The Premier League Darts is visiting the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on Thursday night, where the final round of this competition is already being played. There is still some excitement on this evening, as it has yet to be decided who will be the fourth player to qualify for the playoffs.
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Two weeks ago, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were the first two players to secure entry into the final night at London's O2 Arena on May 23. Last week, Michael van Gerwen also forced placement for the playoffs, so now three of the four spots have been distributed. Two men are still in the race for the final ticket.
Those two men are Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith. For "The Asp," thoughts are bound to wander back to last year, when he was in a similar position. He then had to make the final on the last day of play, but after a 6-1 victory over main rival Jonny Clayton, Aspinall went down in the semifinals against Gerwyn Price. In 2020, Aspinall secured participation in the playoffs precisely on the last round of play.
The darter from Stockport had a chance to decide the battle early last week. In Leeds, he also faced Michael Smith in his first match. However, 'The Asp' lost 6-3 to his compatriot, allowing Smith to approach him to one point in the rankings. So it is very simple on Thursday night. The winner of the duel between Smith and Aspinall will advance to the final night.
Aspinall and Smith face each other for the fourth time in this Premier League. Although Smith managed to win the previous encounter, the first two clashes in this competition were won by Aspinall.
Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith will battle it out between themselves Thursday night to see who qualifies for the playoffs of the Premier League Darts
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In the background of battle between Smith and Aspinall, there is also battle for first place in the rankings. First place is currently still held by Luke Littler, but Luke Humphries still has a small chance to change that. 'Cool Hand Luke' will need the help of Peter Wright to do so, and also needs to remain unbeaten himself in Sheffield.
Indeed, Humphries' deficit with Littler is five points. That means Humphries can only take over first place if he takes the weekly title, while Littler must then lose his first match against Wright.
However, the chances of Littler choking on Wright seem extremely slim. Anyway, 'The Nuke' has only lost his first match three times in the first fifteen rounds of play. Wright has only won two matches in the entire competition. This Premier League, by the way, the Englishman and the Scot have only faced each other twice. The first time, Littler narrowly won 6-5, while the second encounter was decided 6-1 in his favor.
Reigning world champion Luke Humphries faces a match with Gerwyn Price. 'The Iceman' still has a slim chance of being allowed to swap seventh place for sixth. Price must then take the weekly title in Sheffield, and in addition, Rob Cross must then not win a match during the final round of play. It will be the third meeting between Humphries and Price in this Premier League. Humphries managed to win the two previous matches 6-3 and 6-2, respectively.
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Michael van Gerwen goes into the final round of Premier League Darts with the knowledge that he can no longer move up, but could drop one more spot. Smith or Aspinall could possibly still pass him, although Aspinall will need at least two wins to do so and Smith even three wins.
In Sheffield, the 35-year-old from Vlijmen will take on number six Rob Cross. Van Gerwen, like Humphries and Littler, stands on four weekly titles, but did a lot less than his English rivals in the other rounds of play. Still, like Littler or Humphries, 'Mighty Mike' can grab another record in Sheffield. Never before has a player won five weekly titles in one Premier League season. Perhaps this statistic can still provide motivation for the seven-time Premier League champion.
By the way, winning over Cross has not yet proved so easy for Van Gerwen in this Premier League. Although the Dutchman won the first meeting in February, the three subsequent showdowns were a prey to Cross.
Playing schedule Premier League Darts 2024
Sixteenth round of play - Utilita Arena, Sheffield
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Thursday, May 16.
Quarterfinals
Luke Littler v Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith
Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
Standings Premier League Darts
| Name | Week titles | Won matches | Leg difference | Won legs | Points |
| Luke Littler | 4 | 22 | +28 | 172 | 38 |
| Luke Humphries | 4 | 19 | +37 | 154 | 33 |
| Michael van Gerwen | 4 | 16 | +9 | 135 | 27 |
| Nathan Aspinall | 2 | 15 | +8 | 140 | 25 |
| Michael Smith | 1 | 14 | -9 | 130 | 24 |
| Rob Cross | 0 | 10 | -13 | 111 | 17 |
| Gerwyn Price | 0 | 7 | -19 | 91 | 12 |
| Peter Wright | 0 | 2 | -41 | 57 | 4 |
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
