Gerwyn Price produced a flawless display to claim his second nightly win of the Premier League Darts season, dominating Night Nine in Manchester with a trio of 6-2 victories. 'The Iceman' first saw off Stephen Bunting, then Luke Humphries, before overpowering Gian van Veen 6-2 in the final. Price opened the final with a 180 on Van Veen's throw and took the first leg with a 128 checkout, racing to a 4-0 lead with another 128 finish and a 12-darter on double 16. Van Veen held to make it 4-1, but Price sealed the win with an 84 checkout on double 12 and a final 44 finish, averaging over 111 in the process.
The night's headlines, however, were dominated by a heated exchange between Gian van Veen and Luke Littler in their quarter-final clash. Littler, who considers Manchester a 'home city' due to his support for Manchester United, appeared to celebrate when Van Veen missed a match dart on 90. Van Veen noticed and looked at the crowd before glaring at Littler, who then raised his arms to rally the fans. Van Veen eventually won the match 6-5, missing one match dart before clinching on double six, with no eye contact in the handshake. Littler later took to social media to mock comments Van Veen made to Viaplay.
In the match itself, Van Veen took a 3-1 lead with checkouts of 97 and 128, the latter to break. Littler fought back with a 12-dart 87 checkout and broke to force a decider, but Van Veen prevailed. Earlier, Stephen Bunting opened the night by defeating Michael van Gerwen 6-3, highlighted by a 161 checkout to break for a 2-0 lead. Price's path to the final included a 6-2 win over Humphries, where he broke with a 135 and sealed it with a 60 checkout, and a 6-2 semi-final victory over Bunting, sealed with a 112 checkout. Van Veen reached the final by beating Josh Rock 6-3, finishing with an 80 checkout to break and a 160 checkout to end it.
With the win, Price moves to 19 points in the Premier League table, sitting second behind Luke Littler on 21 points. Jonny Clayton is third with 19 points, while Michael van Gerwen is fourth on 13 points, as a gap begins to form in the standings.
