The action on the oche took somewhat of a back seat last night as news filtered around the Echo Arena in Liverpool that five-times world champion Eric Bristow had died at the age of 60.
Bristow, who was present at the Echo Arena to watch Judgement Night unfold, sadly suffered a heart attack and passed away, and as the shock reverberated around the Merseyside venue the atmosphere changed from it's usual high-octane, eccentric chanting to one of an appreciation of the Crafty Cockney, who will be a figure sorely missed from the darting world.
Peter Wright, who was last on stage, was visibly emotional about the news, but he was able to hold himself together in his match against new father Daryl Gurney, and the pair shared a 6-6 draw, and with Snakebite having watched Mensur Suljovic lose to Michael van Gerwen in the fourth match of the night, he knew that he had avoided the dreaded drop on night nine and it was Suljovic that joined Gerwyn Price in the elimination zone after the first round of matches.
Suljovic needed at least a point in his match with reigning champion van Gerwen to put pressure on Wright, but with the Dutch phenomenon averaging over 107 it was a bridge too far for the Premier League debutant, and he eventually lost 7-4 to van Gerwen, who cemented his two-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, as the action heads to Sheffield's FlyDSA Arena next Thursday, as the final eight battle it out for a play-off spot.
Gerwyn Price, already eliminated from the Premier League, was bidding for his first win in the event, but the Welshman had to suffer his seventh defeat of the campaign in the opening match of the night as he lost 7-3 to Simon Whitlock, who duly jumped into the top-four, and will be looking to continue his decent form as the tournament gets into its latter stages.
Michael Smith's sensational Premier League journey continued in the second match of the night, as Bully Boy trounced Raymond van Barneveld 7-0, and that whitewash moves Smith on to 14 points after his nine matches, while van Barneveld dropped two points behind the aforementioned Whitlock on eight points in what was a terrible night for the Dutch legend.
World champion Rob Cross and former Premier League champion Gary Anderson clashed in the other game of the night, and it was Cross that got the better of Anderson for the first time in his career, as Voltage edged past The Flying Scotsman 7-5 in a thriller, and Cross moved three points clear of fifth spot, and will fancy his chances of challenging for Premier League glory on his first attempt.
Unibet Premier League
Judgement Night Results - April 5
Echo Arena, Liverpool
Simon Whitlock 7-3 Gerwyn Price
Raymond van Barneveld 0-7 Michael Smith
Gary Anderson 5-7 Rob Cross
Mensur Suljovic 4-7 Michael van Gerwen
Daryl Gurney 6-6 Peter Wright
