With next Thursday being the final week of the regular
Premier League Darts season, just one playoff spot remains. In Sheffield,
Michael Smith and
Nathan Aspinall will go head-to-head in the quarter-finals, with the winner getting 4th spot in the table.
The duo actually played each other on Night 15 in Leeds, with 'BullyBoy' getting the win on this occasion. "It's a bit cruel and you fear for Nathan a little bit," previews former Premier League Darts player turned Sky Sports analyst,
Mark Webster. "Michael has put himself in a position where he won tonight and he'll be feeling that was the minimum requirement, to keep himself in it and he's done that."
With Smith prevailing 6-3 over Aspinall in the quarter-finals in Leeds, before losing out in the semi-finals to a rampant Luke Humphries, Webster believes momentum is fully on the side of the world champion, especially given Aspinall was in a similar situation in 2023 and lost the playoff shootout to Jonny Clayton.
"For Nathan, just because of what happened last year, he knows how much is on the line," Webster explains. "We now how much of a battler he is. It's a knockout game, it's what these players generally play and it'll be a fantastic match. It's match of the night isn't it!" the former Lakeside champion concludes.