The BetMGM Premier League Darts returns for Night Nine this Thursday at Belfast’s SSE Arena, which could play host to a piece of darting history tonight if Luke Humphries can secure a fourth consecutive Premier League Night. Ready yourself for every tantalising clash with Ryan Brayne‘s match-by-match guide and stay until the end to find out his predicted winner of Night Nine.
Aside from Cool Hand Luke’s record breaking bid, attention has centred on Luke Littler in the build-up to Belfast. The 17-year-old picked up the Swedish Darts Festival pairs tournament on Saturday alongside Chris Dobey, hinting at a potential first night win for The Nuke on Thursday.
Luke Humphries vs Luke Littler
We kick off the trip from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland with a repeat of the World Championship final – a southerner vs a northerner. In what should prove to be another enthralling chapter in their blossoming rivalry, a red-hot Humphries will enter the contest off a hat-trick of nightly wins. The Newbury native has blown away the competition with ease, oozing an impenetrable confidence over the past month. While opponent Littler has also enjoyed similar spells of unbeatable darts, they have been far more sporadic, evidenced by the youngster’s disappointing collapse to Michael Smith last week.
Littler should be much improved after this weekend’s success in Sweden, but he will have to be in ferocious from the opening leg if he wants to find any success against Cool Hand.
Prediction: Humphries 6-4 Littler
Michael Smith vs Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith will have been pleased with last week’s showing, reaching the final before falling to the undisputed World Number One. As we draw deeper into the second half of the season, points on the board are all that matters. Unfortunately for Michael van Gerwen, the reigning Premier League champion can’t seem to find a crumb of momentum. The Dutchman is reeling from four losses in a row, albeit, including a near comeback win last week against Gerwyn Price.
It is never a good idea to bet against MVG but his current shoulder issues is evidently impacting his ability to perform. Although Mighty Mike’s talent remains on show, recording decent averages while playing through injury, we are likely to see a continuation of Michael Smith’s point-collecting.
Prediction: Smith 6-4 MVG
Nathan Aspinall vs Gerwyn Price
Every week seems to churn out a coin-flip match-up, with Belfast’s quarter-final meeting between Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price fitting the billing. Although an often unremarkable scorer, Aspinall remains a consistent threat throughout contests, refusing to mentally bow out. The Asp’s handsome third-position in the table underlines the success of his resolute approach.
Meanwhile, Price appeared to gain confidence in Dublin last week as he earned valuable points against MVG in a vintage Iceman performance. The Welshman’s high scoring blasted him through to the semi-finals, but poor finishing once again proved his death knell against against Bully Boy.
You could make an argument for either player winning this match given their upturn in form but based on the law of averages, it feels apt to give the nod to Price here.
Prediction: Aspinall 5-6 Price
Rob Cross vs Peter Wright
The unluckiest player in darts, Rob Cross, lived up to his undesirable reputation last week as he fell to a narrow defeat against Aspinall. Despite continually failing to receive the rub of the green, Cross remains in the mix for qualifying and will be licking his lips at the opportunity of facing a woefully out-of-sorts Peter Wright. The Premier League’s bottom dweller has showed surprisingly confident performances over the past couple nights – despite a Luke Humphries delivered drubbing in Nottingham.
While it would be harsh to see Snakebite stuck on two points for the remainder of the campaign, the strength of the other seven players in the league means it is difficult to see any change ahead of this Thursday’s clash with Voltage.
Prediction: Cross 6-3 Wright
Night Nine Predicted Semi-Final & Final Winner
Semi-Finals
Humphries 6-4 Smith
Price 6-5 Cross
Final
Humphries 6-4 Price
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