Premier League Darts news: Night 12 preview and predictions
Premier League Darts returns to England as Liverpool hosts Night 12 of the weekly darting action.
A nightly win for Chris Dobey in Rotterdam last time out brought him back into contention for one of the two remaining play-off positions.
At the same time, home hero Stephen Bunting will be hoping to build on his final appearance last week, despite sitting four points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Joseph Hannen previews Thursday night and looks ahead to the business end of the campaign.
Don’t write off anyone yet
Night 11 proved why you can't dismiss any player for a top four finish as last week’s bottom two, Dobey and Bunting, met in the final.
Dobey impressed with three ton-plus averages against Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, and Bunting to become the sixth player to claim a nightly win.
He faces Gerwyn Price on Thursday, the opponent he beat in this year's opening match.
The Iceman, for his part, was quick to speak out after his quarter-final loss to Aspinall last week, claiming the venue was not good enough with a draught on-stage.
As for Bunting, his wins over Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler mean that he has now collected eight points in three weeks to sit seven points off fourth.
The Bullet takes on Rob Cross in Liverpool in a must-win game for both as Cross finds himself in seventh place.
Cross won their only previous meeting 6-4.
Their season averages – 99.49 (Cross) and 98.64 (Bunting) – rank second and fourth, suggesting that their performances warrant better results.
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Aspinall leads the play-off race
With Littler and Humphries safe from the chasing pack, the final two play-off spots remain a close competition, with Aspinall currently occupying third.
The Asp will be desperate to secure a top four spot as last year he lost out on the final night to Michael Smith.
He takes on Humphries, the pair having one win against each other this campaign, and a win for Aspinall would close the gap to second to just four points.
Humphries’ last nightly win came on Night 4, but he has only lost four quarter-final matches and moreover has a season average of 99.02.
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Can Van Gerwen deliver a nightly win?
Van Gerwen claimed his 38th European Tour title on Monday with a 101.97 tournament average.
However, only himself and Cross are without a nightly win in the Premier League this campaign.
The seven-time Premier League Champion currently sits fourth and claimed that Monday’s win “means the world to me – I really needed this”.
Since Night 7, MVG has only claimed two points but will look to change his fortunes against Littler, who has a staggering 122 180s over 11 nights.
The Nuke has a 3-1 record over Van Gerwen this campaign, with one win coming in Van Gerwen’s only nightly final appearance.
Level on points is Price, with only three in the last five nights.
Liverpool order of play and predictions
The order of play for Night 12 is as follows: Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen vs Luke Littler, Rob Cross vs Stephen Bunting, and Gerwyn Price vs Chris Dobey.
Despite success on Monday, I think Van Gerwen leaves Liverpool pointless with another loss to Littler.
I’d then back Humphries to meet him in the semi-finals after a win over Aspinall.
As for the current bottom four, I think it's wins for Bunting and Dobey again as they continue their good form, with Bunting going through to his third final.
Littler will get the better of Humphries before claiming his fifth nightly win.
Night 12 prediction: Luke Littler to beat Stephen Bunting 6-2 in the final
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