THE fixtures for the remaining five weeks of the McCoy's Premier League Darts have been confirmed.
Following Thursday's Judgement Night in Brighton, Wes Newton and Gary Anderson have been relegated from the event and will play no further part in the tournament.
The remaining eight players will now play each other once more in the remaining five league nights, with six games being played in Dublin, Birmingham and Newcastle and five taking place in Sheffield and Liverpool.
Following Week 14 in Newcastle, the top four players from the league table will progress to compete in the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on Thursday May 16.
The Week Ten fixtures for the coming Thursday in Sheffield include the top-of-the-table clash between James Wade and Michael van Gerwen, with the 2009 champion also playing Adrian Lewis at the Motorpoint Arena and the Dutch ace also meeting Phil Taylor.
Week 11 at The O2 in Dublin includes two big matches for Dutch star Raymond van Barneveld, who takes on van Gerwen and Taylor, with the reigning champion also meeting Andy Hamilton on the night in Ireland.
Week 12 in Birmingham also features six games, with the all-Stoke clash between Taylor and Lewis opening the night before they return later on to play Whitlock and Thornton respectively.
The penultimate week of league action, in Liverpool on May 2, will see Hamilton meet van Gerwen and Wade, while the left-hander also meets Simon Whitlock, van Barneveld plays Lewis and Taylor meets Thornton in a repeat of their clash last Thursday, which the Scot won.
Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena will host the decisive league night on May 9, with the six games including Whitlock meeting van Barneveld and Lewis, Thornton playing van Gerwen and van Barneveld and Lewis also meeting Stoke rival Andy Hamilton, while Taylor plays Wade.
McCoy's Premier League Darts
Week Ten
April 11 - Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield
Robert Thornton v Simon Whitlock
Adrian Lewis v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
Andy Hamilton v Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade v Michael van Gerwen
Week 11
April 18 - The O2, Dublin
Andy Hamilton v Phil Taylor
Raymond van Barneveld v Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton v James Wade
Simon Whitlock v Andy Hamilton
Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
Week 12
April 25 - The NIA, Birmingham
Phil Taylor v Adrian Lewis
Simon Whitlock v Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton v Andy Hamilton
Raymond van Barneveld v James Wade
Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock
Adrian Lewis v Robert Thornton
Week 13
May 2 - Echo Arena, Liverpool
Michael van Gerwen v Andy Hamilton
James Wade v Simon Whitlock
Robert Thornton v Phil Taylor
Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis
James Wade v Andy Hamilton
Week 14
May 9 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
Simon Whitlock v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton
Andy Hamilton v Adrian Lewis
Phil Taylor v James Wade
Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld
Adrian Lewis v Simon Whitlock
Play-Offs
May 16 - The O2, London
Semi-Finals
PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final - Ricky Evans v Michael Smith
Final
PIER PRESSURE FOR QUARTET ON McCOY'S PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS' JUDGEMENT NIGHT IN BRIGHTON
TWO players from four contenders will be relegated from the McCoy's Premier League Darts in Brighton on Thursday night, as Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock, Wes Newton and Gary Anderson fight for their futures in the tournament.
The first phase of this year's ten-player tournament will come to a close as the bottom two players in the league table following week nine at the Brighton Centre are eliminated.
Anderson and Newton are locked on five points at the foot of the table going into Judgement Night, but are only a point behind Australian ace Whitlock and two adrift of Lewis, who lost his first four games but is now unbeaten in his last four.
Lewis kicks off Thursday night's drama when he plays Raymond van Barneveld, and the two-time World Champion knows that a draw or a win against the Dutchman will secure his status in the Premier League.
Newton and Anderson, meanwhile, will need to take a minimum of a point from their games with Andy Hamilton and James Wade to bring Whitlock into the equation.
Newton's 7-4 win over Anderson in Glasgow last week saw him jump above the Scot on Leg Difference, and he went on to claim the £20,000 first prize in the Easter weekend's European Darts Trophy event in Germany.
"After the weekend, my confidence is good and I can't wait for Thursday," said Newton. "There's a lot of scenarios which could happen, but at the end of the day I've got to go up there and win - and if I don't do that, it's immaterial.
