Michael Van Gerwen ended Luke Littler’s Premier League winning run to claim victory on night 11 in Birmingham.
Littler had been targeting a third consecutive nightly victory following back-to-back successes in Belfast and Manchester, which put him top of the table.
The 17-year-old had looked to be building up another head of steam after earlier edging out Rob Cross in a last-leg decider and then holding off a stirring fightback from world champion Luke Humphries to win their latest epic tussle 6-5 – landing five maximums with a match-average of just over 107.
Dutchman Van Gerwen, though, capitalised on a low-key start to the final, before eventually breaking twice to close out a 6-3 win and rekindle his own play-off ambitions.
Van Gerwen, the defending Premier League champion, had avoided another early exit after coming from behind to beat Nathan Aspinall in his first match and then eased past Michael Smith 6-4.
Littler remains top of the table with 26 points, two clear of Humphries, while Van Gerwen sits third on 22 and Aspinall fourth.
Van Gerwen hopes he can now head into night 12 in Rotterdam with renewed confidence.
“I have made it hard for myself to be fair,” the Dutchman said on Sky Sports, “But more importantly it is about how you bounce back.
“I know the last few weeks have not been great for me, but to come back with a win tonight feels good for me.”
Van Gerwen added: “I had to go really deep tonight and at the end, Luke and I neither really played our A-game, but when you win nights like this, it is not always about who is playing well – sometimes it is who can handle it.
“I had a struggling few weeks, but to bounce back with a win like this gives me confidence of course.
“People will write you off when you off when you lose, that is how things go, but I believed in my own opportunities and you need to make sure you keep your mind focused.
“I know there is more to come – the fighting spirit in my body is still there. I need to make sure I am good for next week.”
In the night’s opening quarter-final at the Utilita Arena, Humphries – who enjoyed European Tour success at the recent German Darts Grand Prix in Munich – came from 4-1 down to claim five straight legs and beat Peter Wright, who remains cut adrift at the bottom of the table.
Littler had been trailing 3-1 and then survived a match dart as he eventually battled past Cross, before former world champion Smith put last week’s defeat by Gerwyn Price behind him with a 6-3 win over the Welshman.
Van Gerwen landed an impressive 152 checkout as he came from 4-2 behind to take control of his quarter-final against Aspinall, going on to close out a much-needed 6-4 win.
Gary Rowett felt Birmingham lacked rhythm as they drop points at Rotherham
Birmingham interim manager Gary Rowett was left frustrated after his side were held to a 0-0 draw at Rotherham.
The result edged the Blues two points clear of the Championship relegation zone but it was a missed opportunity to move closer to safety against the already-relegated Rotherham.
Steve Evans was back in the home dugout following his shock midweek return following the sacking of Leam Richardson and he will have been pleased with the spirited display which kicked off his second stint as Millers’ boss.
Play was stopped for more than half an hour after nine minutes of the first period when referee Keith Stroud was alerted to a medical emergency in the home stand, with the supporter being taken to hospital after receiving treatment.
The game lacked quality following the restart but burst into life in the closing stages, with Birmingham’s Jay Stansfield having an effort ruled out for offside.
Rowett said: “It was an attritional game. The way that Rotherham are going to be set up, you know they’re going to be very direct and play for second balls and make it difficult to get out.
“I thought it was difficult to find any rhythm. It was a tough game.
“The first half was a non-event. Second half was a little bit better, we just needed those moments of quality to open the game up. Sometimes we did that without finding an end to it and sometimes we lacked composure.”
On Stansfield’s disallowed goal, Rowett added: “There is a player in or around the goalkeeper. There is about 15 but one is in an offside position. I don’t think he saves it anyway. It does not impact the keeper’s vision. He hits it so hard and low and wide of the keeper that he isn’t going to save it.”
Birmingham lead third-bottom Huddersfield by two points and they travel to face the Terriers next weekend.
“I don’t think you can get any bigger at this stage of the season,” Rowett added.
“Every game is massive and every game is one where you don’t want to waste an opportunity. We just could not quite find that winning goal today.”
Rotherham boss Steve Evans is glad to be back at the New York Stadium.
He said: “It was everything you would have wanted. It was exciting. It was a fantastic welcome. How I got received will go down as another wonderful memory at this place.
“That is how we play. We played against a team fighting for their lives and against top players.
“The boys have gone through the pain barrier. All we can do is freshen them up and get them ready for Bristol City and Cardiff.
“The break in play changed the momentum of the game because they were under the cosh. It was like starting afresh. It gave the Birmingham lads an opportunity to reset.
“We asked the boys to work incredibly hard. From a neutral point of view a draw was probably a fair result.”
Birmingham held by Rotherham as Steve Evans returns to Millers dugout
Birmingham edged another point clear of the Championship relegation zone after being held 0-0 by already relegated Rotherham in a game which was held up by a medical emergency in the stands.
