Premier League Darts 2022 Night Seven | Rotterdam Preview and Order of Play

Premier League Darts heads to Rotterdam for Night Seven on Thursday as the race for play-off places intensifies.

The sport’s most prestigious invitational returns to the atmospheric Rotterdam Ahoy for the first time since 2019 as the elite eight compete for points and bonus prize money.

The revamped ‘knock-out’ format has produced five different winners in six nights so far, and more darting drama is to be expected as the roadshow reaches the Netherlands.

Michael van Gerwen continues to lead the way at the top of the table as the only player to have won more than one weekly title so far, but the gap has now been closed to just two points.

The five-time Premier League champion is the sole Dutch representative in this year’s competition and is set for a hero’s welcome in front of a sell-out crowd in Rotterdam.

Van Gerwen, winner of Nights Four and Five, saw his unbeaten run brought to an end by Gerwyn Price in Nottingham last week as the world number two came from 3-1 down to claim a 6-4 victory.

German Championship winner a fortnight ago, MVG will look to get back to winning ways when he faces Michael Smith – the man he defeated in the final of Night Five in Brighton.

Having picked up just two points from the opening four nights, Smith has since reached back-to-back finals but has fallen short on both occasions.

He enters the night in fifth position and looking to continue his superb spell of form in a bid to make it third time lucky against ‘Mighty Mike’ in this season’s Premier League.

The renewal of a familiar all-Welsh rivalry sees defending champion Jonny Clayton take on Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price for the first time in this year’s Premier League.

Clayton hit the ground running by finishing runner-up on opening night in Cardiff before going one better by claiming the title in Liverpool, but has since managed just one win in four subsequent outings.

Nonetheless, Clayton still occupies third spot and will be keen to recapture his early season form as he takes to the Rotterdam stage for the first time.

Price, who was beaten by Clayton in the final of the World Grand Prix last October, continues to recover from a hand injury which ruled him out of Night Five, as well as last weekend’s ProTour double-header.

However, ‘The Ice Man’ did return to action in Nottingham last Thursday, picking up a surprise win over MVG under the circumstances with a 102.7 average, before averaging just 86 in a 6-4 Semi-Final defeat to Smith.

A resurgent Gary Anderson kicks off his quest for back-to-back weekly titles with a Quarter-Final clash against debutant Joe Cullen.

Anderson had just one win to his name prior to his trip to Nottingham, but turned on the style to secure all five points and move off the foot of the table.

The two-time Premier League champion, who registered ton-plus averages in both the Semis and final last week, also defeated Van Gerwen on the ProTour at the weekend and looks to have ignited his season after a sluggish start by his standards.

Cullen, meanwhile, is without a win in his last four Premier League outings and finds himself two points adrift at the foot of the table.

The reigning Masters champion thrashed Anderson 10-1 en route to glory in Milton Keynes in January, but his overall checkout rate of just 28 per cent in the Premier League so far has proved his Achilles heel.

The opening tie of the evening sees two-time World Champion Peter Wright take on 2009 Premier League winner James Wade.

This will be the third meeting between the decorated duo already in the new-look Premier League, with Wade having prevailed in the Semi-Finals of Night Three before ‘Snakebite’ gained revenge at the same stage the following week.

Wright starts the night in second spot but will be determined to improve on a shocking display on the ProTour last weekend which saw him suffer successive First Round exits.

Wade is without a win in his last two Premier League fixtures but could count himself unfortunate last time out after averaging 102.6 and hitting six 180s, only to be thrashed 6-1 by an imperious Smith.

The ten-time major champion remains just two points outside of the top four and is unbeaten in his four previous matches at this venue.

Night Seven of Premier League Darts gets under way from 7pm GMT, with all matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.

WATCH PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS NIGHT SEVEN STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)

Premier League Darts 2022 Night Seven Schedule of Play

Thursday March 24

Quarter-Finals
7.15pm Peter Wright v James Wade
7.45pm Gary Anderson v Joe Cullen
8.15pm Jonny Clayton v Gerwyn Price
8.45pm Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith

Semi-Finals
9.15pm Wright/Wade v Anderson/Cullen
9.45pm Clayton/Price v Van Gerwen/Smith

10.15pm Final

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