Darts

Premier League Darts permutations: How Play-Off spots could be decided in Birmingham before final regular season night in Sheffield

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Premier League Darts permutations: How Play-Off spots could be decided in Birmingham before final regular season night in Sheffield

Get your calculators out! The Premier League Play-Off spots could be decided this Thursday in Birmingham...

Luke Humphries' run to the final in Leeds moved him up to fourth in the standings, with Michael van Gerwen one point behind and Gian van Veen two points adrift with just two nights to go.

Josh Rock is already out of the running, while Stephen Bunting is hanging on with an outside chance at six points behind Humphries.

Just two regular nights remain in the Premier League Darts before the Play-Offs in London at the O2 Arena on May 28.

After this Thursday's action in Birmingham, anyone who is more than five points behind the player in fourth in the table cannot make the Play-Offs.

It means there is one scenario where the top four could be locked in with one night to spare.

Should Humphries win the Birmingham night and claim the full five points, with Van Gerwen and Van Veen losing their opening matches, 'Cool Hand Luke' will secure a place in London, along with Gerwyn Price.

Bunting's progress in Birmingham would not matter in this scenario as he plays Humphries in their opening match. In fact, Bunting must beat Humphries to keep his Play-Off hopes alive and needs to reach the final to guarantee he's still in contention going into Sheffield.

Should Van Gerwen and Van Veen lose their opening matches though, victory for Bunting against Humphries would ensure he's not out. However, he realistically needs a big night to give himself a better chance in Sheffield.

Quarter-finals
Josh Rock v Gian van Veen
Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Jonny Clayton v Luke Littler

Based on league table after Night 15
Quarter-finals
2nd vs 7th
3rd vs 6th
1st vs 8th
4th vs 5th

For Van Gerwen and Van Veen, winning their Birmingham quarter-finals will ensure they are still in Play-Off contention, no matter what Humphries does.

Van Gerwen produced some of his best darts earlier this week in Leicester at the Players Championship 15 as he won his first ranking title in over a year, including a remarkable 7-0 win over Martin Schindler in the semi-finals with a 122.34 average.

Gerwyn Price is yet to secure a Play-Off spot but realistically needs just one more win across the last two nights to claim a spot in London. Two wins in either Birmingham or Sheffield would guarantee he's in the top four.

Should Price fail to win though, and the Welshman revealed he has been struggling recently, he could be dragged down into the elimination spots, depending on how other results go.

He said last week: "My focus is there, but health-wise I'm not in a great place at the moment.

"But I'm battling on, searching for some results. Hopefully over the next weeks they will come and put me at ease."

The top two are already assured of their places at Finals Night at The O2 on May 28, with Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton having shared the last five nightly wins to sit first and second respectively, on 39 and 34 points.

The Welshman's semi-final loss to Littler in Leeds, however, gifted the world No 1 the chance to move further clear in top spot which he duly took with his third-straight nightly win and a record-equalling sixth of the campaign.

And Littler is not done there.

"I'll take winning three nights in a row! I'm in the clear now and I just need to keep top spot," Littler told Your Site.

"I'm very happy with myself and now I can go on to break my own record."

As well as the top two having qualified, we now have certainty over one other position in the Premier League table and that is Rock now officially being out of contention for Finals Night.

Humphries' three-point haul in Leeds, which included a quarter-final win over the Northern Irishman, took him to 19 points - 11 clear of Rock, who is still rooted at the bottom on eight.

With only 10 points up for grabs over the final two nights in Birmingham and Sheffield, it means Rock's admittedly slim Play-Off hopes have been extinguished.

The season-ending play-offs take place on a bumper night at The O2 in London on Thursday, May 28.

Finals Night is not the best-of-11 legs we see in the regular rounds, with each semi-final contested over 19 legs before a final that is the best-of-21 legs instead.

As part of the PDC's biggest prize money increase in its history, the total prize pot for the 2026 Premier League is £1.25 million, up from £1m the previous year.

Each of the four semi-finalists are guaranteed £110,000, with the runner-up taking home £170,000 and the winner claiming £350,000.

Who will win this year's Premier League Darts? Watch the action every single Thursday until finals night in London on May 28 on Your Site. .

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