The biggest rivalry in darts? It’s Phil Taylor v Michael Van Gerwen
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Tonight sees Michael van Gerwen welcome Phil Taylor to his own back yard as the Premier League heads to Rotterdam for an exciting season closer.
Both men are safely through to next week’s finals in London but with a chance to top the table there’s more than just pride at stake when the two meet this evening.
And as we know pride alone is more than enough motivation. Just watch what happens when you question Taylor on the subject…
Anything other than a win from The Power will secure Van Gerwen top spot in the league table, pocket the Dutchman a cool £25,000 bonus and leave a bitter taste in his opponent’s mouth in the process.
Expect fireworks, especially given the aftermath of the pair’s most recent meeting.
“I’m after him, and I’ll tell you now, I’m gonna get him” said Taylor after the pair last clashed back in March, where MVG stormed to a 5-1 lead only for Taylor to catch up and earn a well deserved draw in Glasgow.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as this rivalry is concerned with both MVG and Taylor, two tungsten titans, enjoying plenty of history.
Checkout (geddit?) this for a finish from Van Gerwen in the 2013 Premier League final to beat Taylor 10-8:
But who has the upper hand in head-to-heads?
Having drawn two of their previous eight Premier League meetings, it’s MVG who has won five games to Taylor’s one, which came back in 2014, which also happens to be the year this happened:
However, it’s The Power who has won more often than not against Van Gerwen since the rivalry began back in 2007, having recorded 27 victories in 49 outings overall.
Mighty Mike still has a long way to go if he is to surpass Taylor as the greatest player of all time. Let’s take a look at one of the first times these two met, when Taylor had everything his own way and MVG had… hair?!
After their last encounter, Taylor spoke about the difficulty of playing through the boos in Scotland being an Englishman.
We’re certain this will only be amplified tonight in front of a sell-out Dutch crowd supporting one of their own!
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