Premier League Darts Play-Offs 2023 | Preview and Order of Play
The final four fight it out for the chance to be crowned 2023 Premier League Darts champion at The O2 in London on Thursday.
After 16 weeks of relentless competition across the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, the top four players in the league table will compete for the £275,000 top prize.
A star-studded Semi-Final line-up features a quartet with seven Premier League titles and five world titles between them as they vie for the sport’s most prestigious invitational silverware.
The evening commences with an all-Welsh clash between World Cup team-mates Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton.
Price became only the fifth player since 2005 to have finished the regular campaign top of the table, securing a first play-off appearance in formidable fashion.
The 2021 World Champion, who had failed to finish higher than fifth in his four previous Premier League campaigns, has proved the outstanding performer of this year’s competition to date.
Price reached the final in nine of the 16 weeks of knock-out action, picking up a record-equalling four weekly titles to finish six points clear at the summit.
The world number four is looking to emulate Clayton’s achievement of claiming the Premier League title in his first play-off appearance for what would be an eighth televised triumph in total.
Price has won four of his five league meetings with Clayton this season and boasts the highest tournament average of 98.3 to his compatriot’s 94.7, as well as a staggering 112 maximums, 62 more than The Ferret.
Clayton has maintained his flawless record of reaching the play-offs in all three of his Premier League appearances to date, but had to wait until the 16th and final night of league action to do so.
In fact, it was Price’s win over Nathan Aspinall in the Semi-Finals in Aberdeen last Thursday which clinched Clayton’s play-off spot by virtue of nights won.
The 2021 champion recorded back-to-back weekly titles in Berlin and Birmingham and also finished runner-up on a further two occasions.
The 48-year-old was beaten by Joe Cullen in last year’s Semi-Finals and is chasing a first televised title since October 2021 and the chance to become only the fourth multiple winner of the Premier League.
The second Semi-Final features a repeat of January’s World Championship climax as Michael Smith takes on Michael van Gerwen.
Smith realised his darting destiny by defeating Van Gerwen in an epic final at Ally Pally to be crowned World Champion, and the box office duo are set for another unmissable show-down in the capital.
This will be the second time they have met at The O2, with Van Gerwen having stormed to an 11-4 victory in the 2018 final.
Smith is making his first appearance on Finals Night since that crushing defeat and will be determined to land a third major title in the space of six months.
Smith ended the regular campaign in second spot, having claimed three consecutive titles in Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield within the last month.
The world number one spent 13 of the 16 weeks inside the top four, landing an astonishing 102 maximums and averaging 97.7 for the tournament.
Van Gerwen and Smith claimed two wins apiece from their four league encounters, while the Dutchman has lost just one of his nine previous Premier League Semi-Finals.
Van Gerwen is bidding to create history by eclipsing Phil Taylor’s joint record tally of six Premier League titles, a decade on from defeating his great rival in the final here to claim the crown for the first time.
The defending champion claimed a hat-trick of weekly titles in Dublin, Exeter and Liverpool but reached only one further final beyond Night Six.
Nonetheless, MVG finished third in the league table and was the only player to spend all 16 weeks inside the play-off places.
An injury scare led him to withdraw from last week’s Semi-Final against Dimitri van den Bergh, but he returned to ProTour action at the weekend, reaching the Last 16 of Sunday’s Players Championship event.
The action gets under way from 7pm BST, with Semi-Final matches to be contested over the best of 19 legs and the final best of 21.
WATCH PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | Geo Restrictions Apply | Gamble Aware
Premier League Darts 2023 Play-Offs Schedule
Thursday May 25
7pm-10pm
Semi-Finals
Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen
Final
Latest Darts Free Bet Offers (18+)
Sky Bet New Customer offer: Get £30 in Free Bets when you place any first bet
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
*New customers only. First single or E/W bet only. 5p minimum stake. 3x £10 Bet Tokens. Free Bet Stakes not included in returns. Free Bets exclude virtuals and are non-withdrawable. Eligibility restrictions and further T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
Bet365 New Customer offer: Bet £10 and Get £30 in Free Bets
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
*18+ only. New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. *or currency equivalent. Registration required. GambleAware.org.
Bet UK sign-up offer: Bet £10 and get £30 in Free Bets
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
T&Cs apply. New customers, Deposit & Place a Bet within 7 days, and settle a £10 minimum bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or greater, to be credited with 3x £10 free bets: 1 x £10 Horse racing, 1 x £10 Free Bet Builder and 1 x £10 Football. Stake not returned. Opt-in required. 18+ GambleAware.org
