Five ties, including Michael van Gerwen meeting Jonny Clayton, make up the Premier League Darts schedule on Judgement Night.
Judgement Night is a night full of drama, of tension, of agony and relief. Two players depart and the rest solider on, but only following a do-or-die showdown.
Except there's none of that this year, because Rob Cross and Glen Durrant are eliminated. Oh well. Who needs drama, anyway. Incidentally, the pair meet in the first game of the evening. Cross will be furious as a promising campaign went sour, while Durrant just needs to draw a line under this and focus on his recovery.
After the first group of Premier League Darts fixtures, Jonny Clayton was top of the league. Following Judgement Night, he could be bottom. That's if Michael van Gerwen has anything to do with it. The Dutchman was in fine fettle, bar a slight drop off at the end, against Jose de Sousa. Clayton will need to recapture some of his excellent early form to get something out of this.
While Judgement Night doesn't have much by way of tension, it's a useful insight into the top four battle to come. Nathan Aspinall's clash with Gary Anderson has intrigue in spades, because if the Asp wins, he'll be five points clear of his opponent. That's quite the gap for the Flying Scotsman to overcome, whereas if he can beat Aspinall, the playoff battle will look a lot more appetising.
Peter Wright's elimination worries are all gone, and now it's all about the top four. He's only a point adrift of fourth-placed James Wade going into Judgement Night, and is level with three other players, including opponent Jose de Sousa. The Portuguese Man O' Scores is having quite the middling campaign, but with the way he's playing, it just takes a spark to set a playoff bid alight. Could this be it?
Dimitri van den Bergh still tops the league, and has the form to back up his dominance. There's a growing belief that the Belgian can do what Glen Durrant did last year. Of course, this is just the end of the beginning. He'll go into the second phase as the leader if he can beat James Wade, who managed to avoid elimination and hop into the playoff spots with just one win over Jonny Clayton.
Schedule 2021 Premier League Darts
Night Nine - Wednesday April 21
19:10 Glen Durrant v Rob Cross
19:50 Jonny Clayton v Michael van Gerwen
20:30 Nathan Aspinall v Gary Anderson
21:10 Jose de Sousa v Peter Wright
21:50 Dimitri van den Bergh v James Wade
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