Goodbye to Rob Cross and the contenders; hello to the business end of the 2020 Premier League Darts.

The lights were turned out for Cross in Milton Keynes on Thursday night; the man responsible for the final blow was Glen Durrant, who, by sparking out Voltage, maintains his lead atop the Premier League Darts table. Duzza has been largely excellent in general, but maintaining a 106 average to hold off a player giving it absolutely everything was a masterclass in game management. Even a Cross mini-revival couldn't deter the three-time world champion, who is a maximum of five wins away from the play-off spot on debut.

The second stage of the group phase gives Gerwyn Price an opportunity to forget his earlier trials and tribulations. Thanks to two wins on the spin, most recently a ruthless hammering of a very off-colour Jermaine Wattimena, the Iceman is just a point shy of the top four. Getting four points while dropping just a single leg can only be a huge ego boost. A Price win here would open a massive can of worms in the battle for the top spots.

Flowers of Scotland

Second in the billing is a meeting between two of Scotland's finest. Peter Wright's recent form can only be matched by Durrant - the only draw amidst a recent run of wins was against the Premier League Darts table-topper. Gary Anderson's showings at the Marshall Arena can best be described as inconsistent. The victories over Michaels Smith and van Gerwen were majestic; the defeat against Price is a foul-smelling filling in that darting sandwich.

Michael van Gerwen's never gone into the second stage of the group phase having lost four of his first nine games. He's also never been four points adrift of the league leader. But 2020's a weird year, so here we are. Defeats against Anderson and Durrant were worrying insofar as the world number one barely threatened to win either. That has to change, and fast. Nathan Aspinall toppled Mighty Mike back in Cardiff, and will be confident of the same, though he can't be sure van Gerwen will gift him winning opportunities, as Michael Smith did. Besides - Michael van Gerwen surely can't lose three on the bounce...right?!

Gurney's next challenge

You don't have to be a PhD in Michael Smith Studies (were there such a thing) to know that it's doubles which let him down. The scoring is only a problem in that it sets such an astronomically high bar that the back end of legs look shoddy in comparison. Perhaps it's mental, perhaps it's just fine margins working against him. Either way, it's the reason he's now seventh. Defeat against Nathan Aspinall will have hurt, because the opportunity to draw was handed to him, and then handed back. He has to be better. Again, that's pretty obvious.

One place below Smith is Daryl Gurney, who resumes the role of the Premier League Darts basement dweller. In most sports, surviving relegation means a big celebration and focusing on starting from scratch next season. In the Premier League, it's more like making the cut in a golf tournament - and Gurney's a few strokes behind the top lot. His ascent needs to start now against Smith, the player closest to him in the table, or he may find there's not too much left to play for. One thing that has to improve is the scoring. Gurney has found himself trailing behind his opponents for the most part. And if there's one player right now who could power clear over the first nine darts, it's Smith.

Click here for more information on the 2020 Premier League Darts, including the fixtures and prize money breakdown.

Schedule Premier League Darts

Friday August 28
Milton Keynes – Marshall Arena

19:10 Glen Durrant v Gerwyn Price
19:55 Peter Wright v Gary Anderson
20:40 Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
21:25 Michael Smith v Daryl Gurney

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