The 22-year-old from Stoke shrugged off the disappointment of losing the opening two legs – eventually beating Manley 8-4 on a night of high quality tungsten in Wolverhampton.
From 2-0 down, Lewis produced a golden spell – reeling off six consecutive legs – and there was no way back for ‘One Dart’ who’d started the match with a superb 108 finish.
It was the first time the pair had clashed on TV since their now infamous bust-up during their quarter-final clash at last year’s World Championship and once Lewis was in the groove, he gave the 1400 sell-out crowd a display of dazzling darts, including a brilliant 164 check-out, which earned him a £1,000 bonus for the highest of the night.
He said: “I am very pleased to get my first win under the belt. Since that World Championship incident, Peter and I have become firm friends – but I guess it was a bit of revenge!”
Lewis also talked for the first time about his ‘split’ from practice partner Phil Taylor. ‘The Power’ had mentored Lewis for the last three years but the pair have now gone their separate ways. “It feels strange practicing on my own but it was probably the right time for us both to move on and I am looking forward to playing him in Aberdeen.”
Taylor himself faced another mighty struggle against Dennis Priestley, having to settle for a second consecutive 7-7 draw, as the 56-year-old twice World Champion fought back and deserved his point.
It was a terrific match, with Taylor averaging 103 and Priestley 99.5. ‘The Power’ is still getting used to his brand new Unicorn darts, which have been adapted especially for Taylor. He has also lost a lot of weight and revealed he is now tea-total on the oche.
After winning the first leg, Taylor soon found himself 3-1 behind against an in-form Priestley. Despite coming back to 3-all, Taylor was missing far too many doubles and a 110 finish again gave Priestley the edge…..but back came ‘The Power’ with a terrific three leg surge, including a classy 134 kill when the Yorkshireman was sitting pretty on a double.
It was a real thriller. Priestley levelled at six apiece then missed four darts to break the Taylor throw in the 13th leg. So it went to a decider with Taylor looking for a last leg victory…..Priestley though, wasn’t to be denied and he took out 96 to claim a precious point.
It extends Taylor’s remarkable unbeaten run to 30 matches in the Premier League but it was also a personal triumph for Priestley. Since beating Taylor in the 1994 World Championship Final, ‘The Menace’ had lost 14 consecutive TV matches to Taylor. At last he stopped the rot!
Taylor admitted all the changes in his life – the darts, the diet and the new practice regime – have had an effect. He said: “It will take a little time for me to get used to it all but I am getting there. I feel very comfortable with the new darts and am enjoying the practice with Andy Hamilton. Also, I am now tea-total on the stage but I expect it all to click into place very soon.”
There was disappointment for Unicorn ace Colin Lloyd, who is now propping up the Premier League table after another defeat to Raymond Van Barneveld. Lloyd has lost every match he’s played against Barney, since the Dutchman switched to the PDC 12 months ago.
Lloyd had high hopes of revenge, after that shattering World Championship defeat, when he lost 4 sets to 3 after leading 3-0. Barneveld won the first three legs but Lloyd came back with the next three. A 126 finish on the bull edged Barney ahead 5-4 but it was still nip and tuck because seven of those nine legs had been won against the throw.
Lloyd took it to a decider but some more heavy scoring from Barney gave him a second consecutive win and top spot in the Premier League after two weeks.
Next stop for the Premier League is Nottingham but before that, Lloyd, Taylor and Manley go to Holland this weekend to represent England in the Masters of Darts. They are joined by Wayne Mardle and Mervyn King. The Dutch side is Barneveld, Scholten, Van Gerwen, Klaasen and Van der Voort.
In the other match at Wolverhampton, Terry Jenkins came from 4-6 down to beat Roland Scholten and earn his first win of the event.
Wolverhampton Premier League results:
Colin Lloyd 6-8 Raymond Van Barneveld
BY STUART PYKE
