Durrant realises Premier League Darts dream with debut glory
Glen Durrant added his name to the Premier League Darts roll of honour in fairy-tale fashion by taking the title in his debut season.
The 49-year-old had finished top of the table following 16 nights of competition and followed that up by securing the trophy on a dramatic Finals Night in Coventry.
The tenacious Teessider battled his way past two-time champion Gary Anderson in a nervy opening Semi-Final which went the distance, before overcoming Nathan Aspinall 11-8 in the final.
He becomes only the sixth different winner of the sport’s most prestigious invitational since it began in 2005 and picks up a total pay-cheque of £275,000.
“It’s unbelievable,” said an emotional Durrant. “This supersedes everything I’ve achieved before.
“Tonight I feel like the best player in the world and I’ve never had that feeling before.
“I’m feeling absolutely fantastic, I’m ecstatic. This means an awful lot to my family, friends and supporters.
“It’s a mammoth achievement and it makes my move over to the PDC worthwhile.
“The game against Gary will go down as one of the worst games in Premier League Play-Offs history but I knew I couldn’t play that badly twice.
“I stepped my game up massively for the final and I knew I had to to beat Nathan, who is a consummate professional and will go on to achieve many great things in darts.”
The moment Duzza realised his Premier League dream (Photo by Lawrence Lustig/PDC)
Durrant had dug deep in a gruelling encounter against Anderson, surviving four match darts from the Scot before falling over the line in the deciding leg.
The three-time BDO World Champion dusted himself down an hour later and went toe-to-toe with Aspinall in a tight contest which saw both stand their ground on throw.
There was nothing to separate the pair after the opening 12 legs, but two legs later Durrant punished five missed doubles from Aspinall to open up an 8-6 lead.
A clinical 127 checkout followed for Durrant, but Aspinall replied with a gutsy 96 finish to stop the rot and stay alive.
However, Aspinall was unable to find a break of throw as Durrant closed out the win on his favourite double 16, prompting a huge outpour of emotion
Aspinall, who was also enjoying a sensational debut season in the competition, defeated reigning World Champion Peter Wright 10-7 in the Last Four.
He landed eight 180s to Durrant’s four in the final and averaged 92.15 to his opponent’s 91.8, but was ultimately left to rue 25 missed darts at doubles in total.
“Obviously, I’m absolutely mortified to lose,” said Aspinall. “After beating the World Champion I felt I had another gear and that I was going to win the final, but credit to Glen.
“He came top of the Premier League, he’s probably been the best player throughout the competition and he deserves to win it.
“It’s still been a great debut year for me and I’ll be back next year to go one better.”
Durrant’s victory also secures him a place in November’s Grand Slam of Darts and sees him become the latest new winner of a PDC major, having previously lost in four Semi-Finals since securing his Tour Card in January 2019.
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Premier League Darts Play-Offs 2020 Results
Thursday October 15
Semi-Finals
Glen Durrant 10-9 Gary Anderson
Nathan Aspinall 10-7 Peter Wright
Final
Glen Durrant 11-8 Nathan Aspinall
