Premier League Darts news: Night 8 preview and predictions
Premier League Darts heads to Newcastle this week for its eighth nightly installment, where home hero Chris Dobey will look to take advantage of a supportive crowd.
Luke Littler picked up his third win of the campaign last time out in Cardiff, extending his gap at the top to six points in the process.
The rest of the top four is rounded out by Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, and Gerwyn Price, while Stephen Bunting remains rooted to the bottom of the standings.
Sports News Blitz writer Joseph Hannen previews Night 8 on Tyneside and offers some predictions for the evening.
Fixture switch-up
Nights 8 and 16 are different from the rest as the fixtures are based on league position.
League-leader Littler thus takes on rock-bottom Bunting, while second-placed Humphries faces off with home favourite Dobey, who sits seventh.
Third-place Van Gerwen takes on newly crowned European Tour champion Nathan Aspinall and Price and Rob Cross also do battle.
Importantly, the conclusion of Night 8 will mark the halfway point of the league format, with the players having to finish in the top four for a shot at the title.
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Littler creates more history
Littler’s nine-darter in Brighton was the first-ever televised nine to be finished on D15.
The teenager’s scintillating form last week also saw him extend his lead at the top, averaging 102.21, 107.67, and 112.5 on his way to maximum points.
The Nuke is averaging 104.72 across the campaign and has a league-leading 92 180s.
Littler kick-starts the action on Thursday by taking on Bunting, who now sits five points adrift of seventh without a single win to his name.
Bunting’s unspectacular clash with Dobey last week was a must-win for both players and Dobey ultimately ran out the 6-2 winner.
The Bullet averaged 87.05 and went 2/17 on the doubles.
This will be the second time Littler and Bunting face off this term after the former grabbed a 6-3 win on Night 4.
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Humphries in a slump
Since Humphries claimed glory in Exeter on Night 4, the world No.1 has not picked up a win.
He still sits in second position on 15 points, but the likes of Van Gerwen and Price are right on his tail.
Indeed, it was Van Gerwen who served Humphries his third loss on the bounce last week, Cool Hand averaging 101.93 in a match he had control of until the Dutchman levelled at 4-4.
Humphries now needs to bounce back against Dobey, although he will have the entire crowd against him.
The former World Champion has already beaten Dobey 6-1 and 6-4 this campaign and has the second-highest average across the season with 99.84.
For Dobey, it was a much-needed win over Bunting in Cardiff to claim his first win since Night 1.
The Bedlington star only averaged 90.27 but was able to capitalise on Bunting’s misfortunes.
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Midtable showdowns
The results of Night 8 could prove vital for some of the PDC stars fighting for top four positions.
A repeat of last week's blockbuster quarter-final between Price and Cross is our second match of the night, with the players separated by just two points.
Price could not use the Cardiff faithful to his advantage last week as Cross took out the big fish in a last-leg shootout.
Cross now sits two points off the top four and has won his last four quarter-final matches, although he is yet to reach a final.
For Price, it is the consistency of results letting him down.
Nightly wins in Belfast and Nottingham showed the darting world what he has to offer, but the Welshman has only won three of seven quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, it was maiden European Tour glory for Aspinall on Sunday, defeating Ryan Joyce 8-4 in the final after spectacular performances against Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson.
That said, the Asp is without a Premier League win since his Night 5 final appearance and holds the lowest average across the season with 94.31.
In his way this week is Van Gerwen, who has an incredibly balanced record so far and sits in third.
The Green Machine has won seven matches, lost seven matches, won 64 legs, and lost 64 legs.
It is one head-to-head win apiece for the two, but it is Aspinall who needs the points more in Newcastle in order to keep up with the play-off chasers.
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Newcastle order of play and predictions
The order of play for Night 8 is as follows: Luke Littler vs Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price vs Rob Cross, Luke Humphries vs Chris Dobey, and Michael van Gerwen vs Nathan Aspinall.
With the form Littler is showing, I predict he makes it back-to-back nightly wins, further extending his lead at the top.
I expect Humphries to recover and brush aside Dobey despite the crowd advantage and for Cross to make it back-to-back wins over Price.
Further, I think Aspinall’s momentum from the Euro Tour victory will carry him to a win over Van Gerwen before falling to Humphries.
Night 8 prediction: Luke Littler to beat Luke Humphries 6-3 in the final
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