"Being in the Premier League's been the highlight of my darts career, I've loved every minute and I don't want to be relegated, and whatever happens I think I'll be a better player in the future for bring in the Premier League this year.
"I'll focus on my game because I can score with the best players and if I take my chances I think I can beat anybody. It's going to be really tough against Andy, but it's a game I think I can win and I need to win.
"I'll give it my all on Thursday, and winning in Germany is a perfect build-up to it. My confidence is good and I can't wait."
2011 Premier League champion Anderson, meanwhile, must also avoid defeat when he meets another former winner, James Wade, in their game.
The Scot missed 25 attempts at a double in his defeat to Newton in Glasgow, and has finished only 28% of his doubles throughout the season with 37 from 134 darts.
"My finishing has been what's cost me and it's been so frustrating," admitted Anderson. "In practice they've been going in fine but when I get up on stage I've struggled.
"I know that I can score as well as anyone in the game, and you can see that in how many chances I've given myself this season. I'll give it my best shot against James on Thursday because it's down to me and hopefully I can get the win and stay in the Premier League."
Lewis will open Thursday's action in Brighton against Raymond van Barneveld, and despite losing his opening four games has moved up to eighth in the table with three victories and a draw since.
Lewis needs only to pick up a point against the Dutchman to survive for the remaining weeks of the event, and said: "I've given myself a great chance by going unbeaten for four weeks.
"I'm very proud because my form was shocking at the start of the Premier League, but I can feel it coming back in patches.
"I've got no choice against Raymond - if you don't play your best you're in trouble. We always have great games but I think I'll get the job done."
Should Newton and Anderson take a draw or a win from their matches, they would bring Whitlock into the battle when the Australian star takes on Michael van Gerwen in the night's final game.
"My fate's in my own hands and I just have to prepare to beat Michael and not worry about the other games," said Whitlock. "It's a massive night because nobody wants to be the first to be relegated from the Premier League and it's been a brilliant season so far.
"I've played some great matches so to find myself in this position shows how close it's been, and any player who survives will still have a really good chance of making the Play-Offs in May too!"
Van Gerwen is one of four players locked on ten points at the head of the league table, alongside Wade, van Barneveld and league leader Phil Taylor - whose meeting with Robert Thornton is the only clash which has no bearing on the relegation race in Brighton.
The game is, though, a repeat of their meeting in the 2012 UK Open final, when Thornton defeated Taylor to claim his first major PDC title, and the Scot is riding high after his thrilling win over Whitlock in Glasgow last which, which moved him onto nine points.
"It will be great and I'm looking forward to it," said Thornton. "I can relax now knowing that the pressure's off and I'm safe.
"After last week and the past few weeks, I think I can push for a Play-Off spot and to be in the top four. I'll be up for it and I'm loving the Premier League - it seems to have brought the best out of me.
"I've got nothing to prove. He knows I can beat him and I know he can beat me, so it's all about who brings their best game on the night."
The McCoy's Premier League Darts Judgement Night will be screened live on Sky Sports 1HD from 7pm on Thursday.
Coverage is also live on RTL7 in the Netherlands, Sport1 in Germany, Fox Sports in Australia, OSN across the Middle East and through www.LIVEPDC.TV for International Pass subscribers.
McCoy's Premier League Darts
Week Nine – “Judgement Night”
April 4 - The Brighton Centre
Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Robert Thornton
Wes Newton v Andy Hamilton
Gary Anderson v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Simon Whitlock
Relegation Race
Adrian Lewis (7pts) - if Lewis wins or draws he is safe.
Simon Whitlock (6pts) - is safe with a win or if Newton & Anderson lose.
Wes Newton (5pts) - must draw or win to bring Whitlock into race.
Gary Anderson (5pts) - must draw or win to bring Whitlock into race.
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN moved up a career-high second in the PDC Order of Merit with his run to the semi-finals of the European Darts Trophy.
The Dutch sensation's success in Stuttgart, which saw him drop only three legs in four wins before he was knocked out in the last four by Paul Nicholson, has seen him leapfrog Adrian Lewis to second in the world rankings.
Only runaway world number one Phil Taylor now sits above van Gerwen, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise from 36th in the rankings just 16 months ago and has accumulated £349,500 in a two-year period.
