Sky Sports Reporter Polly James previews Premier League Darts Finals Night, ahead of a blockbuster night of darts from The O2 in London.
And then there were four! What a journey it’s been so far, and we’re just getting started baby! Welcome to the play-off’s, Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen all fighting for Premier League Darts glory and a hefty £275,000 winner’s purse.
The class of 2024 has been a rollercoaster, with this year’s Premier League having everything! This has got to go down as one of the best renewals ever. The standard has been incredible, the action has been mind-blowing, the finishing just show stopping. We even have new celebrations (Luke Littler showing us how to catch a big fish) and we even had a 9-darter. More drama ahead of Premier League Darts Finals Night please!
Every one of the octet has been a key character, some more dominant than others. but eight separate narratives along the way. The banter, the celebrations, the showboating has all been top tier, the walk-ons have turned into iconic sing-a-long moments… lest we forget ‘Build me up Buttercup’.
Premier League Darts 2024 Finals Night: Outright prices from kwiff
Luke Humphries 2.30
Luke Littler 2.55
Michael Van Gerwen 4.50
Michael Smith 5.80
Now that four remain after four gruelling months of travel up and down the country and further afield, the final star-studded line up looks like this; the top three players in the world of darts; Luke Humphries, Michael Van Gerwen and Michael Smith. And a certain 17 year old called Luke Littler.
The Littler Effect
What a stunning debut season it’s been for the Warrington native, after his incredible World Championship run to the final, the PDC jumped at the chance to invite him to join the Premier League and what a great decision it turned out to be.
Not only did he top the table, it was a joint record in this format finishing with 40 points! Just quality. Can the 17-year-old win his first major this evening? Not if Michael Smith has anything to say about it, with ‘Bully Boy’ being one of just a handful of players to own a positive win/loss record against the teenager.
Smith has won 5 of 7 meetings with his fellow Lancastrian and was emotional after beating best friend Nathan Aspinall to a finals spot last week in Sheffield. He has the momentum, and the record, but will it be enough? I think we’ll see some heavy scoring and 180s-a-plenty, with ‘The Nuke’ fancied to edge a likely tight encounter. There’s sure to be drama, whatever the result!
Premier League Darts Finals Night: Semi-Final prices from kwiff
1.38 Luke Littler v Michael Smith 2.65
1.40 Luke Humphries v Michael Van Gerwen 2.55
The other Luke, a certain World Number One and World Champion, is Luke Humphries and given his new position as the face of darts and the best in the sport it’s incredible that it’s also his debut season.
This is the semi-final which is tough to call, and a dynamic in sport that has been seen for generations. For me, this is such a tough call, with the seven-time former Champion and old guard facing the new challenger.
Can MvG remind everyone how he has dominated the sport for almost a decade? He has struggled since losing to Stephen Bunting in the final of the Cazoo Open in February, and is in a new position being the underdog on finals night at The O2.
Hot Stuff Cool Hand
The ‘Cool Hand’ has been contrastingly very hot, and been playing the sort of form that saw him go 20+ games unbeaten on TV during the back end of 2023. Humphries struggled at the start of this year’s campaign, and the Dutchman was able to capitalise; winning 3 consecutive weeks early in the competition
Out of nowhere, Humphries then emerged as the man to beat also with a hat-trick himself, and is the only player to average 100+ every week of the competition this year. Winning in front of a ‘home’ crowd in Leeds, and raising a lot of money for MND in the process will have meant a lot, and he seems content with the level he’s playing at present.
Despite those wins for MvG early doors, there has been plenty of mishaps thereafter. MvG crashed out with zero points in eight of his opening games this season and with all the talk of inconsistency surrounding MvG and the fact that Humphries has beaten MVG an incredible six matches on the spin, he has to be the favourite going in.
All To Play For
That being said, Van Gerwen has always done just what he needed to get through, and he always said that he just needed to get to play-offs because then he would win the whole thing. Michael is the king of Premier League Darts Finals Night historically, winning 7 of the 11 renewals he’s participated in, second in another two, and is respected as the wily old veteran who knows how to get it done on the big stage.
At this point of competition where the slate is wiped clean and it’s all to play for on the night, you’d be a braver man than I to bet against him. Who wins it for me? Let the Littler era begin!
Premier League Darts Finals Night: Tips
Littler v Smith Over 11.5 180s @ 1.76 with kwiff
Humphries/MvG Over 10.5 180s @ 1.75 with kwiff
By Polly James
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