Preview Premier League Darts 2026 Night 14 in Leeds: Table topper Littler takes on van Gerwen as Clayton and Price clash in all-Welsh tie

The climax of the Premier League Darts 2026 is getting ever closer. Thursday brings night fourteen, with tension rising as the play-offs come into view. Two of the four tickets for finals night have already been claimed, but the fight for the remaining places is still wide open.

This week the elite field lands in Leeds, a city that Luke Humphries calls home. The world number two can bank on massive crowd support, not least because of his ties to local football club Leeds United. His walk-on song, I Predict a Riot, dovetails perfectly with that and is seen as a familiar anthem among the fans.

Leeds has been on the Premier League calendar since 2014 and is therefore one of the relatively recent additions. Of the current line-up, Michael van Gerwen is the only player who was there at the time and, twelve years on, is still taking to the stage at the First Direct Arena.

Recent history in Leeds has produced various nightly winners. In 2022, Van Gerwen came out on top, albeit via a slightly unusual route. After Gary Anderson withdrew, he advanced straight to the semi-final, where he beat Peter Wright 6-3. He was then clearly too strong for James Wade in the final: 6-1.

A year later it was Michael Smith who dominated the night. The Englishman produced convincing darts and saw off Chris Dobey (6-1), Wright again (6-2) and Gerwyn Price (6-4) to secure the nightly title.

The past two editions have been all about Humphries. In 2024 he made full use of home advantage by defeating Rob Cross (6-1), Smith (6-1) and Van Gerwen (6-5). He proved untouchable in front of his own crowd again in 2025. With wins over Van Gerwen (6-4), Stephen Bunting (6-4) and Luke Littler (6-5), he once more made the night his own.

The night in Leeds opens with an all-Welsh clash between Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton. The latter is already assured of a top-four spot and is locked in a battle with Luke Littler for first place in the table. Clayton dropped costly points in Aberdeen last week, which saw him surrender top spot to Littler.

Price ground out a hard-fought 6-5 win over Stephen Bunting last week, finally putting two points on the board again after three straight defeats. “The Iceman” currently sits third on 21 points, but needs to keep picking up results to hold his place in the top four. A win over Clayton would take Price another step closer to the O2 Arena.

This will be the 43rd PDC meeting between Price and Clayton. The stats are heavily in Price’s favour, with thirty wins over his compatriot. He has especially excelled against Clayton of late, as Price has beaten “The Ferret” twelve times in their last thirteen head-to-heads.

Luke Littler has reclaimed top spot in the Premier League Darts. After week eight, Littler led the table for the first time, but after week ten “The Nuke” had to hand first place back to Jonny Clayton. Thanks to back-to-back nightly wins, and five in total, Littler is back on top with 34 points. The English teenager can still chase two records over the next three nights. Last year he won six nightly titles and amassed 45 points during the league phase. Two nightly wins and one extra victory on the other night would be enough to better both marks.

Michael van Gerwen does not need to worry about records for now, as the Vlijmen ace must first make sure he reaches the play-offs. “Mighty Mike” has been sitting fourth for almost two months, but the pack has closed in. He also faces a tough run-in at the end of this campaign. The seven-time Premier League champion needs points, with Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries breathing down his neck.

In the meantime, Littler has built a comfortable record against his Dutch rival. Littler has come out on top sixteen times against Van Gerwen, compared to ten wins for “MVG.” The last three meetings all went to Littler, though twice by 6-5 and once by 6-4.

Luke Humphries grabbed his last lifeline last week to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. In the quarterfinals he beat rival Michael van Gerwen, and ultimately “Cool Hand Luke” reached the final. Luke Littler denied him the nightly title, but Humphries still took three points back from Aberdeen. The deficit to Gian van Veen has been completely erased, while Van Gerwen now leads Humphries by just two points. Humphries also faces Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting in his next two quarterfinals, which offers good chances to pick up points.

Josh Rock will not make the playoffs anymore, that conclusion can be drawn after thirteen of the sixteen league nights. The Northern Irishman was still on zero after seven weeks, but then won four quarterfinals in a row. Two defeats in the last two weeks, however, kept him stuck on eight points. “Rocky” can still reach a maximum of 23 points, and that will not be enough. Rock can, however, turn into a party pooper for the players who can still reach the playoffs.

Rock’s last win over Humphries already dates back more than a year and a half. Since then Humphries has beaten Rock four times in a row, and the Englishman leads 5-3 in the head-to-head.

In his debut year in the Premier League Darts, Gian van Veen still has a shot at the playoffs with three league nights to go, which is already an excellent achievement. The Dutchman had a dip in March and April after suffering from kidney stones, but seems to have rediscovered his form. Against Stephen Bunting he will need to win to keep sight of a top-four spot.

For Stephen Bunting, a miracle is required to still reach the playoffs. On eleven points he is seven behind fourth place, and he also needs to make up five points on fifth and sixth. But like Josh Rock, Bunting can still be a troublesome opponent for players who remain in the playoff hunt. And should Bunting surprisingly take the nightly title in Leeds, a semifinal spot would not even be that far out of reach.

It’s close between these two players head-to-head. They have met twelve times. Bunting has won seven, and five wins have gone to Van Veen. In this Premier League they have both beaten each other once.