Littler wraps up play-off place as he wins in Premier League again

​​Luke Littler wrapped up his Premier League Darts play-off spot by surging to a fourth nightly win of the season and second in a row as he beat Rob Cross in the Aberdeen final.

Table topper Littler, who leads second-placed Luke Humphries by eight points, guaranteed a top-four position by razing Michael Smith 6-1 in the semi-finals, a game in which he averaged 110 and enjoyed a checkout success of 86 per cent with three ton-plus finishes.

The 17-year-old then defeated Cross 6-4 in the Night 14 final, the same player he had knocked off to triumph in Liverpool a week earlier, as he added further to his back-to-back triumphs in Belfast and Manchester earlier in the competition.

Premier League Darts – Night 14 results

Quarter-finals
Peter Wright
4-6
Michael Smith

Luke Littler
6-5
Nathan Aspinall

Michael van Gerwen
5-6
Rob Cross

Semi-finals
Michael Smith
1-6
Luke Littler

Luke Humphries
5-6
Rob Cross

Final
Luke Littler
6-4
Rob Cross

Littler was fired up in Aberdeen, even shushing the crowd after he overcame Nathan Aspinall 6-5 in a nip-and-tuck quarter-final, in response to being whistled.

Humphries is also now assured of a spot in the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday May 23, despite his semi-final exit to Cross, whose hopes of gatecrashing the top four were boosted as he closed to within seven points of fourth-placed Michael van Gerwen.

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Humphries had been given a bye into the semi-finals after his scheduled opponent, Gerwyn Price, withdrew due to a back injury, with Price no longer able to make the top four.

The two points world No 1 Humphries accrued for that walkover took him to 28 for the campaign and left Van Gerwen, Smith, Cross and Aspinall battling for the last two play-off berths across the final two weeks of the regular season, in Leeds on Thursday May 9 and Sheffield on Thursday May 16.

Image:
How the Premier League Darts table looks after Night 14

Littler, who has joined defending champion Van Gerwen on four nightly wins for the season, plays rock-bottom Peter Wright in the quarter-finals in Leeds, with Van Gerwen to meet Price – fitness-permitting – Humphries up against Cross, and Smith to battle Aspinall.

Who will make the Premier League play-offs?

Third-placed Aspinall (25 points) missed one match dart in his loss to Littler, while Van Gerwen (24 points) also fell in the first round as Cross fought back from 5-4 down to win 6-5 and pick up a third successive victory over the Dutchman.

Scottish star Wright was unable to collect a win in front of his home fans as he was beaten 6-4 by Smith in the night’s opening fixture – Bully Boy clinching victory with a 146 checkout – although Wright did get the crowd dancing as he walked out to Proclaimers classic ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’.

Littler put in the display of the evening as he demolished Smith in the semis, forgetting his poor doubling in his narrow win over Aspinall by taking out finishes of 144, 124, 105 and 87.

He was given a stiff test by Cross in the final, with Voltage twice breaking back after losing a leg on his own throw, but Littler then broke Cross once more in a leg in which he threw seven perfect darts before his hopes of a nine-dart finish were scuppered by a wayward eighth.

Cross then missed a dart at a double as he threatened to take out 126 and force a deciding leg, with Littler subsequently stepping up to pin double 10 and move onto 36 points for the season.

Is Littler best player in the world right now?

Luke Littler, speaking to Sky Sports:

“I have settled into the Premier League. I have got used to the routine – [but I still don’t think] I am the best player in the world.

“I can now settle in Leeds next week and then Sheffield and just play with freedom. I will aim to win the other two nights but if it’s not to be it is all focused on London.”

Sky Sports Darts’ Wayne Mardle:

“I think Littler is playing the best in the world right now, although that changes all the time. Humphries has gone off the boil and Littler is getting better. Imagine how good he will be in five years?!

“He has a swagger. He seems to have come out of his shell [after Liverpool last week]. He is shushing the audience and there has been a change in him.”

Who plays who on Night 15 next week?

Watch live on Sky Sports Action 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

Premier League Darts continues on Thursday May 9, in Leeds. Watch live on Sky Sports Action from 7pm or stream with NOW.

2024 Premier League Darts – results and schedule

Night 1
Cardiff
Feb 1
Winner: Michael Smith

Night 2
Berlin
Feb 8
Winner: Michael van Gerwen

Night 3
Glasgow
Feb 15
Winner: Michael van Gerwen

Night 4
Newcastle
Feb 22
Winner: Michael van Gerwen

Night 5
Exeter
Feb 29
Winner: Nathan Aspinall

Night 6
Brighton
March 7
Winner: Luke Humphries

Night 7
Nottingham
March 14
Winner: Luke Humphries

Night 8
Dublin
March 21
Winner: Luke Humphries

Night 9
Belfast
March 28
Winner: Luke Littler

Night 10
Manchester
April 4
Winner: Luke Littler

Night 11
Birmingham
April 11
Winner: Michael van Gerwen

Night 12
Rotterdam
April 18
Winner: Nathan Aspinall

Night 13
Liverpool
April 25
Winner: Luke Littler

Night 14
Aberdeen
May 2
Winner: Luke Littler

Night 15
Leeds
May 9

Night 16
Sheffield
May 16

Finals Night
The O2, London
May 23

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