"It's a dream for me," said van Gerwen. "I knew it was possible to move second when I travelled to Germany but to achieve it is a very special feeling.
"My next target's Phil Taylor now, but he's a long way ahead of me so I'll have to win a lot more tournaments to catch him!"
Lewis now sits on £349,300 in the Order of Merit, with James Wade fourth in the rankings on £337,500.
Wes Newton's victory in the European Darts Trophy has seen him close the gap on sixth-placed Andy Hamilton to just £100 in the rankings, while Paul Nicholson's run to the final has seen him move closer to 13th placed Robert Thornton.
Click here to see the latest PDC Order of Merit
Harrows Barbados Darts Festival 2013
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN completed a weekend double in the Speedy Services UK Open Qualifiers in Crawley, defeating Brendan Dolan 6-2 in Sunday's final at the K2 Centre in Crawley.
The 23-year-old Dutch star wrote his name into the history books alongside the likes of Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis with the double success as he continued his run of form with another superb day of darts.
Van Gerwen's achievement sees him rise above James Wade to a career-high third in the PDC Order of Merit as he took the £6,000 first prize on the day to double his winnings for the weekend.
Having also won the final Players Championship of 2012, the Dutchman has now won three ProTour events in succession, and including the opening three weeks of the McCoy's Premier League Darts is now unbeaten in his last 19 games.
His victims on Sunday in Crawley included Steve Farmer, Ryan De Vreede, Darron Brown and Keith Rooney before he saw off Premier League rival Wes Newton 6-1 in the last 16.
Van Gerwen then hit seven 180s and a 105.81 average in a 6-4 quarter-final win over Mervyn King before averaging 107.29 in his 6-2 semi-final defeat of Peter Wright.
The Dutchman raced into a 2-0 lead against Dolan in the final with legs of 15 and 14 darts before the Northern Irish ace punished a missed double 16 by hitting back in the third leg, following an earlier 180 with double ten.
Dolan, though, missed four darts to level the game in the next leg as van Gerwen posted double ten before hitting a 13-darter and a 68 finish in moving 5-1 up.
Dolan took out 84 to stay in the contest, but van Gerwen secured the win by finishing 114 on double top.
"It's amazing because not a lot of people have won two tournaments in one weekend, so it's a good achievement," said van Gerwen. "I'm feeling very proud of myself at the moment and it's so tough.
"Brendan had just beaten Raymond in the semi-finals and it's never easy to beat him, but I did what I needed to do. I played good darts on both days, and I want to keep this going now."
Dolan takes home £3,000 as runner-up and also secured his place in the top 32 of the rankings for June's Speedy Services UK Open televised finals in Bolton, where he will enter at the third round stage in 'The FA Cup of Darts'.
Dolan's successes on the day culminated in a fine semi-final victory over Raymond van Barneveld, who was punished for failing to close out the win with missed doubles in the final two legs as the Northern Irish ace came from 5-4 down to edge victory.
He also overcame former UK Open champion Roland Scholten, Matthew Medhurst, Saturday's runner-up Dave Chisnall, young Welshman Jamie Lewis, Stuart Kellett and Ronnie Baxter on the day.
Van Barneveld, the 2006 and 2007 UK Open champion, ensured his place in Bolton this June with impressive wins over Ian White, Jelle Klaasen, Steve Hine, Connie Finnan, Terry Jenkins and Simon Whitlock on the day.
Lowestoft's Peter Wright joined him in the last four as he saw off Antonio Alcinas, Aden Kirk, Kevin Painter, Mark Webster, Johnny Haines and Ricky Evans.
Kettering's Evans followed up his success in winning a PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School last month by reaching his first senior quarter-final in only the second ProTour event of the year.
He was joined in the last eight by Baxter, who continued his good form after reaching Saturday's semi-finals, Mervyn King and Simon Whitlock.
The day also featured a second nine-dart finish of the weekend, with Robert Thornton's achievement on Saturday matched by newcomer Kevin Thomas, who earned a £400 bonus for his perfect leg during a victory over Peter Hudson on his way to the last 16.
The weekend's events were the first two of eight £35,000 UK Open Qualifiers for professional players, with the top 96 players, plus ties, from the final UK Open Order of Merit progressing to compete in the televised finals at Bolton from June 6-9.
