The Premier League Darts standings make for engrossing reading after Night 15.
Only two of the competitors entering the final night of play in Milton Keynes have nothing to play for, table-wise.
Daryl Gurney will finish his 2020
Premier League Darts campaign eighth in the table, while
Michael Smith will finish seventh, barring a big win, plus a big defeat for
Gerwyn Price.
Glen Durrant is already guaranteed a place in the play-offs, which are scheduled to be played at London's O2 Arena on October 22. Duzza needs to win just three legs against
Nathan Aspinall to become just the third player to win the Premier League Darts group phase.
The battle for the top four is possibly the most intriguing it has ever been.
Gary Anderson sits second, just a point away from a guaranteed play-off place. Thanks to
defeat against Michael van Gerwen, he could still technically drop out on the final night.
Peter Wright lies in third, one point behind Anderson, and one ahead of both
Van Gerwen and Aspinall. Price, on 15 points, needs everything to go his way to make a stunning late charge into the top four.
Permutations
Gary Anderson qualifies for the play-offs with a win or a draw against Gerwyn Price. Should he lose against Price,
Peter Wright would need to win or draw, while
Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen would both have to win, with Aspinall making up a six-leg deficit and van Gerwen overturning a nine-leg difference, for the Scot to finish fifth. He has a chance of finishing first, if he wins 8-0 or 8-1 against Price, along with
Glen Durrant suffering a heavy defeat.
Peter Wright qualifies with a win, and also with a draw, thanks to his leg difference being far superior to that of Aspinall and van Gerwen. If he loses, wins for both Aspinall and van Gerwen would knock the world champion out.
Nathan Aspinall can qualify with a win, coupled with a defeat for Peter Wright or Gary Anderson (the latter would also require Aspinall to make up the leg difference deficit). He can also make it by matching Michael van Gerwen's result, while also matching the scoreline to within three legs. For instance, if Van Gerwen beats
Daryl Gurney 8-0, Aspinall would need to beat Glen Durrant 8-2 to be absolutely certain.
Michael van Gerwen, like Aspinall, can qualify with a win if Peter Wright loses, or if Gary Anderson loses by enough legs to bridge the gap in leg difference. A draw will see him through if Aspinall loses - even a draw for the Asp would knock the Dutchman out. If he loses, van Gerwen would need Aspinall to lose by four more legs, and Gerwyn Price to fail to win.
Gerwyn Price has the smallest chance of going through. The Welshman has a much superior leg difference to Aspinall and Van Gerwen, so he needs the duo to lose, while he beats Gary Anderson.
Should any pair finish level on both points and leg difference (Wright can tie with Anderson, Aspinall can tie with Van Gerwen), legs won against throw come into play. The tallies are currently: Anderson 34, Wright 27, Aspinall 33, van Gerwen 28.
Click here for more information on the 2020 Premier League Darts, including the fixtures and prize money breakdown.
Standings 2020 Premier League Darts after Night 15
Pos | Name | P | W | D | L | Leg +/- | Pts |
1 | Glen Durrant (Q) | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 25 | 21 |
2 | Gary Anderson | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 19 |
3 | Peter Wright | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 18 |
4 | Nathan Aspinall | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
5 | Michael van Gerwen | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 17 |
6 | Gerwyn Price | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
7 | Michael Smith | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 13 |
8 | Daryl Gurney | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -21 | 9 |
9 | Rob Cross (E) | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -14 | 5 |