The Blues were left frustrated by Rotherham, who had Steve Evans back in the dugout after his shock return from Stevenage midweek, and the stalemate left the visitors just two points clear of the bottom three with two games to play.
Birmingham had a chance within the first two minutes when Keshi Anderson burst down the left flank and found Tyler Roberts at the backpost but his volley was off target.
The match was stopped after nine minutes due to a medical emergency in the home stand, with paramedics rushed over to give treatment to a supporter.
Referee Keith Stroud took the players off the field for more than 20 minutes and after the supporter was taken to hospital, the game resumed around 3.45pm.
Anderson was again causing problems after the restart and he got a shot away which Viktor Johansson had to kick away for a corner.
Rotherham’s Jordan Hugill then headed tamely at John Ruddy after Sebastian Revan had picked him out with a left-wing cross.
The Millers were hit by two first-half injuries, with Cafu and Peter Kioso both having to be replaced.
A strike from Oliver Rathbone from the edge of the box looked to be goal-bound but Krystian Bielik bravely put his head in the way.
Birmingham brought Koji Miyoshi on to liven up their attack at the break and he almost made an instant impact when he cut inside and saw his shot diverted wide.
A long ball to Jay Stansfield almost led to an opportunity but his touch was too heavy and it ran through into Johansson’s grasp.
Stansfield thought he had given Birmingham the lead when he lashed in from Paik Seung-ho’s free-kick but it was ruled out for offside by the assistant referee.
Arvin Appiah had a good opportunity to strike at the other end after he burst forward but his low shot was clung on to by Ruddy.
Scott Hogan was brought on for the closing stages by interim boss Gary Rowett and he almost got on the end of Lee Buchanan’s near-post cross.
Rotherham threatened to nick the points when the ball fell to Sam Nombe in the box but the record signing hooked over the chance.
Miyoshi should really have grabbed the winner when he was found by Bielik on goal but his weak effort was kept out by Johansson.
Birmingham survived a scare in added on time as Revan’s volley was beaten away by Ruddy.
Nathan Aspinall claims second Premier League victory in Rotterdam
Nathan Aspinall earned his second Premier League darts victory this season with a 6-4 victory against Michael Smith in the Night 12 final in Rotterdam.
Smith beat Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals to reach Thursday’s showpiece against the Asp, who pulled off an amazing comeback to beat Luke Humphries 6-4.
Aspinall took the first two legs in the final and although Smith started to grow into the match the Asp remained in control to take a two-leg lead.
Bully Boy capitalised on outer ring misses to pull a leg back before Aspinall responded to lead 5-3.
Smith continued to fight back and hit a stunning 170 checkout the following leg, but after missing three match darts the Asp eventually wrapped up victory with double eight.
The result means that Aspinall climbs into third in the table and believes his 140s helped him throughout the final.
He told Sky Sports: “Everyone knows me and Smithy are really good mates, we’re actually going on holiday next week together- so it might be a bit awkward!
“I came from behind against Luke and I’m thinking ‘don’t ruin this opportunity, you’ve been given a good chance here’ and I thought I played well.
“I thought I controlled the final, I didn’t play amazing, but my 140s were fantastic in that final and I know if I’m scoring well there’s not many people can beat me.”
Arguably Aspinall’s highlight of night 12 came against Humphries in their semi-final meeting.
Humphries spoiled Michael van Gerwen’s Rotterdam homecoming with a 6-5 victory, fending off a late comeback from the Dutchman to meet Aspinall in the final four.
“Cool Hand Luke” got off to a quick start with a two-leg lead, but the Asp began to creep back into contention, taking advantage of Humphries’ misfortune on the outer ring to come from 4-1 down to draw 4-4.
Finishing with a 97.18 average, Aspinall hit double 20 to secure his spot in the final.
Reflecting on that victory, the Asp added: “I’ve got a reputation of being behind, digging deep and winning games.
“What I always say is my opponent might be 4-0 up, but I know I’m better than you in my head.
“So if you can win four legs, I can win four legs and that is always what I try and tell people.
“Luke’s 4-1 up there, he wasn’t playing great, I saw him go and I’m thinking ‘yeah you’re the world champion, but if I play my game I’m as good as you’.
“That’s what I keep telling myself throughout the game and that was a big win against Luke tonight.”
After reaching the last three successive Premier League finals, Luke Littler was knocked out in the first quarter-final of the evening following a 6-3 defeat to Smith.
Smith met Price in the semi-finals after the Iceman claimed a 6-3 win over Rob Cross and he subsequently took Smith all the way in their final four meeting to force a deciding leg.
Bully Boy then hit a 74 checkout to squeeze into his fourth final of the campaign and he sits fifth in the standings.
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