Premier League Darts news: Night 6 preview and predictions
After an enthralling Night 5 in Brighton saw Luke Littler reign supreme, the Premier League Darts campaign moves onto Nottingham this Thursday.
Lightning struck twice last week in the form of two nine-dart finishes by Luke Humphries and Rob Cross, although both went on to lose.
And with world No.1 Humphries seeing his lead at the top of the rankings reduced thanks to Littler’s second nightly win, their quarter-final clash to kick off Thursday’s action is sure to be a blockbuster.
Sports News Blitz writer Joseph Hannen previews Night 6 and predicts the winner.
The nine-dart curse lives on
Amazingly, both Humphries and Cross lost their matches following nine-dart perfection.
The duo faced off in last week's third quarter-final, with Cross prevailing due to a staggering 111.19 average in spite of Humphries’ nine-dart showing.
It was Humphries’ first quarter-final exit of the campaign and a result that saw him remain on 15 points in the standings.
As for Voltage, a 106.91 average and some nine-dart magic were then not enough to get past Nathan Aspinall, who battled to a 6-5 win while averaging only 96.49.
Cross has the chance to build on his Brighton performance against Chris Dobey this week.
Dobey won their only encounter of 2025 so far – a 6-4 win on Night 1 – but has struggled of late, sitting on just three points after five rounds.
On the other hand, a win for Humphries over Littler in Nottingham would guarantee a sixth consecutive week at the summit.
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Littler back in business
It was a case of brilliance in Brighton for Littler, who ended up claiming maximum points after a rocky quarter-final.
The Nuke needed a last-leg decider to overcome Dobey before easing past Michael van Gerwen and Aspinall.
Littler continues to boast a league-high 104.23 average and has further made a whopping 54 180s.
The reigning Premier League champion heads to Nottingham after successfully defending his Belgium Darts Open title at the weekend, defeating Mike De Decker in the final.
Thursday also presents an opportunity for Littler to top the Premier League table for the first time this season as the quarter-final draw sees him take on league-leader Humphries.
Interestingly, Night 5’s winner has a highly impressive Premier League record against Humphries, having won six out of seven encounters.
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Aspinall flying under the radar
Aspinall, it must be said, has been silencing his critics in clinical fashion lately.
The Asp has reached the semi-finals on three occasions and the final twice.
In Brighton, Aspinall first overcame Stephen Bunting with a brilliant 106.46 average, six 180s, and a 140 checkout.
He followed that up with an eighth consecutive Premier League victory over Rob Cross before suffering a sixth straight league defeat to Littler.
The Stockport native now sits third in the table, level on points with Nottingham quarter-final opponent Van Gerwen in fourth place.
Their only encounter this season was a semi-final tussle on Night 3, which Aspinall won 6-3.
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The bottom four face off
With Cross taking on Dobey and Bunting facing off with Gerwyn Price, the bottom four is set for a big shake-up in Nottingham.
Bunting is the only player yet to pick up a win, despite racking up a campaign average of 98.08.
Price, meanwhile, has failed to kick on from his Dublin delight and sits one point off the top four after delivering a disappointing 90.11 average in defeat to Van Gerwen last week.
Hollywood’s fortunes must also change if he is to keep pace with the play-off places – a four-week winless run is simply not good enough at this level.
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Nottingham order of play and predictions
The order of play for Night 6 is as follows: Luke Humphries vs Luke Littler, Rob Cross vs Chris Dobey, Stephen Bunting vs Gerwyn Price, and Nathan Aspinall vs Michael van Gerwen.
With Price a clear 8/11 favourite for their quarter-final clash, struggling Bunting is likely to see the gap at the bottom of the table increase by the end of Night 6.
Dobey is only 11/10 to dispatch Cross, but he should get the job done all things considered.
Littler is, understandably, the overall favourite at 13/8.
An interesting 13/2 punt is for Van Gerwen to claim his first nightly win – I expect him to reach the final at minimum.
Night 6 prediction: Luke Littler to beat Michael van Gerwen 6-3 in the final
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