results earlier in the evening ensured Wright of his place in the top four before he took to the oche which alleviated some of the pressure on the Scotsman. The result seemed to be threatened somewhat in the second leg when Smith nailed his favourite D10 to seal a spectacular 128 checkout to hold his throw and level the score.
Both players played their part in an entertaining encounter and it was Wright who prevailed 8-5 to finish the league phase just a point behind Glen Durrant on 20 points.
Peter 'Snakebite' Wright will have high hopes of adding the Premier League title to his World Championship when he heads to the o2 Arena for the play-offs on October 22.
ASPINALL LEAPS INTO THE PLAY-OFFS
In the evening's final encounter, Nathan Aspinall capped off an impressive debut Premier League season by taking the fourth and final play-off spot after defeating Glen Durrant 8-2.
It was 'The Asp' who took the early initiative and took a 3-0 lead before 'Duzza' notched his first leg of the game in the fourth, taking out 7-2 to get on the scoreboard. It was to no avail for the man from Middlesbrough as he was powerless to stop Aspinall going 5-1 ahead with a tremendous 170 checkout, the second of the evening.
Durrant refused to go down without a fight and took out an impressive 127 checkout to make the score 6-2 but the match belonged to Stockport native Aspinall who sealed his last four spot by taking out 124. It was clear what the result meant to Aspinall after his emotional reaction, it also spelt the end of Gerwyn Price's play-off hopes as 'The Asp' leapfrogged the Welshman into the top four.
It was all smiles for Nathan Aspinall after he sealed his place in the play-offs at the end of his maiden Premier League Darts campaign.
After a dramatic darting night in Milton Keynes, that brings our round-up of the action to an end.
Thanks as ever for taking the time to read 180-Darts, we'll be back soon with hopefully our first guest interview on the page.
Keep your eyes peeled on Editor Dan's Twitter (@BarkerGray2) for more info.




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