Michael van Gerwen suffered an early exit on night 12 of the Premier League darts as James Wade quietened a raucous Dublin crowd with a thrilling 6-5 victory in their quarter-final.

Van Gerwen knew victory would lift him back to the top of the table, at least until Jonny Clayton’s showdown with Peter Wright later in the night. But despite some typical brilliance from the Dutchman, who had the backing of the majority of the capacity 10,000 crowd, it was Wade who edged the match’s key moments.

The Machine could have won by a clearer margin as he led 4-1 at one stage, but Van Gerwen fought back to level at 4-4 and then 5-5 in a high-quality affair. The match-deciding leg was scrappy but still incredibly dramatic.

Both players missed match darts, with Van Gerwen almost taking out a 170 finish, but it was Wade who got over the line in the end with a double six. The match was one of the best of the Premier League season so far and went down a treat with fans.

@JayShaw180 tweeted: “Fifth meeting between MVG and James Wade in 12 weeks of the Premier League.”

@BradleY_CS_ agreed, writing: “What an unreal game of darts.. set the standard for tonight with that match. Brilliant from both there” while @HanrahanPaddy added: “Pressure get to the very very best and boy what a game that was.”

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@beanster1977 said: “Great performance @JamesWade180 good match too” while @thecraftyjoiner wrote: “That was an outstanding game of darts.”

@NorthumbrianAc1 was delighted for Wade, tweeting: “That was marvellous Wade on fire and top form. Good luck tonight James.”

Wade was followed into the semi-finals by Gerwyn Price, who saw off Joe Cullen and Michael Smith, who won his basement battle with Gary Anderson. Meanwhile, Clayton stretched his advantage over van Gerwen at the top of the table with a 6-3 win over Peter Wright.

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