COMPARED to how things have been going of late, Luke “The Nuke” Littler has found the going somewhat tougher this week.
A shock first-round exit from the Baltic Sea Darts Open over the weekend followed being blown away by Michael Van Gerwen in the PDC Premier League Darts Night 15 semi-finals, but he still stands on the brink of capping his debut Premier League campaign with a top-of-the-table finish ahead of Finals Night in London on May 23.
Warrington’s teenage sensation and his seven Premier League rivals head to Sheffield on Thursday for the final night of the competition’s league phase, and Littler will secure top spot by beating rock-bottom Peter Wright in the quarter-finals.
If he fails to do so, the door will be open for Humphries but even then, the world number one must repeat his nightly win in Leeds last week to overhaul the 17-year-old.
Littler and Wright will open the show at the Utilita Arena with the winner facing either Nathan Aspinall or Michael Smith in the semi-finals.
The winner of Aspinall vs Smith will claim the last remaining place at Finals Night alongside Littler, Humphries and Van Gerwen.
PDC Premier League Darts, competing players
Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Luke Littler.
Schedule for PDC Premier League Darts Night 16, Utilita Arena, Sheffield, live on Sky Sports, Thursday, May 16:
Quarter-final 1: Luke Littler vs Peter Wright, 7.15pm
Quarter-final 2: Nathan Aspinall vs Michael Smith, 7.45pm
Quarter-final 3: Luke Humphries vs Gerwyn Price, 8.15pm
Quarter-final 4: Michael Van Gerwen vs Rob Cross, 8.45pm
Semi-final 1: Winner of QF 1 v Winner of QF 2, 9.15pm
Semi-final 2: Winner of QF 3 v Winner of QF 4, 9.45pm
Final: Winner of SF1 v winner of SF 2, 10.30pm
A reminder of what happened last week:
Results for PDC Premier League Darts Night 15, First Direct Arena, Leeds, Thursday, May 9:
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler 6-1 Peter Wright
Luke Humphries 6-1 Rob Cross
Michael Smith 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Luke Littler
Luke Humphries 6-1 Michael Smith
Final
Luke Humphries 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
PDC Premier League Order of Merit:
Format for PDC Premier League nights 2024:
Each night will see quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to six).
Players will face each other twice in quarter-final ties throughout the season, with the fixtures being balanced for players to be in opposite halves of the draw in an equal number of weeks.
The fixtures for Night 8 and Night 16 will be based on the league table following Night 7 and Night 15 respectively.
The top four players from the final league table will progress to the Play-Offs, which will feature the semi-finals over the best of 19 legs and the final over the best of 21 legs.
The order of throw for all league night matches will be decided by a bull-off, which will be conducted beforehand in the practice room. For the Play-Offs, the semi-finals will see the higher-placed player from the final league table throw first, with a bull-off for the final.
League Points per Night:
Night Winner - 5 points + £10,000 bonus
Runner-Up - 3 points
Semi-Finalists - 2 points
Prize Fund:
Winner - £275,000
Runner-Up - £125,000
Semi-Finalists - £85,000 each
Fifth in League Table - £75,000
Sixth in League Table - £70,000
Seventh in League Table - £65,000
Eighth in League Table - £60,000
Nightly Winner Bonus - £10,000 x16
Total - £1,000,000
Schedule for remaining PDC Premier League Darts 2024, quarter final fixtures:
Night 16, Sheffield, May 16: Littler v Wright, Aspinall v Smith, Humphries v Price, Van Gerwen v Cross
Play-Offs: The O2, London, May 23: The top four players after 16 nights.
Story of 2024 so far for Luke Littler:
PDC World Darts Championship runner-up
Bahrain Darts Masters Champion, including first leg nine-darter in quarter-final
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up
Premier League Night 1 (Cardiff) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 2 (Berlin) finalist
Players Championship 1 (Wigan) winner, including nine-darter in the last 32
Premier League Night 4 (Newcastle) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 5 (Exeter) semi-finalist
UK Open quarter-finalist
Premier League Night 6 (Brighton) semi-finalist
Belgian Darts Open Champion, including nine-darter in final
Premier League Night 7 (Nottingham) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 9 (Belfast) winner
Premier League Night 10 (Manchester) winner
Premier League Night 11 (Birmingham) finalist
Premier League Night 13 (Liverpool) winner
Austrian Darts Open Champion
Premier League Night 14 (Aberdeen) winner
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