Premier League Darts 2024 | Night Eight Dublin Preview and Order of Play
Premier League Darts touches down in Dublin for Night Eight on Thursday as Luke Humphries aims to make it a hat-trick of weekly titles.
The league phase reaches its halfway stage as the elite eight battle it out for crucial points and the £10,000 bonus at a sold-out 3Arena.
World number one Humphries has asserted his authority in his debut BetMGM Premier League campaign, securing successive titles in Brighton and Nottingham to move top of the table.
The reigning World Champion and four-time major winner has incredible registered a ton-plus average in 12 of his 15 matches so far, landing 52 maximums in the process.
Humphries looks to extend his unbeaten run to seven games by making it a hat-trick of wins over struggling Peter Wright in their top versus bottom tie.
Humphries prevailed 6-4 in Berlin with a 103.6 average, before averaging 106.6 in a 6-1 demolition of Snakebite in last week’s semi-finals.
Wright finally ended his seven-week wait for a first win of the tournament as he edged out Gerwyn Price in a deciding leg to put two points on the board, but the former finalist remains rooted to the foot of the table.
The two-time World Champion is averaging just 93 for the tournament with a checkout rate of 29 per cent and 20 maximums in eight matches played.
Meanwhile, Luke Littler continues his quest for an elusive maiden weekly title when he opens up against 2023 World Champion Michael Smith.
Littler remains on the coattails of the top two with 13 points to his name, having registered wins in six of the opening seven nights, but will be determined to take the next step and bank a £10,000 bonus.
The reigning Bahrain Masters and Belgian Open champion opted out of the midweek ProTours in Hildesheim and heads to the Emerald Isle fresh as he aims to follow up last week’s astonishing 114 average in thrashing Michael van Gerwen.
Smith, the Night One winner, finds himself a point outside of the top four despite suffering quarter-final exits in four of the last five nights.
The St Helens ace, who landed a nine-darter in Monday’s Players Championship event, has won two of his three meetings with Littler in the Premier League so far, including the semi-finals in Brighton a fortnight ago.
A crucial clash for Gerwyn Price sees him take on reigning and seven-time champion Van Gerwen in a repeat of last year’s final.
A dismal first half of the campaign for Price has seen him pick up only five points, leaving him six adrift of the play-off places following a run of four consecutive quarter-final defeats.
The Welshman squandered a staggering 19 darts at doubles, including three for the match, against Wright last week and will be desperate to brush up on his finishing and avoid losing a fifth consecutive Premier League game for the first time since 2018.
Van Gerwen, however, is enduring a barren spell of his own, having suffered a third consecutive Premier League defeat last week for the first time.
This came after he had racked up a hat-trick of weekly titles to seemingly storm clear at the top of the table, but his play-off place is now far from confirmed.
That said, MVG’s match average of 110.94 against Littler last week was the second highest losing average in Premier League history, suggesting the Dutchman remains close to his peak level.
The evening’s second quarter-final sees fourth take on fifth as Nathan Aspinall meets Rob Cross.
After opening up with three consecutive quarter-final defeats, Aspinall has picked up 11 points in the last four weeks, including the Night Five title in Exeter and runner-up spots in Newcastle and Nottingham.
The 2020 finalist is looking to maintain his dominant recent record over Cross, having won all three of their Premier League meetings so far this year, including a narrow 6-5 triumph last time out.
Cross has picked up points in five of the first seven weeks, with his sole final appearance coming in Exeter – where he was denied glory by Aspinall.
The 2018 World Champion boasts a tournament average of 97.4 and has won 73 per cent of legs with throw – more than any other player in the field.
Night Eight 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 Eight Schedule
Thursday March 21
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries v Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall v Rob Cross
Michael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler v Michael Smith
Semi-Finals
Humphries/Wright v Aspinall/Cross
Van Gerwen/Price v Littler/Smith
Final
