Littler chasing Premier League history – will he win again?
Luke Littler is chasing further history by aiming to become the first player to claim five nightly wins in a single season of the Premier League since the introduction of the new format in 2022, and he kicks off his bid against a struggling Peter Wright.
Night 15 of the darting roadshow will see the quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs, live on Sky Sports, with ranking points awarded each night to form the league table from which the top four players will progress to the play-offs.
World champion Luke Humphries is already assured of his play-offs qualification alongside table-topper Littler, who remains unfazed by the competition and says he’s already achieved what he set out to do.
“This is what I dreamed of when I was growing up and watching the Premier League every Thursday,” Littler said, who needs three points from the final two league nights to guarantee top spot.
“Making the play-offs was my aim coming into the Premier League, so to have achieved that with two weeks to spare is a great achievement.
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“I’m really happy with the way my darts are going. In the first few weeks [of the Premier League] I was fourth or fifth, but now I’ve been top for quite a few weeks, and hopefully I can stay there.
“I know over the next two weeks the record [for nightly wins] is there to be broken, but whatever happens, I’m still going to the O2.”
Night 15 fixtures – live on Sky Sports from 7pm, Thursday May 9
Quarter-finals
Michael van Gerwen vs Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler vs Peter Wright
Luke Humphries vs Rob Cross
Nathan Aspinall vs Michael Smith
Littler boasts an eight-point lead at the summit following wins in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool and Aberdeen over the last six weeks.
Four men are vying for the final two spots at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday May 23 – Nathan Aspinall, defending champion Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Rob Cross.
Gerywn Price and Peter Wright are no longer able to gatecrash the top four, with Price’s elimination confirmed after he was forced to withdraw from Night 14 with a back problem.
Meanwhile, Humphries is hoping to receive a special homecoming when the Premier League visits Leeds on Thursday.
“My mindset hasn’t changed. I still want to go out there and win,” said Humphries, who is set to debut a new walk-on song on Thursday.
“To win in Leeds would be right up there in terms of my best achievements, but I know I’m through, so I can go out there and play with some freedom.
“Leeds is a massive part of my life. I love coming to Elland Road to watch the team, and there are lots of the staff from Leeds coming to support me which is amazing.
“Parading the [World Championship] trophy at Elland Road was one of the greatest moments of my life. I got an amazing reception from the fans, and it’s something that will stay with me forever.
“Hopefully it will be the same tomorrow, but it will test my personality – how can I take the emotion out of it and put in a good performance?
“For me, the driving factor will be my new walk-on song and the crowd reception. Once I get that I’ll be fully focused on winning, because I want to experience that crowd reaction three times tomorrow night.”
Just two weeks of the regular season remain, with both of them to be held in Yorkshire, first in Leeds on Thursday May 9, then Sheffield on Thursday May 16.
Wright will play Littler in the quarter-finals for the next two weeks – they are guaranteed to be eighth and first respectively in the table come Night 16 – so he could also dent the teenager’s hopes of finishing top.
Aspinall and Smith will lock horns in a clash that could have major implications in the race for the play-offs.
Smith closed to within three points of Aspinall following a semi-final showing in Aberdeen, after the Stockport star succumbed to Littler at the quarter-final stage.
However, Aspinall has won both meetings with Smith in this year’s Premier League, including a 6-4 victory over the 2023 World Champion in Rotterdam’s Night 12 final.
Aspinall also edged out Smith in a deciding-leg tie on Night Four, but the St Helens star heads to Leeds buoyed from ending his 11-month wait for a PDC title at Players Championship 9 on Monday.
“It’s in my own hands now, I finally got my name back in that winner’s circle again in Germany and I was over the moon, because it’s been hard,” said Smith.
“I’m only two points behind Michael [van Gerwen] and three behind Nathan [Aspinall], and I’m feeling good. There are some signs that my form is coming back.
“I’ve got Nathan this week, and then potentially Michael or Nathan next week, so it’s in my own hands. If I can win my first match and make the final on both nights, it’s down to them.”
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