Darts news: Premier League Darts Night 5 - Turning point in Brighton?
The strongest darting forces on the planet travel down south to Brighton for Night 5 of the Darts Premier League.
Luke Humphries has built a comfortable lead at the top, while just five points separate second and seventh place.
A nightly win for any of the chasing pack could shake up the top four, with Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price, and Michael van Gerwen currently holding those spots.
Sports News Blitz writer Joseph Hannen previews Night 5, offering his predictions for what promises to be an action-packed evening.
Humphries on another level
The World No.1 has been in rampant form throughout the first four Premier League nights, winning Night 1 in Belfast and Night 4 in Exeter.
Humphries has amassed 15 points, sitting seven clear of his closest challenger, Littler.
Cool Hand dispatched Price in last week's quarter-final with a 97.22 average, gaining a measure of revenge after Price's Night 3 final victory.
He followed that up with a 100.8 average in a last-leg shootout against Rob Cross, firing in seven 180s and sealing it with a stunning 167 checkout.
A first Premier League win over Littler saw Humphries claim his second nightly title of the campaign, averaging 101.24 in a 6-4 victory.
Now, he faces a rematch with Cross in the third quarter-final in Brighton, after Cross took down Michael van Gerwen to claim his second league win.
Humphries also enjoyed a strong run at last weekend’s UK Open, including a dominant 10-0 whitewash of close friend Ryan Searle, before falling in the quarter-finals to James Wade.
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Rock bottom Bunting
Still searching for his first points of the campaign, Steven Bunting takes on Nathan Aspinall in Night 5.
The Bullet was unlucky last week, delivering a stellar performance against Littler with a 104.89 average and six 180s in a 6-3 defeat.
Littler’s 10 180s in that match set a new Premier League record under the current format.
Despite posting the fourth-highest average of the season (98.33), Bunting has won a league-low 12 legs - by comparison, Chris Dobey, who has the second-fewest, has won 26.
Aspinall is no easy opponent, but Bunting will be eyeing his first win in Brighton as he sits just three points behind seventh-placed Dobey.
Following Jonny Clayton’s UK Open semi-final run, Bunting has dropped to sixth in the world rankings after being eliminated in Round 4 by Dobey.
Playoff places wide open
Quarter-final wins for Cross and Aspinall in Exeter tightened the race for the top four, with just a single point separating each position between second and seventh.
Newly crowned UK Open champion Littler faces Dobey, who has struggled to build on his final appearance in Night 1.
The Nuke broke more darting records in Minehead, demolishing James Wade 11-2 in the final.
Despite sitting on just eight points, Littler boasts the highest league average (105.27) and leads the table with 42 180s.
Price takes on Van Gerwen in the opening match, with both players looking to bounce back from surprise UK Open exits after impressing in the Premier League.
The Iceman averaged a disappointing 89.77 against Humphries - far from the performance he envisioned following his nightly win in Dublin.
As for Van Gerwen, the seven-time Premier League winner is yet to reach a nightly final, falling in three semi-finals so far.
Currently fourth in the standings, MVG holds a campaign average of 100.02 - second only to Littler.
Van Gerwen also suffered one of the UK Open’s biggest upsets, losing 10-8 to World No.57 Robert Owen in Round 5.
Meanwhile, Aspinall edged past Dobey 6-5 last week, making it back-to-back quarter-final wins for the Stockport star.
With confidence growing, The Asp continued his resurgence with a strong UK Open run to the quarter-finals.
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Brighton order of play and predictions
The order of play for Night 5 is as follows:
Gerwyn Price vs Michael Van Gerwen
Luke Littler vs Chris Dobey
Rob Cross vs Luke Humphries
Stephen Bunting vs Nathan Aspinall
I believe Brighton will be a turning point for Bunting. The Bullet is a 4/6 favourite to beat Aspinall, but I see him going a step further and reaching his first nightly final.
The bookies have Humphries at 4/11 to beat Rob Cross, and I expect that to play out - but this time, I think Bunting gets one over on Humphries.
On the other side of the draw, Littler is the 13/8 favorite for the nightly win, though I see him falling at the semi-final stage. He’s heavily backed at 2/7 to beat Dobey.
For me, it’s the night of The Green Machine. Van Gerwen sits at 9/1 for the nightly win, and I think he takes down both Price and Littler en route to his first final.
Last week’s final predictions were spot on, but this time, I’m going a little more rogue.
Night 5 prediction: Van Gerwen to beat Bunting 6-3 in the final.
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