Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson draw 6-6

The defending champion, who had beaten Anderson in the finals of the 2017 PDC World Championship and Sunday's Masters, looked on course for another victory when he led 4-2 but after losing four of the next five legs he needed to hold throw in the last to escape with a point.

Earlier in the night Taylor, who has announced he will retire at the end of the 2018 world championship, was not at his best in terms of scoring but his clinical finishing, aided by two ton plus checkouts, saw him come through a scrappy contest 7-3 over Chisnall with few problems.

Raymond van Barneveld made a slow start against Adrian Lewis at the Metro Radio Arena but fought back from 4-1 down to take six of the remaining seven legs as he made a dramatic winning start to the campaign.

In the night's opening match, 2009 champion James Wade edged out Kim Huybrechts 7-5 in a hard-fought battle while Peter Wright beat Jelle Klaasen 7-4 to round the evening off.

Below is a full rundown of how each match unfolded, player quotes and a breakdown of their stats while we also rank the players' performances at the bottom of this article as well as the updated Premier League table.You can also click here for a full list of this season's fixtures, dates, venues and ticket information.

Gary Anderson 6-6 Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson drew 6-6 in their eagerly-anticipated Betway Premier League Darts opener at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena on Thursday night.In a match which saw the best two players in the world comfortably set the highest standard of the night with high scoring and clinical finishing, Anderson fought back from 4-2 down to lead 6-5 only for MVG to hold his throw in the final leg to escape with a point.The Dutchman was looking to land another significant blow against the man he defeated in the recent finals of the 2017 PDC World Championship and Sunday's Masters, and was well on course to do just that when seizing the initiative early on.The Flying Scotsman knows first hand just how hard it is to reel MVG back in once he's in front but a stunning checkout from 130 saw him break the defending champion's throw and at 5-5 he nailed another ton plus finish - this time from 114 - to move to within one leg of victory.However, Anderson was unable to have a shot at a finish in the final leg of the match as van Gerwen took out 68 under pressure to ensure his hopes of going through the whole season unbeaten weren't foiled at the first hurdle - like they were last year when he lost to James Wade."I'm happy with a point and it was probably the right result," said Anderson, who averaged 103 to his rival's 107.94. "He broke me at the beginning but he started to miss and I hit a couple of good checkouts."It's a long time since I got nerves on stage but when I got in front my heart was pounding! This is the first night though and a lot can happen in the next 16 weeks, but we're all here to win it."Van Gerwen - whose last defeat in all competitions came in October - admitted: "Of course I'm disappointed with the draw, but I think I was the better player."Gary's finishing was very good at the right moments and I have a lot of respect for that, but I think I have more in me and I didn't really show it. It was a good game but next week I want to get two points."

Three-dart averages
Anderson: 103.19
Van Gerwen: 107.94

SCORING:
100+ thrown
Anderson: 17
Van Gerwen: 15
140+ thrown
Anderson: 11
Van Gerwen: 10
180+ thrown
Anderson: 2
Van Gerwen: 3

CHECKOUTS
100+ checkouts
Anderson: 130, 114
Van Gerwen: N/A

Checkout percentage
Anderson: 50% (6/12)
Van Gerwen: 50% (6/12)

Phil Taylor 7-3 Dave Chisnall

Phil Taylor began his final Betway Premier League Darts campaign with a 7-3 victory over Dave Chisnall in Newcastle.The Power, who has announced he will retire at the end of the 2018 PDC World Championship, was not at his best in terms of scoring but his clinical finishing, aided by two ton plus checkouts, saw him come through a scrappy contest with few problems.Chisnall, who hit five 180s, had his moments thanks to a superb 160 checkout and another from 134 to cut Taylor's lead to 5-3 but a host of missed doubles in the early stages of the match proved costly.The six-time Premier League champion could only average 96.23 but his checkout percentage of 53.85% proved the difference as he clinically got the job done by taking out 75 in the 10th leg.Taylor told www.pdc.tv: "It was a bit scrappy but it's good to get the win and the two points on the board," said Taylor. "We both his some great finishes, the 121 was lovely and the 118 was great too."It's massive for me because every point will be crucial this year. It's my last Premier League and I'm determined to enjoy it."

Three-dart averages
Taylor: 96.23
Chisnall: 96.84

SCORING:
100+ thrown
Taylor: 16
Chisnall: 12
140+ thrown
Taylor: 8
Chisnall: 5
180+ thrown
Taylor: 1
Chisnall: 5

CHECKOUTS
100+ checkouts
Taylor: 121, 118
Chisnall: 160, 134

Checkout percentage
Taylor: 53.85% (7/13)
Chisnall: 33.33% (3/9)

Raymond van Barneveld 7-5 Adrian Lewis

Raymond van Barneveld beat Adrian Lewis in a thrilling clash on the opening night of the 2017 Betway Premier League Darts season.Barney made a slow start at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle but fought back from 4-1 down to take six of the remaining seven legs as he made a dramatic winning start to the campaign.Jackpot looked in full control of the match and should have gone 5-1 up but made a mess of trying to take out 60 which allowed van Barneveld to capitalise as he finished 65 to keep his hopes alive.The 2014 Premier League champion was starting to raise his game and stormed 5-4 ahead only for Lewis to halt his charge in the next by holding his throw.Lewis never got the chance to take out 61 in the 11th leg as his Dutch opponent delighted the crowd with a clinical checkout from 84 and so nearly finished from 145 in the next as he looked to complete his stunning comeback in style.This gave the Stoke thrower a chance to finish from 36 and earn a point but three more missed double attempts saw van Barneveld return to the oche and land his final dart at double eight.Van Barneveld told www.pdc.tv: "When you're 4-1 down you'd take a draw but Adrian missed those darts at the end and let me in," said Van Barneveld, who averaged almost 100. "When I missed the 170 I thought I'd lost it but it's a weird game sometimes."It's a good two points and I'm happy because if you start with the two points you can't do any better than that."

