LUKE “The Nuke” Littler is the man to beat in world darts right now.
Nobody could stop him last week as he racked up his third PDC Premier League nightly win in Liverpool before taking home his second EuroTour title over the weekend by winning the Austrian Darts Open.
Now, he looks to mathematically seal his Premier League play-off spot as darts’ annual roadshow heads to Aberdeen on Thursday.
He could even do so before he even throws a dart in anger if fifth-placed Michael Smith loses to Peter Wright in the opening quarter-final of the night, but matching or bettering the St Helens man’s points total for the night seals his spot.
Littler faces Nathan Aspinall, against whom he fought back from 5-2 down to win last week’s semi-final, in the second of four quarters for the right to face Wright or Smith in the last four.
Littler is due on stage at 7.45pm.
PDC Premier League Darts, competing players
Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Luke Littler.
Schedule for PDC Premier League Darts Night 14, P&J Live, Aberdeen, live on Sky Sports, Thursday, May 2:
Quarter-final 1: Peter Wright vs Michael Smith, 7.15pm
Quarter-final 2: Luke Littler vs Nathan Aspinall, 7.45pm
Quarter-final 3: Michael Van Gerwen vs Rob Cross, 8.15pm
Quarter-final 4: Gerwyn Price vs Luke Humphries, 8.45pm
Semi-final 1: Winner of QF 1 v Winner of QF 2, 9.15pm
Semi-final 2: Winner of QF 3 v Winner of QF 4, 9.45pm
Final: Winner of SF1 v winner of SF 2, 10.30pm
Luke Littler looks ahead to Premier League Night 14
“Top spot is my target now,” insisted Littler, who has won five of his six meetings against Aspinall in 2024.
“It would mean everything to finish top [of the table], but I’m just really happy to be where I am now, five points clear.
“I was playing with complete freedom in Liverpool, especially in the semi-finals against Nathan, and I managed to get over the line which has given me so much confidence.
“I am taking everything in my stride. I’ve gained so much experience in this year’s Premier League, and it’s definitely helped me as a player.”
A reminder of what happened last week:
Results for PDC Premier League Darts Night 13, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, Thursday, April 25:
Quarter-Finals
Luke Littler 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Peter Wright
Rob Cross 6-4 Michael Smith
Semi-Finals
Luke Littler 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Rob Cross 6-2 Michael van Gerwen
Final
Luke Littler 6-2 Rob Cross
PDC Premier League Order of Merit:
Format for PDC Premier League nights 2024:
Each night will see quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to six).
Players will face each other twice in quarter-final ties throughout the season, with the fixtures being balanced for players to be in opposite halves of the draw in an equal number of weeks.
The fixtures for Night 8 and Night 16 will be based on the league table following Night 7 and Night 15 respectively.
The top four players from the final league table will progress to the Play-Offs, which will feature the semi-finals over the best of 19 legs and the final over the best of 21 legs.
The order of throw for all league night matches will be decided by a bull-off, which will be conducted beforehand in the practice room. For the Play-Offs, the semi-finals will see the higher-placed player from the final league table throw first, with a bull-off for the final.
League Points per Night:
Night Winner - 5 points + £10,000 bonus
Runner-Up - 3 points
Semi-Finalists - 2 points
Prize Fund:
Winner - £275,000
Runner-Up - £125,000
Semi-Finalists - £85,000 each
Fifth in League Table - £75,000
Sixth in League Table - £70,000
Seventh in League Table - £65,000
Eighth in League Table - £60,000
Nightly Winner Bonus - £10,000 x16
Total - £1,000,000
Schedule for remaining PDC Premier League Darts 2024, quarter final fixtures:
Night 14, Aberdeen, May 2: Wright v Smith, Littler v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Cross, Price v Humphries.
Night 15, Leeds, May 9: Van Gerwen v Price, Littler v Wright, Humphries v Cross, Aspinall v Smith.
Night 16, Sheffield, May 16: Fixtures confirmed following Night 15.
Play-Offs: The O2, London, May 23: The top four players after 16 nights.
Story of 2024 so far for Luke Littler:
PDC World Darts Championship runner-up
Bahrain Darts Masters Champion, including first leg nine-darter in quarter-final
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up
Premier League Night 1 (Cardiff) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 2 (Berlin) finalist
Players Championship 1 (Wigan) winner, including nine-darter in the last 32
Premier League Night 4 (Newcastle) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 5 (Exeter) semi-finalist
UK Open quarter-finalist
Premier League Night 6 (Brighton) semi-finalist
Belgian Darts Open Champion, including nine-darter in final
Premier League Night 7 (Nottingham) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 9 (Belfast) winner
Premier League Night 10 (Manchester) winner
Premier League Night 11 (Birmingham) finalist
Premier League Night 13 (Liverpool) winner
Austrian Darts Open Champion
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