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The following article was written and graciously submitted to The Oche by Phill Catterick, a freelance writer based in Staffordshire. Phill may be contacted by email.

Raymond van Barneveld finally secured his second win last night in the Whyte and Mackay Premier League with a convincing 8-3 win over league leader Mervyn King in Manchester.

The Dutchman produced the sort of form which saw him become World Champion in 2007, and King could only smile as he saw his opponent tear him apart, checking out on the bull twice.

From the outset, you could see the determination in Barney’s face that this match wouldn’t get away from him, and his doubles were much better than what they have been in previous weeks.

He averaged a fantastic 106 at times, and ensured that King suffered his first defeat in the competition. Barneveld also moves closer to the play-off positions as John Part could only manage a draw against a resurgent Jelle Klaasen.

The Canadian stormed into a 5-1 lead, but the break worked in the Dutchman’s favour, checking out 170 on his way back to 6-5, but he let slip two legs, and had to win the final leg on double 12 to secure a point. His chances of reaching the play-offs though remain slim to say the least.

Phil Taylor overcame a dogged performance by Wayne Mardle to take the match 8-4, and he remains 3rd, just behind James Wade.

Mardle certainly put up a good fight though, and went 2-0 up before `The Power` came fighting back in typical fashion, claiming the next three legs, including a 157 finish on the bull, and Wayne missed a number of doubles in the fifth and sixth legs to allow Taylor back in.

Once ahead, Taylor was rarely threatened, although the Essex man nearly took out 146, only to miss double 13. `The Power` secured a point checking out 122, and then 74 in the next to ensure he won his first match in four outings.

Wade lies above him, and condemned Jenkins to his sixth match without a victory. Again, the doubles were the cause of `The Bull’s` downfall, and Wade jumped on every opportunity that came his way.

A nine-dart finish was nearly on the cards when Jenkins planted two 180′s and then a treble 20, but missed the treble 19 to the disappointment of the six thousands fan packed in to the Manchester Evening News Arena.

Wade stormed into a 6-2 lead before Terry replied in style, claiming three legs on the bounce. It wasn’t enough though and the World number two took the last two legs to go level at the top of the league.

Jenkins will be wondering now if he has any chance of qualification considering the form that some of the players are in. He’s missing doubles more often than not, and in this competition, that’s a recipe for disaster!

Klaasen too will be looking at the table and thinking that perhaps he’s left it too late to mount a comeback. He’s five points off the top four, and would need to win six of his remaining eight games to challenge the likes of Part and Barneveld, and quite honestly I don’t see that happening.

The former Lakeside winner was fantastic after the commercial break, and definitely showed why he was granted a place in the tournament, but perhaps the big crowds and hype have got to him, and he’s been unable to produce on the stage.

Wayne Mardle will still fancy his chances if he can go on a good run of form. He tends to be hot and cold, but now he really needs to get his head down and focus on winning as many games as possible. I think it’s unlikely he will make finals night at Wembley simply because I believe Barneveld will creep into the play-offs and then not let it slip.

However, in this competition, you can’t say anything is certain-for those who saw Ricky `The Hitman` Hatton being interviewed, he said it all-anybody can beat anybody on the night. It’s what makes this competition so exciting!

Its Brighton next week, and I think both Klaasen and Jenkins will need to win otherwise their chances of being at Wembley are over, and Mardle too will need at least a point or hope results go his way.

And here are next week’s Premier League fixtures:

Mervyn King v Terry Jenkins
Wayne Mardle v James Wade
Raymond van Barneveld v Jelle Klaasen
Phil Taylor v John Part

Who’s reaching the play-offs? Have your say on `theoche.com. `