Premier League Night 15 Preview – the Premier League of Darts heads to Leeds for night 15. First up is fourth place Michael Van Gerwen against Gerwyn Price, who missed out last week due to a back injury. Van Gerwen needs to start picking up wins again, otherwise he could find himself missing out on a top four spot. Last week he was denied in the Quarterfinals by Rob Cross, despite averaging 108. I think, if he can reach those heights against Price, he should get over the line. Gerwyn will have no pressure on him at all, as he can’t reach the Play Offs anymore. However. I do think the back injury will be playing on his mind, as he wont want to damage it even more. I see Michael winning this match quite comfortably and progressing through to the Semi-finals.
The second match of the evening sees Luke Littler come up against Peter Wright. Littler continues to amaze everyone, his debut in this year’s Premier League couldn’t really have gone any better. He’s eight points clear of Humphries at the top and will be looking to widen the gap in Leeds on Thursday. Luke’s won the last two nights, beating Cross in both the finals. He’ll be looking to be the third player to make it three in a row this year. For Peter, it’s been a campaign to forget, he is miles away from the top four and is eight points of Gerwyn Price, in seventh place. Basically, he’s pretty much guaranteed to come bottom of the table. Anyone can beat anyone in darts but for me this game is a mismatch and there is only one winner, Luke Littler!
Next up is, out of form, Luke Humphries against, in form, Rob Cross, in what promises to be a fascinating game. Humphries has not been at the races in the last few weeks. Since he won three weeks in a row, three out of the last six weeks, he has been knocked out in the Quarter-finals. He is still near enough guaranteed a PlayOff spot but will want to improve his form going into the Play Offs and build up a bit of momentum. Rob will think it’s almost too little too late, after making the final the last two weeks. There is still a slim chance that he could finish in the top four, however, he needs to win both the two remaining nights and hope results go his way. I believe Humphries will win this game as he will have the crowd on his side, being a Leeds fan. I do think it will be tight, possibly go all eleven legs.
The last Quarter Final of the evening is the most important one, it’s third place Nathan Aspinall against top four chasing Michael Smith. Nathan lost out to Litter in the Quarter-finals last week, in a last leg decider. Despite this, he still sits happily in third place on 25 points. This is three clear of his opponent Michael Smith who’s in fifth place, on 22 points. If Smith manages to win this match he will really start to believe that he can make the top four. He’s been consistent recently, not winning any nights but also not getting knocked out in the Quarter-finals. This has seen him slowly creep up on Van Gerwen in fourth place. This match could really go either way. Nathan loves a battle and never gives in! They’ll be more pressure on Smith, as this is really a must win game. So for those reasons, I think Nathan Aspinall progresses through to the Semi-finals.
Premier League Night 15 Preview – Who will come out on top ?
In Leeds this week, I think we will learn why the current top four deserves to be the top four, with all of them getting through to the Semi-finals. From the top half of the draw, it’s hard to look past Littler making it through to the final. His recent form has been on a different level to everyone else. The bottom half of the draw is more tricky to call, however, I’m going to go with Humphries, just because the crowd will be on his side and I think that will help him get over the line. Then what a final we could have in store, the top two battling it out. I really could go with either player to win but I believe that Humphries will want to put on a show in front of the crowd in Leeds and also he’ll be determined to start picking up wins as the PlayOffs draw ever closer.
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