Premier League Darts heads to Glasgow on Thursday for Night 13 of the competition as the chasing pack aim to close the gap on the top four.
With just four nights of action remaining before the Semi-Final line-up is finalised, there remains a five-point gap between fourth and those below.
Although not mathematically, the top three appear to already have one foot in Finals Night in Berlin, while those beneath them look to bolster their hopes by claiming the £10,000 weekly title at the Ovo Hydro.
The night begins with an all-Scottish show-down between multiple World Champions Peter Wright and Gary Anderson.
Both players are set for a rapturous reception on home soil and will look to rise to the occasion with crucial points up for grabs.
Wright, the 2017 runner-up, goes into the evening occupying the all-important fourth spot with 20 points to his name and is aiming to secure a first weekly title since Night One in Cardiff back in February.
The world number one had reached the Semi-Finals in five of his last six Premier League outings prior to last week’s 6-3 defeat to Jonny Clayton in the Quarter-Finals.
Anderson, meanwhile, is all but out of the play-off race, having mustered only seven points so far, leaving him rooted to the foot of the table.
Five of those points came courtesy of his Night Six title in Nottingham, which included victory over ‘Snakebite’ in the Semis, and he is yet to win a match since.
Reigning champion Jonny Clayton looks to extend his lead at the top of the table as he opens up with a Quarter-Final clash against last week’s winner James Wade.
The duo met in the final in Dublin, with Wade coming from 5-3 down to seal a 6-5 victory and claim his second title in the space of three weeks.
Clayton has now reached three finals in his last five Premier League outings, moving four points clear at the summit and is all but assured of a place on Finals Night for the second successive year.
Wade’s success on the Emerald Isle means he is now ten points clear of fifth position and is poised to reach the play-offs for the seventh time in 12 Premier League campaigns.
The 2009 champion set a new personal record average of 114.73 in a 6-1 rout of Gerwyn Price last week and will be out to replicate that prolific vein of form.
Price, meanwhile, faces an uphill task if he is to reach the play-offs for the first time in four Premier League appearances, with ‘The Ice Man’ needing to overturn a seven-point deficit between himself and the top four.
Price, winner of Night Three in Belfast – where he landed two nine-darters, has just two wins in his last six outings and has seen his efforts hampered by an injury to his throwing hand.
The Grand Slam champion faces a must-win tie against multiple major finalist Michael Smith – who is also entering last-chance saloon.
Smith ended a run of five consecutive Quarter-Final exits last week by defeating Anderson in the Quarter-Finals before going down 6-4 to Clayton despite an average of 104.7.
Smith remains the only player of the eight yet to claim a weekly title and yet to enter the top four at any stage since the opening night.
Five-time champion Michael van Gerwen looks to close the gap on league leader Clayton when he takes on debutant Joe Cullen.
Van Gerwen, winner of three weekly titles, slipped to a second Quarter-Final exit in the space of three nights last time out but remains huge odds-on to secure a return to the play-offs.
The world number three went on to claim his second European Tour title of the season in Austria at the weekend and will look to bring that form back to Glasgow.
Cullen leads the chasing pack in fifth position with 15 points but has suffered successive Quarter-Final exits and will be keen to get last week’s disappointing display (with an 81 average) out of his system.
The reigning Masters champion won Night Seven in Rotterdam, defeating MVG in the final, and has finished runner-up on a further two occasions.
Night 13 of Premier League Darts gets under way in Glasgow from 7pm BST, with all matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
WATCH PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS NIGHT 13 STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)
Thursday May 5
Quarter-Finals
7.15pm Peter Wright v Gary Anderson
7.45pm Jonny Clayton v James Wade
8.15pm Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith
8.45pm Michael van Gerwen v Joe Cullen
Semi-Finals
9.15pm Wright/Anderson v Clayton/Wade
9.45pm Price/Smith v Van Gerwen/Cullen
10.15pm Final
| Player | Week 13 Winner | Outright winner |
|---|---|---|
| Michael van Gerwen | 11/4 | 2/1 |
| Jonny Clayton | 4/1 | 5/2 |
| Peter Wright | 4/1 | 10/3 |
| Gerwyn Price | 5/1 | 11/1 |
| James Wade | 15/2 | 5/1 |
| Michael Smith | 10/1 | 66/1 |
| Joe Cullen | 14/1 | 20/1 |
| Gary Anderson | 16/1 | 250/1 |
Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets Register Here New Mobile Customers only | 18+ | T&Cs Apply | GambleAware.org
