2024 Premier League Play-Offs Preview as Van Gerwen, Littler, Smith and Humphries battle for supremacy at The O2

For sixteen weeks, the eight best darters in the world competed for a spot in the playoffs of Premier League Darts. On Thursday night the four remaining players will compete for the prestigious title at the O2 Arena in London.

Michael van Gerwen is the only semifinalist to win the Premier League Darts once already. More than once, though, as with seven titles, 'Mighty Mike' is the record winner in the Premier League. Michael Smith lost to the Dutchman in the 2018 Premier League final, while Luke Littler and Luke Humphries won straight to the playoffs in their debut year.

Littler booked his ticket to the playoffs after the fourteenth night. The teenage sensation is making a dream debut in the best darts competition in the world. After his invitation to the Premier League, it was questionable whether this opportunity came too soon, but 'The Nuke' lived up to his selection with his performance. The 17-year-old reached his first weekly final already in the second week, but had to wait until the ninth week for his first weekly title. After that, Littler won three more weekly titles. With four weekly titles and forty points, he finished on top of the rankings after sixteen weeks of play.

Until the last round of play it remained exciting who would secure the last spot in the playoffs. Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall competed for this spot and met in a decisive duel. 'Bully Boy' pulled out the winner by defeating his good friend Aspinall 6-3. Smith started and ended the competition in fitting fashion, as the former world champion won both the first and last rounds of play. In between, he reached three more finals, ensuring Smith's participation in the playoffs.

Smith is one of the few players with a positive record against Littler in this Premier League. They met seven times, with Smith coming out victorious five times. They also played against each other at the last round of play in Sheffield. Then the victory went to "Bullyboy" 6-5.

Looking at the Premier League statistics of both players, the favorites still lie with Littler. 'The Nuke' has a tournament average of 99.20, compared to 96.53 for Smith. The scoring average (first nine arrows) is even greater in Littler's favor (109.12 versus 103.22). Littler already threw 114 180-scores in Premier League Darts 2024, while Smith threw 96 the highest possible score. Smith's finishing percentage is slightly better than Littler's, though (39.9 percent versus 39.1 percent).

Humphries, like Littler, was sure of participation in the playoffs at the O2 Arena in London after the fourteenth round of play. After a difficult start to the competition, 'Cool Hand Luke' laid the foundation for his qualification at the end of the first half of the competition. Humphries recorded only four wins in the first five weeks of play, which was slightly on the low side for the reigning world champion. After that, however, the world number one did excellent business by taking three weekly titles in a row. For a while Humphries was allowed to occupy the first spot, but he eventually lost that position to Littler. That did not change a fourth weekly title in the fifteenth night of play.

Van Gerwen had a rather volatile opening phase. After losing in his first match on opening night, 'Mighty Mike' recovered by winning the second, third and fourth week of play. After that, however, he fell into a slump, being eliminated in the first round four weeks in a row. Remarkably, Van Gerwen won the eleventh week of play without impressive play, while also losing regularly with an average of well over 100. By the end of the competition, his play was considerably more consistent, giving him good prospects for capturing an eighth Premier League title.

Humphries has almost completely caught up with his negative head-to-head against Van Gerwen in lightning speed. The Dutchman won 13 of the first 18 clashes between them, including the first clash of this Premier League season. However, Humphries then managed to beat Van Gerwen six times in a row, leaving 'Mighty Mike's lead in the head-to-head just 13-11.

Thus, based on form, Humphries is the favorite to reach the final. The Premier League statistics also underline his better form. With a tournament average of 100.46, Humphries is the only player with a tournament average above 100 in this Premier League. Van Gerwen is almost two points below that with 98.64. Humphries' first-9 average is 109.76, compared to 106.92 for Van Gerwen. Humphries has thrown a lot more 180 scores than Van Gerwen (107 to 91), but if you draw this statistic wider to 171+ scores, Van Gerwen has slightly more (117 to 116). In fact, the seven-time Premier League champion switches to the triple 19 or triple 18 a lot more often than Humphries does. The difference in finish percentages is negligible; 41.46 percent for Van Gerwen, versus 41.42 percent for Humphries.

The ultimate winner gets to lift the cup, of course, but even more important is the accompanying check. For the title holder, a lucrative reward lies ahead.

The four semifinalists are already guaranteed 85,000 pounds in prize money anyway. That amount is transferred to the two players who lose in the semifinals. Upon winning the semifinals, the proceeds already rise to at least £125,000. For the eventual winner of Premier League Darts, a check for 275,000 pounds then awaits.

Thursday, May 23.

Luke Littler v Michael Smith

Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen

Littler/Smith v Humphries/Van Gerwen