Chris Dobey has justified his Premier League wildcard by winning Week One with a dramatic victory over Michael van Gerwen in Belfast.
On the back of winning the Masters last weekend, Dobey was handed one of four spots by the PDC, edging out the likes of world number five Luke Humphries and 2022 runner-up Joe Cullen.
While it remains to be seen whether the North East thrower can impress over the tournament in its entirety, he starred in Belfast, beating Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Van Gerwen in tight matches.
Although the averages in the final were lower than in the previous encounters during the evening, it was no less thrilling, Dobey checking out a 170 during the early stages.
A 114 checkout from Van Gerwen made it 3-3, and after Dobey had moved to within a leg of the win, Van Gerwen dominated leg 10 to make it 5-5.
A DREAM DEBUT FOR DOBEY! 🌴
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 2, 2023
ABSOLUTELY MAJESTIC FROM DOBEY AS HE WINS ON NIGHT ONE WITH A HUGE 160 FINISH! 💥
Chris Dobey tops the Premier League table on the opening night of action, defeating Michael van Gerwen in a deciding leg to clinch the final in STYLE! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/KOoSobnOY6
However, with the Dutchman on 127, Dobey dramatically hit a 160 finish, seeing him take the early lead in the standings.
In the semis, Dobey had edged out Aspinall by a 6-4 scoreline, while Van Gerwen averaged exactly 106 in seeing off Dimitri van den Bergh by the same score.
Earlier in the night, recently-crowned world champion Michael Smith lost 6-3 to Van Gerwen, and it was Aspinall who got the better of Gerwyn Price.
Darren Plant