Three-dart averages
Van Barneveld: 99.33
Lewis: 98.96

SCORING:
100+ thrown
Van Barneveld: 11
Lewis: 11
140+ thrown
Van Barneveld: 13
Lewis: 13
180+ thrown
Van Barneveld: 4
Lewis: 3

CHECKOUTS
100+ checkouts
Van Barneveld: N/A
Lewis: N/A

Checkout percentage
Van Barneveld: 30.43% (7/23)
Lewis: 35.71% (5/14)

Kim Huybrechts 5-7 James Wade

James Wade opened the 2017 Betway Premier League Darts season with a 7-5 victory over Kim Huybrechts at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.The 2009 champion only averaged 96.07 compared to Huybrechts' 100.62 but he capitalised on the Belgian's mistakes at key times to edge a hard-fought battle.Huybrechts, who finished 10th during his only other Premier League campaign in 2015, started terribly with a score of 21 as Wade broke his throw in the opening leg before nailing tops for 2-0 lead.The next three legs went with throw but after Wade missed two darts at double 18, a pumped up Huybrechts took out 48 to level the match at 3-3.The Machine hit back with his second checkout from 96 in the match after the Belgian failed to finish from 25 and then held in the next to restore a two-leg cushion at 5-3.A stunning 134 checkout from Huybrechts kept the tie firmly alive but was unable to break the Wade throw again as the Englishman made a winning start.Wade told www.pdc.tv: "It was steady but I got the job done. "I tend to be active on my legs but lazy when my opponent has the throw, but I was strong on Kim's throw tonight."It's brilliant to get back on the Premier League stage and the crowd were fantastic."

Three-dart averages
Huybrechts: 100.62
Wade: 96.07

SCORING:
100+ thrown
Huybrechts: 14
Wade: 19
140+ thrown
Huybrechts: 13
Wade: 9
180+ thrown
Huybrechts: 2
Wade: 3

CHECKOUTS
100+ checkouts
Huybrechts: 134
Wade: N/A

Checkout percentage
Huybrechts: 38.46% (5/13)
Wade: 33.33% (7/21)

Peter Wright 7-4 Jelle Klaasen

Peter Wright came through a low-quality affair with Jelle Klaasen as he got his Premier League campaign off to a winning start.Snakebite was below the standards he set at the world championship as he managed a lowly average of 93.93 but still did enough to overcome Klaasen, who was making his first appearance in the event since 2009.The Dutchman sneaked 3-2 ahead only for Wright to win four of the next five legs to move one away from victory although he made a meal of getting over the line when missing four darts at a double before finally landing double two.

Three-dart averages
Wright: 93.93
Klaasen: 95.94

SCORING:
100+ thrown
Wright: 14
Klaasen: 10
140+ thrown
Wright: 12
Klaasen: 8
180+ thrown
Wright: 3
Klaasen: 3

CHECKOUTS
100+ checkouts
Wright: 120
Klaasen: N/A

Checkout percentage
Wright: 28% (7/25)
Klaasen: 33.33% (4/12)

Premier League Week One: Statistics

Three-dart averages
Michael Van Gerwen: 107.94
Gary Anderson: 103.19
Kim Huybrechts: 100.62
Raymond Van Barneveld: 99.33
Adrian Lewis: 98.96
Dave Chisnall: 96.84
Phil Taylor: 96.23
James Wade: 96.07
Jelle Klaasen: 95.94
Peter Wright: 93.93

180s Thrown
Dave Chisnall: 5
Raymond Van Barneveld: 4
Peter Wright: 3
Jelle Klaasen: 3
Michael van Gerwen: 3
Adrian Lewis: 3
James Wade: 3
Gary Anderson: 2
Kim Huybrechts: 2
Phil Taylor: 1

Checkouts over 100
Dave Chisnall: 160
Kim Huybrechts: 134
Dave Chisnall: 134
Gary Anderson: 130
Phil Taylor: 121
Peter Wright: 120
Phil Taylor: 118
Gary Anderson: 114

Checkout percentages
Phil Taylor: 53.85% (7/13)
Gary Anderson: 50% (6/12)
Michael van Gerwen: 50% (6/12)
Kim Huybrechts: 38.46% (5/13)
Adrian Lewis: 35.71% (5/14)
Wade: 33.33% (7/21)
Jelle Klaasen: 33.33% (4/12)​​​​​​​
Dave Chisnall: 33.33% (3/9)
Raymond van Barneveld: 30.43% (7/23)
Peter Wright: 28% (7/25)  

Premier League Week One: Standings

Player                             P W D L LD   Pts

Phil Taylor                        1 1 0 0 +4            2

Peter Wright                1 1 0 0 +3            2

Raymond van Barneveld 1 1 0 0 +2            2

James Wade                        1 1 0 0 +2            2

Michael van Gerwen        1 0 1 0 0             1

Gary Anderson                1 0 1 0 0             1

Adrian Lewis                1 0 0 1 -2             0

Kim Huybrechts                1 0 0 1 -2             0

Jelle Klaasen                1 0 0 1 -3             0

Dave Chisnall                1 0 0 1 -4             0