Premier League Darts 2024 | Night Five Exeter Preview and Order of Play
Premier League Darts enters Exeter for Night Five on Thursday as the chasing pack aim to lose the gap on runaway leader Michael van Gerwen.
Van Gerwen heads to the Westpoint Arena on the back of an emphatic nine-game unbeaten run, having scooped a hat-trick of weekly titles in Berlin, Glasgow and Newcastle.
The reigning and seven-time Premier League champion is already a staggering eight points clear at the top of the table and is looking to make history by becoming the first player to win four nights in a row since the inception of the weekly knock-out format.
Van Gerwen, who is averaging 99 for the tournament, claimed three consecutive weekly titles between Nights 4 and 6 last year, the second of which coming in Exeter.
The Dutch sensation kicks off the night with a showdown against world number one and World Champion Luke Humphries.
The pair met in the final in Glasgow a fortnight ago, with MVG defying a 101.4 average from ‘Cool Hand Luke’ to seal a 6-5 success.
Humphries has had an indifferent start to his debut Premier League campaign, picking up five points courtesy of three wins from seven matches contested so far.
The four-time major winner boasts the highest tournament average of the field (101.7), having registered a ton-plus average in six of seven games, but was left to rue a missed opportunity last time out after squandering a 5-3 lead in the quarter-finals against Rob Cross.
Cross has lost out in the semi-finals in three of the opening four nights but finds himself inside the top four in the early standings ahead of his clash with Gerwyn Price.
The 2018 World Champion will be out to avenge his 6-2 defeat at the hands of Price on opening night in Cardiff as he bids for his first weekly title.
Price went on to finish runner-up on home soil in the Welsh capital but has won just one of his four subsequent fixtures.
Last year’s Premier League runner-up found himself on the receiving end of a 107 average from his nemesis MVG in Newcastle last week and will be keen to get to winning ways, having racked up four weekly titles last season en route to topping the league table.
Luke Littler has already beaten six of his seven Premier League rivals across all competitions this year and will look to complete the set by overcoming Michael Smith.
World Championship finalist Littler has seven points to his name after notably reaching the final in Berlin, as well as semi-finals in Cardiff and Newcastle.
The 17-year-old reeled in the ‘Big Fish’ 170 checkout last week but came up agonisingly short against Van Gerwen – who finished 90 on two double 18s in the deciding leg of their semi-final.
Littler is the only other player to boast a ton-plus average (100.4) for the tournament and will be keen to avenge his 6-5 loss to Smith on Night One, in which he averaged 105.3.
Smith stormed to glory on opening night but is now vying to avert a third consecutive quarter-final exit, having missed 13 darts at doubles in his 6-5 defeat to Nathan Aspinall last time out.
The former Premier League finalist remains second in the early standings but faces a formidable first task against the free-scoring Littler.
An early basement battle sees former Premier League finalists Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall go head-to-head.
Both players were without a win going into Night Four, but Aspinall stopped the rot by defeating Smith and Cross to reach the final – where he was beaten 6-4 by Van Gerwen despite averaging 100.3.
The reigning World Matchplay champion enters Night Five on three points and will be determined to brush up on his finishing, having converted just 28 per cent of his attempts at doubles so far.
Wright remains rooted to the foot of the table – where he ended last season – after four quarter-final defeats on the spin, but Snakebite’s recent performances have offered signs of encouragement.
The European Champion recorded his first ton-plus average of this year’s tournament (103.3) but was left to rue one missed match dart in an eventual 6-5 defeat to Littler.
Wright had to wait until Night Six for his first win last season and will be determined to get off the mark heading into the weekend’s UK Open in Minehead.
Night Five of 2024 Premier League Darts gets under way from 7pm BST, with all matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
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Premier League Darts 2024 Night Five Schedule
Thursday February 29
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
Luke Littler v Michael Smith
Semi-Finals
Humphries/Van Gerwen v Aspinall/Wright
Price/Cross v Littler/Smith
Final
