The PDC Premier League Darts Preview - Week 15, Aberdeen

Three of the four players heading for the O2 Arena are known for the play off in the PDC Premier League Darts. Michael van Gerwen will go there as the league phase winner, for the sixth time in a row. Michael Smith and Rob Cross can't be sure exactly where they'll finish. But it's certain that they'll both be in the playoffs. Then comes what can loosely be described as a battle for the fourth and final spot. Gary Anderson needs to win two legs to claim that place. Daryl Gurney's Premier League survival hopes are roughly like Swansea's in the last week of football's equivalent. Yet hope springs eternal in Aberdeen.

On his first Premier League outing in 2016, Michael Smith finished last. One win and a draw were all he had to show for nine weeks of effort. Bully Boy was bullied out of the contest, winning just 34 legs. Fast forward two years, and the change is remarkable. Having won nine of his 15 games thus far, Smith has spent every single week in the playoff spots. No other player has managed that feat (Michael van Gerwen was briefly fifth near the start of the season). A win or a draw against Raymond van Barneveld will secure second spot for the St Helens man. This could yet be a long awaited big break. But Barney's a tough customer when on form. And the Dutchman certainly is that. He's unbeaten in his last four Premier League games, winning three of them. Given his impressive upturn in fortunes, Smith will still fancy his chances. There won't be many who begrudge him that second spot, either.

Should Smith slip up, Rob Cross has to be ready to pounce. A hideous 7-1 drubbing by Simon Whitlock on Week Two left the world champion bottom of the table. There was pre-emptive talk of elimination, and questions over the 27-year-old's readiness to compete in the Premier League. Now the Wizard stands at the end of Cross' yellow brick road, with his Premier League prospects holding a very different complexion. Whitlock's race is now run, his stamina fading quickly after Judgement Night. He won't want to finish last in the second phase, so the motivation to impress will be there. Cross knows a win will ensure he doesn't have to face Michael van Gerwen in the playoff semi-finals. That's the stick. Smith losing would be the carrot.

Go back to March and pick one of this pair to be competing for a playoff spot come Week 15. Not too many opt for Daryl Gurney. Yet that's how things have panned out, with the Northern Irishman sat in fifth and Peter Wright languishing in seventh. Gurney knows that his chances are slim. He needs to win comfortably, 7-2 at the very worst, and hope Gary Anderson loses by enough to cover a 12-leg darts swing. The Aberdeen crowd might be hoping that the drama continues to the final match, even if they're naturally inclined to support Scottish favourite Snakebite. Eighth would constitute a disastrous campaign for last year's runner-up. Seventh won't hold much joy for him either, so it's not clear where the motivation will come from.

The night ends with a match that is a corker on any occasion. It certainly was when the pair met in Newcastle on Week Three. Both averaged 110 that night. They brought out the best in each other, as they often do. In Aberdeen, Michael van Gerwen could hold Gary Anderson's fate in his hands. Anderson can't count on his opponent not being ready. The Dutchman hit new heights of European Tour excellence at the last weekend. He'll want the two points that would take him to his second-highest ever Premier League tally. Anderson's job may already be done if compatriot Peter Wright takes three legs off Daryl Gurney. The Flying Scotsman may still have a chance to lift himself higher, thus avoiding an immediate rematch with Mighty Mike in London. If everything's wrapped up by then, however, this should be one hell of a dress rehearsal.