Van Gerwen set for medical checks ahead of Cazoo Premier League Play-Offs

BetMGM Premier League

May 18 2023

Michael van Gerwen will have further medical checks on an arm injury ahead of the Cazoo Premier League Play-Offs.

Van den Bergh triumphs in Aberdeen, as Clayton seals Play-Off spot

BetMGM Premier League

May 18 2023

Dimitri Van den Bergh signed off from this year’s Cazoo Premier League in style with victory on Night 16, as Jonny Clayton claimed Play-Off qualification on a dramatic night in Aberdeen.

Dobey insists Premier League experience will make him stronger

BetMGM Premier League

May 18 2023

Chris Dobey is aiming to round off his Cazoo Premier League campaign in style when he takes on reigning champion Michael van Gerwen in Thursday’s Night 16 quarter-finals in Aberdeen.

Aspinall hails Anderson influence ahead of decisive night in Aberdeen

BetMGM Premier League

May 18 2023

Nathan Aspinall believes that Gary Anderson’s advice can aid his bid for Cazoo Premier League Play-Off qualification in Aberdeen on Thursday.

2023 Cazoo Premier League - Night 16 preview

BetMGM Premier League

May 17 2023

The race for qualification for the Cazoo Premier League Play-Offs concludes in Aberdeen as Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall collide in a crunch quarter-final tussle.

Clayton & Aspinall to battle for Play-Off qualification in Aberdeen

BetMGM Premier League

May 12 2023

The race for Cazoo Premier League Play-Off qualification will go down to the wire next week, as Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall battle it out for the last remaining spot at London’s O2.

Smith storms to third straight Cazoo Premier League win in Sheffield

BetMGM Premier League

May 11 2023

Michael Smith stormed to a third consecutive nightly win in the Cazoo Premier League with a 6-3 success against Gerwyn Price in Thursday's Sheffield final at the Utilita Arena.

Clayton aiming to cap off Cazoo Premier League revival in Sheffield

BetMGM Premier League

May 11 2023

Jonny Clayton is hoping to cap off a remarkable revival by sealing his Play-Off qualification on Night 15 of the Cazoo Premier League in Sheffield.

Van den Bergh hails 'incredible' Brecel ahead of Sheffield debut

BetMGM Premier League

May 10 2023

Dimitri Van den Bergh has hailed the achievements of his compatriot Luca Brecel, who created history with victory at the World Snooker Championship earlier this month.

2023 Cazoo Premier League - Night 15 preview

BetMGM Premier League

May 10 2023

Michael Smith will begin his bid for a third consecutive nightly win against reigning champion Michael van Gerwen on Night 15 of the Cazoo Premier League in Sheffield.

The 2020 Unibet Premier League will be staged from February 6 - May 21 2020 at venues across Europe.

The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, on PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.

All 16 venues are now on sale via their relevant box-office:

Night One, Thursday February 6 - Aberdeen
P&J Live
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk

Night Two, Thursday February 13 - Nottingham
Motorpoint Arena
Tickets: motorpointarenanottingham.com

Night Three, Thursday February 20 - Cardiff
Motorpoint Arena
Tickets: motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk

Night Four, Thursday February 27 - Dublin
3Arena
Tickets: ticketmaster.ie

Night Five, Thursday March 5 - Exeter
Westpoint
Tickets: ticketzone.co.uk

Night Six, Thursday March 12 - Liverpool
M&S Bank Arena
Tickets: mandsbankarena.com

Night Seven, Thursday March 19 - Newcastle
Utilita Arena
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk

Night Eight, Wednesday March 25 - Rotterdam
Rotterdam Ahoy
Tier tickets: ticketmaster.nl
Table tickets: ticketmaster.nl

Judgement Night, Thursday March 26 - Rotterdam
Rotterdam Ahoy
Tier tickets: ticketmaster.nl
Table tickets: ticketmaster.nl

Night Ten, Thursday April 2 - Belfast
SSE Arena
Tickets: ticketmaster.ie

Night 11, Thursday April 9 - Sheffield
FlyDSA Arena
Tickets: flydsaarena.co.uk

Night 12, Thursday April 16 - Manchester
The Manchester Arena
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk

Night 13, Thursday April 23 - Berlin
Mercedes-Benz Arena
Tickets: mercedes-benz-arena-berlin.de

Night 14, Thursday April 30 - Birmingham
Arena Birmingham
Tickets: theticketfactory.com

Night 15, Thursday May 7 - Glasgow
The SSE Hydro
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk

Night 16, Thursday May 14 - Leeds
First Direct Arena
Tickets: firstdirectarena.com

Play-Offs, Thursday May 21 - London
The O2
Tickets: theo2.co.uk

Luke Humphries created history as the first Challenger to win in the Unibet Premier League in Exeter on Thursday as Peter Wright reignited his season and Michael Smith defeated Michael van Gerwen.

World Youth Champion Humphries claimed a 7-5 win over Gary Anderson to celebrate his one-off appearance in this year's event with a memorable victory on Night Five at Westpoint Exeter.

The Newbury ace had drawn with Gerwyn Price when he played in Exeter last year - ironically after Anderson's withdrawal with a back problem created the concept which gave him a big-stage opportunity.

This time he held his nerve in a dramatic conclusion to a tight contest as he denied Anderson, who missed six darts in the deciding leg to claim a draw from the match.

Anderson came from two legs down to lead 3-2 early on, and the Scot traded 14-darters with Humphries as he established a 5-4 advantage over the youngster.

