GERWYN Price suffered a defeat at the hands of Michael van Gerwen for the second time is less than a week after going down 7-5 to the Dutchman in the Liverpool leg of the Unibet Premier League, writes Oliver Johnson.

World number one van Gerwen had got the better of Markham’s Price in the UK Open final four nights before the pair met on the oche at the M&S Bank Arena.

Chasing a point at 6-5 down, Price could only stand and watch as van Gerwen scored 177 and 180 in a 13-darter to claim the victory, recording his highest average so far this season in the process.

The loss means Price drops to seventh in the overall standings, level with Englishman Rob Cross on five points, while van Gerwen sits second behind Glen Durrant.

Nathan Aspinall will be the next opponent for Price when the Premier League moves on to the Utilita Arena in Newcastle.

Van Gerwen, meanwhile, is relishing the opportunity to kick on with his confidence at an all-time high.

"My confidence is right back up there after winning the UK Open and tonight was another good performance," he said.

"I'm over the moon with how I played. Gerwyn played great, he threw everything he had at me and I had all the answers.

"The 157 really hurt me, and you know he can do that in the right moments. You always have to keep believing in yourself and that's why I won this game.

"This was the total package for a lovely game. The crowd was involved, the darts were great, there was some phenomenal finishing and I think it was a good game to watch."

Durrant kept his place at the top of the table after claiming a fourth win in six, the 49-year-old seeing off Daryl Gurney 7-5.

In what is proving to be a memorable debut season in the Premier League for Durrant, the man from Middlesbrough hit checkouts of 68 and 88 to secure a point at the very least and then hit double top to finish the job.

"I knew if I won tonight then it was me pretty much through to the next phase of the competition, so that's a big result for me," said Durrant.

"It wasn't easy. It was a real battle against Daryl, who is fighting to get off the foot of the table. My scoring game is a bit frustrating at the moment, so I've still got a bit of work to do.

"But if you'd said I’d be top of the table after six games, I’d have ripped your hand off. I’m a happy man right now.”

Elsewhere, world champion Peter Wright beat Michael Smith 7-4, Cross and Stephen Bunting drew 6-6 and the spoils were also shared in the match between Gary Anderson and Aspinall.