Nathan Aspinall will claim the final play-off spot in Sheffield

VaselineMay 14, 2024

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Nathan Aspinall will claim the final play-off spot in Sheffield

Aspinall will look to banish memories of last season’s final day defeat to Johnny Clayton when he meets Smith.

Aspinall is the current holder of the final play-off spot, but Smith beat the world number four last week to move just one point behind him and turn this match into a shoot-out for the final play-off spot.

Meanwhile, in the other quarter-final in that section of the draw, Luke Littler can secure top spot with a win over Peter Wright.

Already qualified Luke Humphries takes on Gerwyn Price in the bottom half of the draw, while Michael Van Gerwen takes on Rob Cross.

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Quarter Finals Night 16 (1900 BST)

Luke Littler vs Peter Wright

Nathan Aspinall vs Michael Smith

Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price

Michael Van Gerwen vs Rob Cross

Wright’s abysmal Premier League campaign comes to an end in Sheffield when he takes on teenage sensation Littler in the quarter-finals.

Wright has won just two of his 17 matches in this year’s competition, on the other hand Littler has won exactly two-thirds of his matches, which is very impressive for a rookie.

A win here would secure the top spot for The Nuke, and let’s face it, he deserves it. The 17-year-old has breathed new life into the Premier League and attracted a new legion of fans to the sport as he e.

A Littler victory should be on the cards here and would take Wright to his lowest points total since the new format was introduced in 2022.

While Littler usually grabs the limelight, the focus will be on the second quarter-final in Sheffield, with 2023 world champion Smith taking on reigning world champion Aspinall in a match where the winner take it all for the final play-off spot.

Smith hasn’t hit the levels we know he can in this year’s competition, with Bully Boy far from the form that won him the Sid Waddell Trophy in 2023, but he’s been racking up points regularly and giving himself a fighting chance. .

Asp had a poor start to the campaign but overnight wins at Exeter and Rotterdam saw them jump into the play-off places, but quarter-final exits in the last fortnight have given the Bully Boy the chance to reduce the difference.

However, Aspinall has had a knack for picking up wins when he needs them most in this competition and we can see him banishing the memories of last year and booking his ticket to the O2 Arena.

In the other half of the draw, Humphries is looking to build some momentum ahead of the play-offs.

Cool Hand was back to his best in Leeds last week, claiming his fourth win of the campaign, which was followed by a run to the final of the Baltic Sea Darts Open and, despite a nine-dart onslaught, was narrowly defeated by Cross.

The world number one faces Price, who has recently battled a back injury, and the Iceman will be extremely disappointed with his performance this year, having reached the final in 2023.

When Humphries is in the mood, no one can match him and we can see Cool Hand benefit from an easier draw on paper to earn his fifth winning night.

In the last quarter-final, Van Gerwen, who qualified for the play-offs for the fourth consecutive year last week, defeats Cross.

MVG have been far from their best this season, but a late flurry from the Dutchman, including a night win at Birmingham and a run to the final at Leeds, got them over the line.

Cross paid for a barren run between nights seven and 12, with not enough of a late burst to get him into the mix for the season-ending jamboree.

However, Voltage came alive at the weekend and won a European tour, so you’d expect him to perform well here, especially with the £10,000 winners’ check on the night still up for grabs for all eight players.

The cross to beat Van Gerwen deserves a goal, but we don’t see the 2018 World Champion beating Cool Hand for the second time in a week.