In fact, all of the top four going into Night 13 meet, with plenty on the line. Nobody's Premier League Darts play-off hopes are dead, but
Peter Wright especially will need to get his skates on. There was something else...what was it? Oh, yes. The fans are back. Get in.
First to bask in the real atmosphere of non-piped-in support are
Jonny Clayton and
Gary Anderson. The break in play after Night 12 was poorly timed for Anderson, who built up momentum from two excellent wins over Peter Wright and
Dimitri van den Bergh. The Scot can technically jump into the top four tonight; Clayton, a narrow winner over Nathan Aspinall last time out, will want to further his own ambitions.
Game two of the night promises to be a score-fest. Dimitri van den Bergh has kicked on massively since the fans went away; now they're back, he can impress in front of a live audience. Two defeats in his last three is poor on paper, but in reality he's been excellent, and has only been bested by top drawer opponents. His scoring is evidenced by being second in the 180-hitting charts. As it happens,
Jose de Sousa's top of those particular rankings, a mere 14 ahead of him. 14 is the magic number needed to break the all-time record for maximums in a season, but the two points on offer for victory are more pivotal.
In the latest edition of Michael van Gerwen's mouth running faster than a leaky tap, the Dutchman has labelled his competitors
'boring' and asserted that his return to dominance is imminent. He who is bored of Jose de Sousa is bored of life, frankly. But anyway, MVG's bid to dominate the Premier League could hinge on this clash with Nathan Aspinall. The Asp has lost his last two games (having been beaten in only one of his first ten games), and if Van Gerwen makes it three from three, he'll be at least two points clear at the top.
Judgement Night has been and gone, but the last game of Night 13 has an 'eliminator' sort of feel to it. That's more the case for Peter Wright, who can mathematically be ruled out if results go against him tonight. He can stave off that bitter taste for another day if he beats
James Wade. The Scot would join Wade on 11 points if that were to happen, possibly dragging both into irrelevance. Wade, winless in four, needs to get the result to match some of the more promising showings he has put in recently.
Schedule 2021 Premier League Darts
Night 13 - Monday May 24
19:10 Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
19:50 Jose de Sousa v Dimitri Van den Bergh
20:30 Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
21:10 James Wade v Peter Wright