This Thursday evening, the world’s best darts players descend on the AO Arena in Manchester for Night 14 of the Cazoo Premier League.
It looks set to be another cracking night at the darts in the North West, with Gerwyn Price currently leading the Premier League table. He’s closely followed by Michael van Gerwen, with Michael Smith and Nathan Apsinall looking the most likely to reach the playoffs at the end of the month.
With only three more game weeks remaining to accumulate points, this is very much the business end of the Premier League campaign. But who will reign supreme in the city of Manchester? We’ll preview the evening in the hopes of finding the answer.
The Price is right
Gerwyn Price has come into form at just the right time, making the final of the last three consecutive Premier League nights. He has only managed to win one of those three, but he’s getting points on the board and it’s seen him overtake Michael van Gerwen into top spot in the standings heading into Thursday.
The Welshman has won the most nights so far out of the eight contenders and has also won the most matches, so he’s fully deserving of his place on the number one spot. If he is to be crowned Premier League champion at the O2 Arena in London in a few weeks’ time, he’ll need to be at his best.
Dutch courage
Michael van Gerwen comes into Night 14 in pretty terrible form. He’s been knocked out at the first stage in the last two consecutive Premier League nights and only reached the semi-finals the week before that. After a dominating start to the campaign, his performances have dwindled and he will be pressuring himself to get back to his best.
He has the perfect opportunity to send a message and stamp his authority on this game night, as he takes on Gerwyn Price in the first round. If we can get back past his rival, it could be just the confidence boost ‘Mighty Mike’ needs to kick on and blow away the competition.
Don’t rule out World Champ
While the Gerwen v van Gerwen sub-plot is fascinating, it would be foolish to discount current World Champion and number one ranked Michael Smith. The man from St. Helens has reached two of the last three finals and won the night last week in Leeds. He starts the night up against Nathan Aspinall, who he has beaten in their last three meetings.
With either Gerwyn Price or Michael van Gerwen guaranteed to be leaving in the first round, this represents the ideal opportunity for ‘Bully Boy’ to take full advantage and win the night. In doing so, he would solidify his already likely place in the playoffs at the end of the month in the capital, so there’s plenty of motivation for him here.
Whatever happens, it’s going to be a fantastic and entertaining night of world class darts in Manchester on Thursday night.