Latest news with #PDCPremierLeague
Irish Daily Mirror
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Golden chance for Ireland's darts stars to make their mark
There are times when watching the almost superhuman stars of the PDC Premier League that I wonder where they can take the game of darts to next. Last night's latest offering in Aberdeen was a case in point. Not long after Gerwyn Price had hit the latest nine darter - the fifth in this year's Premier League already - the two Lukes, Humphries and Littler, began tearing strips off one another. The elder Luke - Mr Humphries - hit an eye-watering 110.01 average over nine legs and still got slaughtered by his teenage adversary, who himself averaged 115.96 for a 6-3 win. It's pretty much as close to perfection as you can get. There was a moment in the game when commentator Wayne Mardle - a pretty decent professional player in his own day - was literally lost for words when Humphries hit two 180s in a row and still didn't even get a shot at a double as Littler took out 324 in six darts. Despite those heroics, Littler got brought back down to earth in his semi-final when he was beaten 6-5 by Chris Dobey, despite averaging over 100 again. Dobey, for his part, was then beaten in the final by Nathan Aspinall, a player I have immense admiration for and believe has at least one world championship in him if he can keep his Dartitis under control. For the average Irish darts player, they must be looking at this and wondering just what they have to do to compete in the game. Yet I often think the sensational standards from Littler & Co skews just what a high level many are now playing the game at here in Ireland. And players of all levels will get the chance to show just what they are all about at the Great National Hotel in Ballykisteen, Co Tipperary, for the Irish National Darts Organisation's new three tier Players Championships. This unique year round competition will be split into three divisions, with the third tier for players who average 54 and under, to give players a chance to compete at their own level. The top two players in each division at the end of the season will all gain a spot at the WDF World Masters, an opportunity normally unthinkable for a player averaging in and around 54. Meanwhile, the INDO Gold Cup will be up for grabs at Ballykisteen this weekend, too, as the first of this season's INDO ranking events gets underway. The ranking events are used to pick the Ireland teams that will compete at international tournaments, with the two players who excelled at the INDO Gold Cup last year, Waterford's Paddy Quinn and Monaghan's Shane McGuirk, earning their spots on the Ireland team for the WDF Six Nations competition in Wales next month. It shows how a good start can make all the difference and why dozens of players will be desperate to make their mark at the INDO Gold Cup this weekend.
Irish Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Premier League Darts week 12 schedule, start time, location, TV info and more
Week 12 of the PDC Premier League is upon us and the race for the play-offs is well and truly heating up. Liverpool is the next stop on tour, and tonight's event will be held live at the M&S Bank Arena. Last week, Chris Dobey picked up his first nightly win of the season, and tonight, he will take on Gerwyn Price who would love to pick up a couple of wins and secure his place in the play-offs. Luke Humphries takes on Nathan Aspinall in another clash of players that need a few more wins to guarantee a spot in the play-offs, while Michael Van Gerwen v Luke Littler possibly the biggest quarter-final match on the card. Concluding the quarters is an encounter between Rob Cross and hometown hero Stephen Bunting who will no doubt be backed to the hilt by his scouse brethren. Quarter-Finals Luke Humphries vs Nathan AspinallMichael van Gerwen vs Luke LittlerRob Cross vs Stephen BuntingGerwyn Price vs Chris Dobey Semi-Finals Humphries/Aspinall vs Van Gerwen/LittlerCross/Bunting vs Price/Dobey Humphries/Aspinall/Van Gerwen/Littler vs Cross/Bunting/Price/Dobey Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports + are the places to watch the event, with streaming available on Now TV. TV coverage begins at 7pm.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Littler hits nine-darter on way to solidifying Premier League top spot in Cardiff
LUKE Littler hit a nine-dart finish on his way to solidifying his position at the top of the PDC Premier League table. The Warringtonian world champion achieved darting position in the fourth leg of the Night Seven final against Michael Van Gerwen as he reached the weekly decider for the fourth week in a row. After a brace of 180s, Littler hit a treble 20, treble 17, double 15 combination to check out 141 and send the Welsh capital crowd into raptures. It is his second Premier League nine-darter after hitting one in last year's final against Luke Humphries, his second of the calendar year overall having won a leg in nine darts against Adam Hunt in the Players Championship earlier this month and his sixth in professional tournaments to date. LUKE LITTLER HITS THE NINE DARTER! 🚨 What a moment! Luke Littler joins the nine-dart club in the Premier League this year, as he pins the nine-darter in the fourth leg of this final and now leads 3-1! 📺 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 20, 2025 That put the 18-year-old into a 3-1 lead in a final of the highest quality as Van Gerwen refused to go away, but Littler closed out a 6-4 win to pick up his third nightly win of the year. As closest rivals Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price both left Cardiff without any points, the Warringtonian world champion was able to extend his lead at the summit to six points. His average kept climbing throughout the night as he moved serenely through the gears, topping out at a staggering 112.50 average in the decider against Van Gerwen. But unlike on Night One when he averaged an even higher 113.91 against the Dutchman only to lose the game, Littler closed out victory in a game in which both men broke throw with regularity. Van Gerwen, playing in his first nightly final of the year, deserves credit for not subsiding especially after Littler's nine-darter moved him two legs clear. He fought back to 3-3 and struck back at 4-4 after Littler had broken his throw again, only for the defending champion to make his decisive move. An average of 107.67 saw him comfortably see off Rob Cross 6-2 in the semis - a game that was finished off with a 120 checkout having earlier checked out 109 to quell a Cross fightback. He ensured he would leave with points on the board by beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in his quarter-final, averaging a shade over 102. More to follow Quarter-finals Chris Dobey 6-2 Stephen Bunting Luke Humphries 4-6 Michael Van Gerwen Luke Littler 6-3 Nathan Aspinall Gerwyn Price 5-6 Rob Cross Semi-finals Chris Dobey 1-6 Michael Van Gerwen Luke Littler 6-2 Rob Cross Final Michael Van Gerwen 4-6 Luke Littler (Littler hits nine-darter)