Humphries finished 100 with two double tops to level in leg ten, before capitalising on three misses from his opponent to break and move 6-5 up, and landed double one to edge the win in a thrilling ending to the game.

"It feels really good," said Humphries. "It's a little bit bittersweet because I didn't play as well as I wanted to, but it was exciting for the fans to watch and sometimes you have to win the scrappy games.

"The final leg was the most nervous I've ever been. I knew I had the chance to be the first Challenger to win, and luckily Gary missed a few doubles there at the end and I got the double one.

"I felt like I had a point to prove tonight and I'm just happy to walk off the winner. I believe I can get into the Premier League one day but it's going to take time."

Wright posted the highest average so far in the 2020 season of 110.00 in his brilliant 7-3 win over Nathan Aspinall.

The World Champion bounced back from last week's 7-1 loss to Gerwyn Price in Dublin in style with a relentless display to claim his second victory of the season in style.

Aspinall played his part, but was never able to pull back level after Wright opened up a 3-1 advantage before pulling clear from 4-3 to complete the win.

"This was a lot better than last week and I got the win, which was what mattered the most," said Wright. "I'm really happy with the performance but I still feel there's more to come.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game because of how well Nathan's been playing. He had a nine-darter against me the last time we played so I was very nervous tonight.

"I still missed too many doubles and need to brush up on that."

World number one Van Gerwen, meanwhile, suffered his second defeat of the season as Smith produced a memorable performance in a 7-4 victory to claim a third successive win.

Smith had defeated the Dutchman in last weekend's Belgian Darts Championship, and stormed into a 5-1 lead with finishes of 96 and 134, maintaining an average of 108.

He also won leg seven to secure a minimum of a point, with Van Gerwen taking the next three with legs of 12, 13 and 13 darts only for Smith to finally get over the winning line on double eight.

"It's a good win and I'm happy," said Smith. "It's weird to come off against Michael and be disappointed that I didn't win by more legs, but I'm glad I got the win.

"His average was better than mine but I was quite strong on my throw and luckily enough I fell over the line. It's a big thing to beat Michael and it's hard when you're throwing at those winning doubles. 

"He's still the best player in the world and it feels good, but he's not at his best at the moment. I'm in a good place, though, and long may it continue."

Smith now sits in second place in the league table on leg difference behind Glen Durrant, who claimed his third win of the season with a superb 7-3 win over Gerwyn Price.

Durrant won the opening four legs in a sensational start, before Price took two of the next three to hit back to 5-2.

Durrant, though, finished 46 to secure at least a point and ended Price's hopes of a fightback by sealing victory with a brilliant 129 checkout, inflicting a first loss of the season on the Welshman.

"This is one of my biggest wins and I'm so happy," said Durrant. "Gerwyn's been on a 13-match unbeaten run and nobody gave me a chance, and that was the fire in the belly that I needed. 

"There are eight of the best players in the world in that practice room and me, and I've got to stop admiring everybody else and realise my own potential.

"My combination finishing right now is as good as anybody's. I want to play the whole 16 weeks and I'm having the best time in the world at the moment in the Premier League."

Rob Cross and Daryl Gurney shared the points in the night's opening tie in Exeter, with the 2019 Premier League finalist hitting back from 3-0 down to move onto four league points, two ahead of the Northern Irish ace.

Gurney - bidding to move away from the foot of the table - took the first three legs without reply in a strong start, finishing 88 and 74 along the way.

Cross won the next four, with Gurney then moving 5-4 up only to see the Hastings thrower secure at least a point at 6-5, but it was the Northern Irishman who took the deciding leg on double ten to snatch a draw.

"I'm a little bit disappointed with the draw and it wasn't what I wanted, but I'll take it," admitted Cross. "You can't give people a 3-0 lead and the slow starts have been the story of my season so far.

"I got back into the game well. It's a work in progress because I've made changes to my life and maybe I'm a bit less confident than I should be, but if I can get a few results that will change.

"I'm enjoying it and I love the Premier League. I'm playing well in practice and I want to start taking it up on stage now."

Following this weekend's Ladbrokes UK Open, the Unibet Premier League season will resume on Thursday March 12 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, where St Helens' Stephen Bunting steps in as a Challenger against Rob Cross.

The ties in Liverpool will also see Durrant take on Gurney, Smith meet World Champion Wright, Van Gerwen take on Price and Anderson play Aspinall. For tickets, visit mandsbankarena.com.

2020 Unibet Premier League
Night Five
Thursday March 5
, Westpoint Exeter
Rob Cross 6-6 Daryl Gurney
Gerwyn Price 3-7 Glen Durrant
Nathan Aspinall 3-7 Peter Wright
Gary Anderson 5-7 Luke Humphries
Michael Smith 7-4 Michael van Gerwen

League Table

Following Night Five P W D L +/- LWAT Pts
Glen Durrant 5 3 1 1 +9 11 7
Michael Smith 5 3 1 1 +7 10 7
Michael van Gerwen 5 3 0 2 +6 11 6
Nathan Aspinall 5 3 0 2 +2 9 6
Gerwyn Price 5 1 3 1 +2 9 5
Gary Anderson 5 2 1 2 -1 8 5
Peter Wright 5 2 1 2 -2 7 5
Rob Cross 5 1 2 2 -2 12 4
Daryl Gurney 5 0 2 3 -10 6 2