Premier League Darts 2022 Night Six | Nottingham Preview and Order of Play
Premier League Darts heads to Nottingham for Night Six on Thursday as the overall table begins to take shape.
The revamped ‘knock-out’ format has produced four different winners in five nights so far, and more darting drama is to be expected at The Motorpoint Arena this week.
Last week saw Michael van Gerwen make it back-to-back titles as he triumphed in Brighton to move four points clear at the top of the table.
Gerwyn Price was ruled out of action with a hand injury a week ago but will look to make up for lost time when he returns to face five-time champion Van Gerwen in the pick of the Quarter-Final fixtures.
Price’s absence from Brighton saw him slip to fourth in the table on seven points, having won Night Three in Belfast and reached the Semi-Finals in Liverpool a week earlier.
The world number two, who also missed the weekend’s German Darts Championship, revealed the extent of the swelling on his throwing hand via his Instagram page earlier this week but has vowed to give it his all on his return to action, despite not being at 100 per cent.
Van Gerwen will look to add to his dominant head-to-head record of 23 wins from their 30 previous meetings as he launches his quest for a hat-trick of weekly titles.
The world number three continued his winning run on the European Tour last weekend, claiming his first ranking silverware of the season, and comes into this clash with renewed confidence.
Van Gerwen boasts the highest tournament average, checkout percentage and 180 tally of the field so far and also equalled the highest finish with a showpiece 170 last time out.
The night kicks off with a clash between two-time world finalist Michael Smith and former Premier League champion James Wade.
Just two points separate the pair coming into the tie as they aim to launch an assault on the top four in the race for the Play-Offs.
After three straight Quarter-Final defeats, Smith picked up his first win in Exeter a fortnight ago before going one better in Brighton by reaching the final – where he was narrowly denied 6-4 by MVG despite a ton-plus average.
The UK Open runner-up is yet to face ‘The Machine’ in this year’s Premier League so far and will be determined to continue his fine run of form in the hope of becoming the fifth different winner of a £10,000 weekly title.
Wade has seven points to his name, having notably reached the final of Night Three in Belfast, as well as a further two Semi-Finals, but has the lowest tournament average of the field (93.4).
Peter Wright is another player to have suffered injury problems in recent weeks, and the world number one returns to action to face Masters Champion Joe Cullen.
Wright was forced to withdraw from the German Championship on Sunday prior to his Quarter-Final meeting with Van Gerwen, citing a back injury.
However, having undergone treatment on his back and a gallstones issue since returning to the UK, the 52-year-old has been declared fit to compete in Nottingham.
Wright, the 2017 finalist, currently occupies second spot with ten points after winning Night One and finishing runner-up on Night Three.
Cullen, meanwhile, has five points from as many nights in his debut campaign so far and benefitted from a Quarter-Final walkover last week due to the withdrawal of Price, only to be thrashed 6-1 by MVG with an 88 average in the Semis.
Missed doubles have proved to be The Rockstar’s Achilles heel, with his 27 per cent tournament checkout success the lowest of the field by some distance.
Two players at opposite ends of the table go head-to-head as defending champion Jonny Clayton faces two-time winner Gary Anderson.
Clayton joins Wright on ten points, but after finishing runner-up on opening night and winning Night Two, he has won just one match in three nights since.
The World Grand Prix champion has won only four of his ten previous meetings with Anderson, but that included a double success in last year’s Premier League.
Anderson enters the night desperate to stop the rot after enduring four consecutive Quarter-Final defeats which have left him three points adrift at the foot of the table.
The two-time World Champion is the only player yet to register a ton-plus average in the competition so far and could see his play-off hopes all but ended at this early stage if he fails to defeat ‘The Ferret’ in Nottingham.
Night Six 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 SIX STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)
Premier League Darts 2022 Night Six Schedule of Play
Thursday March 17
Quarter-Finals
7.15pm Michael Smith v James Wade
7.45pm Michael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price
8.15pm Gary Anderson v Jonny Clayton
8.45pm Joe Cullen v Peter Wright
Semi-Finals
9.15pm Smith/Wade v Van Gerwen/Price
9.45pm Anderson/Clayton v Cullen/Wright
10.15pm Final
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