Premier League Darts 2022 Night Nine | Leeds Preview and Order of Play
Premier League Darts heads to Leeds for Night Nine on Thursday as the pursuit of points and prize money continues.
The new-look ‘knock-out’ format has produced six different winners in eight nights so far, with only Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton having triumphed on more than one occasion.
Van Gerwen and Clayton are locked level on 17 points at the top of the league table at the halfway stage of the competition but are being closely tracked by a clutch of key rivals.
The roadshow visits the atmospheric First Direct Arena in Leeds for the first time since 2019, with around 11,000 fans expected to welcome the sport’s elite.
Five-time champion Van Gerwen remains top of the pile on legs difference and is the beneficiary of a walkover into the Semi-Finals following the withdrawal of Gary Anderson.
Anderson had felt unwell whilst at home and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 prior to travelling to Yorkshire. He will now remain rooted to the foot of the table on seven points going into Night Ten in Manchester next week.
Twice a ProTour event winner this season, as well as the German Championship, MVG will be determined to bounce back from last week’s disappointing Quarter-Final exit to James Wade, in which he averaged just 88.
The opening match of the night features a repeat of January’s World Championship final as Peter Wright faces Michael Smith.
Wright has won both of their encounters since securing his second world title at the expense of ‘Bully Boy’ at Ally Pally, including a 6-3 success on Night One in Cardiff on his way to claiming the £10,000 bonus.
Snakebite heads to Yorkshire on the back of three consecutive Semi-Final exits in the Premier League and squandered a 4-0 lead in an eventual 8-4 defeat to MVG in the final of Saturday’s Players Championship event.
However, he remains only one point adrift of the top two, having amassed double the amount of points than Smith so far.
Smith is one of only two players yet to have claimed a weekly title in the new format, having finished runner-up on Nights Five and Six.
The UK Open finalist is without a win in his last two Premier League outings and could find himself cut adrift from the top four if that unwanted run continues this week.
Meanwhile, reigning champion Jonny Clayton faces a crunch clash with Joe Cullen in a repeat of the Night Two final.
Clayton came out on top on that occasion in Liverpool, as well as the Quarter-Finals on opening night, and produced a superb display in Birmingham last week to claim glory with an average of 111 in the final.
Debutant Cullen has reached at least the Semi-Finals in three of his last four Premier League outings, notably taking the title in Rotterdam, and is now sitting pretty inside the top four.
The Bradford ace is set for a huge reception as he makes the 15-mile journey to his neighbouring city and will be out to make it third time lucky against ‘The Ferret’ this season.
The fourth Quarter-Final sees world number two Gerwyn Price take on 2009 Premier League champion James Wade.
The last Premier League meeting between these two darting titans saw Price produce his second nine-darter of the night in Belfast on his way to claiming the title after Wade had previously prevailed 6-3 to ruin Price’s homecoming in Cardiff.
Question marks remain over Price’s fitness levels as he continues to contend with a fractured throwing hand, and the Welshman suggested on Instagram last week that he is considering taking a break from competitive action.
The reigning Grand Slam champion has just one win from his last four Premier League outings and has subsequently slipped to sixth in the table.
Wade remains firmly on the coattails of the top four, having finished runner-up for the second time this season last week.
The world number five is unbeaten in his four previous appearances at this venue and will look to continue that record in his quest to become the seventh different winner of a weekly title this campaign.
Night Nine of Premier League Darts gets under way from 7pm BST, with all matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
WATCH PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS NIGHT NINE STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)
Premier League Darts 2022 Night Nine Schedule of Play
Thursday April 7
Quarter-Finals
7.15pm Michael Smith v Peter Wright
7.45pm Joe Cullen v Jonny Clayton
8.15pm James Wade v Gerwyn Price
Semi-Finals
8.45pm Smith/Wright v Michael van Gerwen
9.15pm Cullen/Clayton v Wade/Price
10pm Final
