Darts Premier League
Premier League Darts Night 8 preview: Humphries on target to score third consecutive win
Premier League Night 8 is here! Luke Humphries is favourite to win his third consecutive win after Night 7’s victory put him top of the Premier League table. Night 8, in Dublin, will also see another leg of the infamous Gerwen vs Gerwyn battle, which is always a spectacle.
We preview all four of the quarterfinals below.
Luke Humphries v Peter Wright (19:15)
Our first matchup of the evening sees the current table topper Luke Humphries take on the current table trailer Peter Wright. Luke Humphries passed Michael van Gerwen on Night 7, after Luke Littler’s incredible performance had eliminated MVG in his quarterfinal match. Once again, Humphries was in unbeatable form, soundly defeating Nathan Aspinall and Luke Littler. Peter Wright celebrated his first victory of the Premier League having beaten Gerwyn Price in their entirely average quarterfinal. The scoring wasn’t either players’ issue, it was their lack of success in the doubling department – Peter Wright only had a doubling percentage of 35.29%. Whilst Wright got his first points on the board last week, he is now up against the toughest of tests, and unfortunately, we can see this being a whitewash. Luke Humphries Win Match, Highest Match Checkout and Most 180s @5/4
Luke Humphries to beat Peter Wright 6-0 is 11/1
Nathan Aspinall v Rob Cross (19:45)
Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall is the next quarterfinal, and this is arguably the closest contest of the night. Both players sit in midtable and are both on 11 points. The pair were also each other’s quarterfinal fixture last week, which saw Nathan Aspinall just edge it winning 6-5, having not hit a single maximum. Despite the lack of maximum hitting from both players, Cross had an average of 98.92 and Aspinall with 102.64 as they hit 22 140s between them. These two have met 14 times in their careers, Aspinall has the lead having won eight of them, but this is undoubtedly going to be another close competition. We can see this going right down to the wire again but this time with Rob Cross to succeed in the final game. Rob Cross to win 6-5 is 11/2
Michael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price (20:15)
Up next is a quarterfinal match-up containing two players whose names would even be known by non-darting fans. The pair have been at the top of the darts hierarchy for a long time, however only MVG is in the form to be backing up his name. On the other hand, Gerwyn Price has been in a complete lull and needs to find something special. On Night 7 he became the first player to lose to Peter Wright this Premier League season with a doubling average of 20.83%. Everything was leading towards MVG taking this matchup, including him being the winner in Dublin this time last year in the Premier League, but a recent shoulder injury may well play its part. Price did hit 5 maximums last week and as we know, MVG is could well be hindered by that shoulder, a situation in which Price would be sure to show no mercy. Gerwyn Price Win Match, Highest Match Checkout and Most 180s @5/1
Luke Littler v Michael Smith (20:45)
The final quarterfinal of the evening see’s Luke Littler face up against Michael Smith at the oche. Littler has been in fine form so far this Premier League season, but he has yet to get a win under his belt. Michael Smith won the first night beating Luke Littler in the semi-finals and this will be a good contest again between the pair. Michael Smith seems to be one of the players that Luke Littler has not been able to overwhelm on his break-out season, seeing as Smith has beaten him two times out of the three. We think that this will be the quarterfinal with the highest level of quality therefore we like – Each Player Over 1 180 & Each Player At Least 1 Checkout Over 99 at an enhanced price of 10/3
A combination of these four selections across all four quarter finals has odds of 379.25/1.
