Preview Premier League Darts Night 16 in Sheffield: Final regular night of action as Littler, Humphries, Clayton and Price prepare for The O2

On Thursday, 21/5/2026, the Premier League Darts heads to Sheffield, England, for its final regular night before the play-offs. The die is already cast and the four players for Finals Night are confirmed.

Unfortunately, there will be little jeopardy left around this night in Sheffield. Luke Littler, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price are all already assured of a place in the play-offs, leaving this last regular night solely about who takes the nightly win.

Since the introduction of the current format in the Premier League, we’ve seen various winners in Sheffield. In 2022 it was the Welshman Gerwyn Price who claimed the nightly win by defeating Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in a tense final. A year later, ‘The Iceman’ again reached the final, but this time lost 6-3 to Michael Smith. That same Smith again won the night in 2024 by beating Luke Humphries 6-3 in the final. Last year it was Luke Littler who triumphed here for the first time by dispatching his namesake 6-3.

We open the night with Luke Littler and Josh Rock, the top seed and the bottom of the table. Neither has anything left to play for. Littler has locked up first place and Rock cannot climb. So what is still at stake?

Littler has already stated he wants to win every night he can, and he’s been on quite a run lately. In weeks 12, 13, and 14 he won three nights in a row, taking his tally to six nightly wins. That puts him on 41 points, seven more than the player in second.

For Rock, maintaining the positive feeling seems key. The Northern Irishman recently won the Austrian Darts Open and will want to carry that form into the coming weeks. Although he can’t climb the Premier League table anymore, he could still win his first night of the campaign and end his debut with a small success.

Next up are Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen. For Humphries, despite being assured of Finals Night, there’s still something on the line. Together with Gerwyn Price, he will decide who finishes third instead of fourth. The benefit? Avoiding Luke Littler in the play-off semi-finals. Both Humphries and Price would very likely prefer to dodge the world champion in that semi-final.

For Van Gerwen, it hardly matters anymore. The Dutchman sits fifth, has no chance of making the play-offs, and at worst could slip one spot to sixth. Although he has nothing left to play for and likely sees other tournaments as a higher priority, he will still want to sign off this Premier League on a high and will throw everything at producing one last big night in Sheffield.

Then it’s Jonny Clayton against Stephen Bunting, and this too, like the night’s opener, is a match with nothing riding on it. Clayton is firmly second, seven points behind Littler and a full ten clear of both Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries. The only thing ‘The Ferret’ is playing for is momentum. A nightly win would send him to The O2 Arena in London for Finals Night brimming with confidence.

Bunting is also done. On 13 points he sits seventh, five clear of Rock but five behind both Van Gerwen and Van Veen. That means he can neither drop nor climb, and can only chase a nightly win to finish the Premier League on a positive note.

And we close the night with Gerwyn Price against Gian van Veen, perhaps the only match where both players truly have something to go after. As mentioned earlier, Price is level on points with Humphries, and both will want to finish third to avoid Luke Littler in the semi-finals. A nightly win in Sheffield would therefore be welcome for ‘The Iceman’.

And then there’s Gian van Veen. The Dutchman is currently sixth, level on points with his compatriot Michael van Gerwen. Where ‘MVG’ probably won’t lose sleep over slipping one more spot, it may be different for Van Veen. For ‘The Giant’ this is his debut in the competition, so he will want to finish as high as possible. In addition, he and Rock are the only two players yet to win a weekly title this season. With a nightly win and fifth place in the standings, Van Veen could sign off from this year’s Premier League with peace of mind.