With three regular nights remaining, we take a look at who could make it to Finals Night of the Premier League Darts; Watch the Premier League Darts every Thursday night up until the Play-Offs at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday, May 23 – live on Sky Sports
Luke Littler came from behind to beat Nathan Aspinall in the semi-final on Night 13 of the Premier League in Liverpool
A maximum of 15 points left up for grabs, four spots at London’s O2, and now seven players vying for their chance to be there. But just who can realistically make it to Finals Night?
There are three more regular nights of action in the Premier League 2024, with Aberdeen, Leeds, and Sheffield the venues in which the fates of Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price, and Rob Cross will be decided, Peter Wright now mathematically out of the running.
If someone wins all three nights they will pick up 15 points, meaning that the remaining seven players can, mathematically, secure a spot at the O2 on May 23, live on Sky Sports.
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To make this simple, let’s look at each player’s chances, from most likely to least likely to be battling it out to be crowned Premier League Darts champion in 2024…
Littler and Humphries: The top dogs
Luke Littler was quick to remind Liverpool fans the score in the Merseyside derby as he made his way to the stage on Night 13 of the Premier League
After 13 nights of darting drama, Luke Littler sits top of the tree on 31 points, matching Humphries with three nightly wins who sits on 26 in second place.
Littler has put in a solid display of how to keep the points ticking even without winning a raft of Nights, consistently making the semi-finals more than any other player before another nightly win in Liverpool made him the clear man to beat.
Luke Littler was enjoying his game against Nathan Aspinall during the semi-final on Night 13 of the Premier League in Liverpool
Littler faces Aspinall and Wright over the next two weeks and knows that he has a good chance of finishing the regular rounds at the top of the table.
The win in Liverpool has given Littler confidence and he now feels he can challenge to head to Finals Night in top spot.
Luke Littler says he was pleased to give himself some breathing room in the race for the Premier League play-offs after he won Night 13 in Liverpool
“But I just wanted to come here, pick up some more points, and hopefully I’m through,” he said.
“It’s been looking tight for the past two-three weeks but I’m glad I’ve won tonight and I’m out the way a bit.
“I’m happy to just kind of push myself away from the other people. But I know it’s still going to be tight for the other bunch.
“Obviously, there are only three more weeks left and maybe I can top the table.”
Meanwhile, Humphries faces Price and Cross – knowing if he defeats Price, he would be a near certainty for May 23.
The two debutants are the ones to beat.
Littler hit a sensational nine-darter against Rob Cross in the European Tour final
The battlers: MVG, Aspinall, and Smith
The middle of the table is where things get interesting. Van Gerwen, Aspinall, and Smith look to be the three players battling it out for the two remaining spots in the top four.
Michael van Gerwen hit this impressive checkout during his quarter-final against Humphries on Night 12
After Night 13, there is one point that separates Aspinall in third on 25 and Van Gerwen in fourth on 24, Smith back on 20 after his costly quarter-final loss to Cross at the M&S Bank Arena.
None of these three face each other until Night 15 in Leeds, which could decide things. Aspinall and Smith face off in the quarter-finals at the First Direct Arena, meaning one will walk away with no points from that night and potentially see their chances of heading to The O2 come to an end.
However, if one or two of them can pick up a nightly win early on, they could put the pressure on their opponents as time runs out.
Michael Smith beat Humphries in the quarter-final on Night 10
For MVG, quarter-final victories against Cross and Price are the target as he looks to go back-to-back in the Premier League after his 2023 win.
Outside chances: Cross and Price
Cross and Price know that if they have a big few weeks, they could nick one of the four spots from the battlers in the middle, Cross looking the more likely to challenge after making it to the final in Liverpool and moving up to 14 points, Price still sitting on 12.
Check out the best action from Week 13 of the Premier League Darts from Liverpool
Cross faces MVG in the quarter-finals of Night 14, while the Iceman faces Van Gerwen on Night 15.
Gerwyn Price struck a nine-darter during his semi-final match against Smith on Night 10
If they make these players walk away from those nights pointless and secure themselves in at least the semi-finals of each of these nights – and in the final of a couple – they could put themselves in the running to leave Aspinall, Smith, or MVG watching on as a winner is crowned on Night 17.
Wright’s hopes ended with quarter-final loss in Liverpool
Wright has not been in form during this year’s Premier League, picking up just four points from two matches won.
Now, with his 6-3 loss to Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals in Liverpool, he is out of the running for Finals Night, with the remaining 15 points up for grabs being too little for him to challenge.
Peter Wright got his second Premier League victory with a win over Rob Cross
It is the cherry on the top of a tough Premier League campaign for Wright, poor form, tough losses, and bad luck leaving him rock bottom of the table.
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Sourse: skysports.com