Premier League Darts: Night 10 preview & predictions

Tom GriffinTom Griffin
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Premier League Darts: Night 10 preview & predictions

Night 10 of Premier League Darts heads to the Brighton Centre, and more unrivalled drama is set to take centre stage.

Luke Littler’s tense exchange with Gian van Veen stole the headlines on night nine in Manchester after the Dutchman pulled off a shock 6-5 victory.

Van Veen then secured a 6-3 win over Josh Rock in the semi-final before being thrashed 6-2 by Gerwyn Price in the final.

Price’s exceptional performances in Manchester landed him his second nightly win of this year’s Premier League and put him level on points with his close friend, Jonny Clayton.

PosPlayerPtsNight Wins
1Luke Littler213
2Gerwyn Price192
3Jonny Clayton192
4Michael van Gerwen131
5Gian van Veen120
6Luke Humphries110
7Stephen Bunting91
8Josh Rock40

The Welsh duo have established a seven-point cushion inside the play-offs, and the pair will want to go a step closer to securing their spot at Finals Night in May.

Premier League Darts Night 10 predictions

Luke Humphries vs Jonny Clayton

Luke Humphries is under pressure to clinch a play-off place after losing at the quarter-final stage in successive weeks.

Cool Hand’s 6-2 defeat at the hands of Price left him two points behind Michael van Gerwen, who occupies fourth position.

Humphries, of course, recorded a ton-plus average in his defeat to Price for the ninth time this tournament, as poor finishing continued to cost him.

The 31-year-old has struggled to convert his chances at the back end of legs, and this narrative must change sooner rather than later, or he will finish outside the top four.

A quarter-final showdown against Clayton presents a great opportunity for Humphries to get back on track. The Ferret is going through a rough patch following consecutive defeats to Rock, and he will have his work cut out to return to winning ways.

Humphries has the edge over Clayton when it comes to scoring power, having registered the second-highest tournament average, behind only Littler.

It’s just a question of whether he can find a ruthless streak on the outer ring to secure a win over the 2021 Premier League champion.

Prediction: Humphries 6-4 Clayton

Gerwyn Price vs Josh Rock

Price was at his breathtaking best in Manchester, as the Iceman produced the most impressive performance in this year’s tournament.

The Welshman was unstoppable on his way to winning the night, recording three successive 6-2 victories against Humphries, Stephen Bunting and Van Veen.

Incredibly, Price averaged an eye-watering 107.63 across those matches, and even exceeded the 112 mark during his semi-final triumph over Bunting.

Unrelenting in the scoring phase and nerveless on the outer ring, the 41-year-old registered a remarkable 72% on the checkouts, missing just seven attempts at double in 24 legs of darts.

Price is arguably the scariest opponent to come against when he’s on top form, and he could blow away Rock in Thursday’s quarter-final.

Despite recording back-to-back victories over Clayton, the Northern Irishman is yet to reach a Premier League nightly final and remains bottom of the table.

Rock was much improved last week, averaging 102.35 in his two matches, with similar levels and better scoring needed to beat the Welsh maverick in Brighton.

Prediction: Price 6-3 Rock

Luke Littler vs Stephen Bunting

Littler’s immaturity shone through during his quarter-final loss to Van Veen last week, ending his six-match winning streak in the competition.

But the Nuke will be determined to bounce back from that disappointment, even if he’s met with a chorus of boos from those inside the Brighton Centre.

The 19-year-old holds a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League and will be looking to complete a hat-trick of wins over Bunting in this year’s tournament.

Littler won by a 6-3 margin in those meetings, but the Bullet averaged 105-plus on both occasions, proving how unforgiving modern darts is.

Bunting has performed at a world-class level throughout the tournament and even registered a 106 average in a 6-2 defeat to Price, who was unstoppable.

Finishing let the Liverpudlian down in that match, and he can’t afford to waste many chances if he wants to end a four-match losing run against Littler.

Prediction: Littler 6-2 Bunting

Michael van Gerwen vs Gian van Veen

Van Gerwen has blown hot and cold in this year’s competition, making his clash against Van Veen difficult to predict.

The seven-time Premier League champion went 5-0 down against Bunting last week, before threatening to stage an impressive comeback after rattling off three successive legs.

The 36-year-old instead suffered a 6-3 defeat as a brilliant 103 average was complemented by a poor 27% on the checkouts, allowing his opponent to capitalise.

Van Gerwen can ill-afford to continue that trend in Brighton, as he could be royally punished by arguably one of the best finishers in the sport.

Van Veen looked back to full health last week after recovering from an operation to remove kidney stones, with the 23-year-old losing in the final to Price.

A return of 60.87% on the doubles and three ton-plus finishes proved the Dutchman was close to his ruthless best. If he can raise his scoring to a similar standard, having averaged 94.74 last week, then Van Gerwen could be in big trouble.

Prediction: Van Gerwen 5-6 Van Veen

Semi-finals

Humphries 4-6 Price

Littler 6-3 Van Veen

Final

Littler 6-4 Price

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