A break of throw for Van Gerwen - he finishes 90 on the bull.

Oooh a chance for Thornton! He narrowly misses 158 and then three further at double 19. Van Gerwen, at the seventh attempt, lands double 16.

Thornton is holding his own here. A rare error by Van Gerwen, who can't get down to a double and Thornton pounces.

Image source, Getty Images

And who did he beat in the final in Dublin last October? None other than Van Gerwen. But he'll need something special to repeat that success - Van Gerwen holds with a 13-dart leg to take the lead for the first time.

Thornton has won two major titles in the PDC and is a superb player in his own right, but Van Gerwen has been so utterly dominant recently that it's hard to see anyone beating him. Another 180 helps the Dutchman break back.

A slow start from MvG, but a first 180 is followed by a trademark bark of joy. And what's this? Thornton breaks with a 101 finish!

Michael van Gerwen has been beating almost everyone in darts recently - but can he beat BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson with his Premier League predictions?

The Dutchman makes his selections in the video above.

And here he comes. The best in the world. Fans cheering along to the White Stripes as Michael van Gerwen enters the arena.

He shakes hands with Robert Thornton and will throw first against the Scotsman.

Mark Webster
2008 BDO world champion

Van Gerwen is box office. Everybody wants to watch him and he's going to take some stopping.

Michael van Gerwen is taking darts to a new level that we've never seen before, and he's in imperious form right now.

There were three Players Championship events earlier this week - the 27-year-old Dutchman won them all, taking his tally of titles in 2016 to 19, and hit two perfect nine-dart finishes along the way.

Can anybody stop him this weekend?

Well, Robert Thornton has previously shown he can beat the world number one, defeating Van Gerwen to win the World Grand Prix last October.

The Scot has great tenacity, but he'll need his "A" game to cause an upset here.

James Wade defeated Adrian Lewis earlier and will play Gary Anderson in Group B later, in our evening session. Definitely one to look forward to.

Phil Taylor speaking to BBC Sport: "I do want to win this - I really want to win this. It's a major tournament. I know my time's limited, so everything I enter, I want to win."

Mark Webster
2008 BDO world champion

It was a professional job and the damage was done in the first period of the game. Phil was ruthless - a clinical victory and a good victory.

Phil Taylor almost wins it in style with a 141, but missed double 12. Peter Wright comes back for 58 but can't take it out, and Taylor secures a 10-5 victory with double three. He's looking good, is Taylor.

Taylor's level has dropped slightly since the interval, but not by much. He's doing just about enough to get closer and closer to the winning line.

An excellent leg for Wright, who holds his throw in 11 darts with a 96 checkout. There's still life in the colourful Scotsman.

Taylor gets four darts into a nine-darter, leaves 84 after nine and, with Wright way back, takes it on double 16. He's two legs away from victory.

Oh Peter, you know how to keep things interesting. He needs all three at double to polish off the first leg after the interval.

Ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, One Show presenter Alex Jones and Radio 1 DJ Greg James are among the celebrities to have taken on our nine-dart challenge ahead of the Champions League of Darts.

Go to the BBC Darts page to watch them all in action.