Premier League Darts Night 15 preview

The Premier League of Darts returns for it’s penultimate week of normal action before the playoffs in two weeks’ time, with Sheffield the host city for this big encounter.

We preview three of the quarter final games below.

Chris Dobey v Peter Wright

Peter Wright will be eager to avoid making history as the first player in the current Premier League era to go an entire season without winning a single night. All eight players managed to avoid this feat last season, but Snakebite has yet to win a night in what has been a highly disappointing campaign. He only managed to reach one final in Birmingham, losing 6-5 to Jonny Clayton, but starts this match as the slight 4/5 favourite.

Wright has little else to brag about this season, with only two 100+ averages in his last 34 matches since February, and 11 averages under 90 during that time. One of those averages was during another quarter-final defeat to Clayton last week.

Week One champion Chris Dobey may only have three more points and two more match wins than Peter Wright in the Premier League, but he has been statistically far superior and generally more consistent that his opponent. He interestingly starts as the slight underdog for this matchup at EVS and looks a reasonable punt given Wright’s performances since the beginning of the season.

Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall

With only two regular season nights left in the Premier League Darts, Gerwyn Price has a big chance to secure the coveted top spot in the table. If he wins the night in Sheffield and Michael van Gerwen fails to reach the final, Price is guaranteed to finish on top, whilst his opponent Nathan Aspinall needs to gather as many points as possible to make it to the playoffs in a fortnight’s time.

For Price to secure the runner-up position, MVG must lose his quarter-final and Michael Smith just needs to avoid winning the night in its entirety. The Iceman will however have to first overcome Aspinall, whom he has faced four times in the Premier League this season and starts as the 2/5 favourite, with two wins each.

Despite the gap in their average stats, their matches have been closely contested, with Price leading the legs aggregate score 20-18. Price is in great form, with 21 ton+ averages in his last 25 matches across all competitions. He has dropped below 100 only three times in his last 16 matches, two of which were in the high 80s, and still won one of those matches against Aspinall.

Aspinall, on the other hand, has exceeded 100 in just two of his last 20 matches, with four instances of dipping into the 80s. However, Aspinall’s fighting spirit makes him a formidable opponent in this short format, and he shouldn’t be ruled out completely at 19/10.

Michael van Gerwyn v Michael Smith

This is certainly the quarter-final tie of the evening. Michael Smith kept his chances of topping the regular season table alive with a crucial win over Michael van Gerwen in Manchester last week, and the pair both meet again on Thursday in the hopes of remaining in contention with Gerwyn Price.

If Price beats Nathan Aspinall earlier in the night, Smith must defeat MVG to secure a chance for the top spot, for which he is priced at 11/10 to do. Otherwise, he’ll have to settle for a play-off spot, while MVG can still afford a loss as long as Price doesn’t make it to the final.

This matchup promises to be a cracker, with both players in hot form just two weeks away from Finals Night. Smith has won his last six Premier League matches and played brilliantly in his final against Jonny Clayton, averaging 110 and narrowly missing a nine-darter.

Despite failing to reach a final since week eight, van Gerwen is also in good form, averaging around 100 in his two matches in Manchester and winning the Belgian Darts Open last weekend. He averaged over 100 in three of his five matches and didn’t drop below 97, giving him plenty of confidence going into this clash, and his odds of 8/11 suggest that he could be heading towards another semi final.