The BetMGM Premier League Darts returns for Night Seven this Thursday as Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena hosts a number of tantalising clashes. Prepare yourself for the action with Ryan Brayne‘s match-by-match guide and stay until the end to find out his predicted winner of Night Seven.
Last week, Luke Humphries responded to his UK Open final disappointment with a total domination of Night Six at The Brighton Centre. Cool Hand will meet fellow finalist, Michael Smith, in the first round of Thursday’s matches – yet the pick of the quarter-finals sees a wounded Michael van Gerwen protect his throne against young upstart Luke Littler.
Peter Wright vs Gerwyn Price
Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright experienced mixed fortunes this week, compounding an agonising loss to Michael Smith in Brighton last Thursday against a shock victory over MVG in Belgium – albeit with question marks surrounding the latter’s fitness. Meanwhile, Gerwyn Price was less convincing against the world champ, but he enjoyed success at the weekend by reaching the semi finals before falling to Rob Cross.
By that logic, I should go with The Iceman, but this is my curveball of the night. Wright is picking up a bit of form and this could be a great chance for the Scotsman to put his first points on the board.
Prediction: Wright 6-4 Price
Luke Humphries vs Michael Smith
Luke Humphries and Michael Smith are set to meet in a repeat of last week’s Prem final, a match in which the result never seemed in doubt. Cool Hand oozed the confidence befitting of his stature as world champion in Thursday’s success, however, the same swagger failed to carry over this weekend. The same could be said of the former world champ and number 1 player in the world, Michael Smith, although the points he picked up may prove vital over the next few weeks.
Don’t expect a week to be long enough to cause a shake up in the order of balance. Humphries is going to pick up another win.
Prediction: Humphries 6-3 Smith
Michael van Gerwen vs Luke Littler
Mighty Mike claims he is not injured, but his recent performances suggest otherwise. MVG has blown hot and cold over recent years, but his recent downturn in form is particularly stark. The Dutchman was handily dealt with by Rob Cross and Peter Wright respectively, and things would be more worrying if not for his comprehensive points gap at the top.
Unfortunately for van Gerwen, this Thursday is probably the worst time for him to be facing dart’s hottest prospect in the Nuke. While Littler performed below his immense hype in Brighton, he still picked up points in the league. Building on that momentum, the 17-year-old stormed the tourmanent in Belgium, hitting a nine-darter en route to claiming his Belgian Open title. Look for Littler to continue his red-hot form and maintain Premier League consistency.
Prediction: MVG 3-6 Littler
Rob Cross vs Nathan Aspinall
Rob Cross is perhaps the unluckiest player in darts right now. Voltage is playing absolutely phenomenally but his average of around 105-110 was not enough to sink either Humphries or Littler last week. If there is anyone who deserves a major win this year, it’s the 2018 world champion.
Cross has a good chance this week of clinching Night Seven with a favourable quarter final match against an out of sorts Nathan Aspinall. The Asp is struggling for form, having failed to make it past the first matches against Littler and Veenstra respectively.
On the basis of recent showings, Rob Cross deserves to win more and his purple patch is too difficult to overlook.
Prediction: Cross 6-2 Aspinall
Night Seven Predicted Semi-Final & Final Winner
Semi-Finals
Wright 3-6 Humphries
Littler 5-6 Cross
Final
Humphries 6-4 Cross
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