Schedule Premier League Darts 2025: Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler headlines Liverpool Night 12

After trips to Rotterdam, Premier League Darts is back in the United Kingdom for the continuation of the prestigious darts competition. This week, the world's best darters are visiting Liverpool for the twelfth round of play of the current season.

The venue to be played is the M&S Bank Arena, a beautiful hall on the famous Mersey River. It is the place where Adrian Lewis managed to throw a nine-darter in his match against Raymond van Barneveld in 2017. Lewis eventually won that match 7-4 thanks to an average of 111.52.

That is not the highest average ever in Liverpool, as during the same round of play Gary Anderson managed to surpass 'Jackpot's' average. Gary Anderson threw a 113.44 average in his 7-2 victory over compatriot Peter Wright. They are the two highest averages in Liverpool, where the PDC has been visiting since 2008.
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Beyond the sporting highlights, however, the Liverpool playing venue is also one with an edge of grief. Eric Bristow attended a Premier League night there in 2018, and upon leaving the M&S Bank Arena, the English darts legend suffered a heart attack, from which he would eventually die.

Over the past three seasons, Liverpool's mini-tournaments have had a different winner each time. Passionate Liverpool fan Jonny Clayton took the weekly title there in 2022 by beating Michael Smith (6-3), Michael van Gerwen (6-4) and Joe Cullen (6-4) in succession.

In 2023, Van Gerwen got to lift the trophy in the Beatles city. He then won in his first match from Clayton (6-2), before Van Gerwen was also too strong for Peter Wright (6-1) and Michael Smith (6-4).

Luke Littler was successful in 2024 by claiming the weekly title in the lion's den. An outspoken supporter of arch-rival Manchester United, Littler remained unbeaten on his debut in Liverpool by posting victories over Gerwyn Price (6-3), Nathan Aspinall (6-5) and Rob Cross (6-2).

Luke Humphries is actually starting to feel a bit in no man's land in the Premier League Darts standings. The gap to leader Luke Littler is large, while he also has a comfortable lead over his pursuers with 23 points. The main thing for Humphries is actually to secure his participation in the playoffs as soon as possible. So a victory over number three Nathan Aspinall would certainly contribute to that.

With a weekly title and two semifinals, Aspinall has actually become more emphatically involved in the battle for the playoffs in recent weeks. Meanwhile, 'The Asp' is number three in the standings with seventeen points. And since Michael van Gerwen is playing against frontrunner Littler, then Aspinall will thus in theory do good business to cement his position in the top four.

It will be the fourth meeting between the two Englishmen in this Premier League. Humphries won the first two clashes, then Aspinall managed to win the third on his way to his weekly title in Manchester. In the overall head-to-head, Humphries leads 12-9.

Last weekend Gian van Veen prevented a final between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler at the German Darts Grand Prix, but in Liverpool the numbers three and one in the world rankings will meet after all. In any case, Van Gerwen got a big boost to his self-confidence after finally winning his first title of the season at the Euro Tour tournament in Munich. 'Mighty Mike' showed excellent form, as in four of his five matches Van Gerwen recorded an average of (well) over 100.

Littler, on the contrary, seems to be in a minor slump. After four weekly titles in the first eight weeks, he did not reach a single final in the past three rounds of play. The 18-year-old teenage sensation still needs one more weekly title to become the first Premier League player to manage to take five weekly titles in a single season.

Over the Easter weekend, Littler performed vicariously, with an excellent first game against Cameron Crabtree (6-1 win with 107 average). This was followed by victories over Joe Cullen (6-3) and Peter Wright (6-5) without really convincing. In the semifinal against Van Veen, Littler did not start well and fell behind 3-0. After 'The Nuke' picked up his old arrows things went a lot better, but after Littler turned the 0-3 deficit into a 4-3 lead, he fell silent again.

This Premier League, Van Gerwen only managed to win the first encounter with Littler. After that, the Englishman came out as the strongest three times, meaning Littler is now 11-7 ahead against 'Mighty Mike' in the head-to-head.

For Stephen Bunting, this is pretty much the last chance to make something of his Premier League season, and to a lesser extent for Rob Cross. They are numbers seven and eight in the rankings, although Cross still has a four-point lead with 12 points.

After eight rounds of play without points, the pressure is now off Bunting. The past three weeks 'The Bullet' reached two finals, one of which he managed to win. With Cross, Bunting is playing the only player in Premier League Darts who has not reached a single weekly final. In the first eight weeks, Cross reached the semifinals six times, but that hasn't happened in recent weeks.

Too good is not Bunting's record against Cross. 'Voltage' managed to win no less than fourteen of the previous eighteen encounters. Once it was a draw, during the Premier League in 2020, while Bunting managed to beat his compatriot only three times. Bunting's last win over Cross dates back to May 2022, after which Cross is now unbeaten against 'The Bullet' for eight duels in a row.

After four straight defeats in the last five weeks, Gerwyn Price has to work hard again to reach the playoffs. With fifteen points, 'The Iceman' is still fourth, but Michael van Gerwen and also Chris Dobey and Rob Cross are breathing down his neck.

So against Dobey, Price can do himself a good service, but 'Hollywood' finally managed to win his first weekly Premier League Darts title last week in Rotterdam. This triumph lifted 'Hollywood' to 12 points in the standings, allowing Dobey to still hold out hope of making the final night. A positive result against Price will only further boost Dobey's ambition.

Both Price and Dobey have already won once in this Premier League. In the mutual balance, the Welshman still has a large lead, as he won seventeen of the twenty duels between them.

A unique aspect of the Premier League is that a separate tournament is played each week of play, with the winner receiving an additional £10,000. This means that a player who manages to win multiple weeks of play can boost his prize money considerably. Since the league lasts for 16 weeks, an additional total of £160,000 can be distributed to the winners of these nights of play.

With performances, players also earn points toward the Premier League standings. The winner of a weekly tournament receives five points, while the losing finalist takes home three points. Semi-finalists keep two points and players who lose their opening match go home scoreless.

Quarterfinals/Halffinals/Finals: Best of 11 legs

Semifinals: Best of 19 legs

Final: Best of 21 legs

Thanks to Sky Sports, you don't have to miss a single darts moment. Every Thursday night starting at 7 p.m., the channel will bring you the matches live, including extensive analysis and interviews with the main players.

The broadcasts usually last until midnight, allowing you to enjoy a full evening of pure entertainment and top-level darts at the highest level.

With a total prize pool of £1,000,000, the eight contestants are competing not only for the title, but also for a substantial amount of money. All participants are guaranteed £60,000 in prize money. This eventually rises to the top prize of £275,000 for the winner.

However, players can also win a bonus each week. For every winner of a mini-tournament during the league phase, a sum of £10,000 is up for grabs.

Night 12 - Thursday, April 24.

Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall

Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler

Rob Cross v Stephen Bunting

Gerwyn Price v Chris Dobey