Premier League Darts 2024: Night one predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and Sky Sports TV time

Darts betting tips: Premier League night 1

1pt Cross to win and hit most 180s at 13/8 (Sky Bet)

1pt MVG to win and Smith to hit most 180s at 3/1 (Sky Bet)

1pt Littler and Humphries to hit a 100+ checkout each at 4/1 (Sky Bet)

1pt Price to face Littler in the final at 7/1 (Sky Bet)

1pt Littler v Humphries to have most 180s in the QFs at 11/10 (Sky Bet)

2pts Luke Littler to hit a nine-darter in the Premier League season at 6/1 (Sky Bet, William Hill)

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Thursday February 1: Night One

• TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
• Format: Quarter-Finals, best of 11 legs
• Venue: Sheffield Arena

Peter Wright (9/4) v Rob Cross (1/3)

• Head to Head: 13-16, 2 draws (TV: 6-8, 2 draws)
• 2024 Average: 89.10 - 97.49
• 2024 180s per leg: 0.03 - 0.13
• 2024 checkout percentage: 32.14% - 42.86%

Peter Wright has upset a lot of fans - and players - this week by claiming he 'doesn't care about lower ranked players' in wake of the controversial changes to the European Tour, which now gives players in the world's top 16 automatic qualification for every event.

Snakebite flippantly said they've just got to work harder - but he better start doing that too if he wants to avoid sliding into exactly the same position as those he doesn't care about.

Wright is extremely fortunate to be included in the Premier League for a 11th successive year considering how poorly he performed throughout 2023 and nobody will be surprised if he props up the table just like he did 12 months ago.

There wasn't anything for him to shout about in the opening two World Series events of the year, averaging under 90 and suffering early exits in both, so I'd expect a far more confident Rob Cross to put him to the sword on his return to the Premier League.

Voltage was one of the PDC's most consistent performers last season before his superb run to the World Championship semi-finals was brutally ended by the sensational Luke Littler.

Cross hit 180s significantly more regularly than Wright in 2023 while Snakebite could hardly buy a maximum in the last two events.

Verdict: 2-6

ALSO READ: DOES THE PREMIER LEAGUE FORMAT NEED TO CHANGE?

Gerwyn Price (2/5) v Nathan Aspinall (7/4)

• Head to Head: 17-11 (TV: 7-8)
• 2024 Average: 94.44 - 95.64
• 2024 180s per leg: 0.30 - 0.18
• 2024 checkout percentage: 32.98% - 30.56%

Gerwyn Price didn't used to like the Premier League but he finally worked out how to manage the demands 12 months ago with a superb run to the final and there's no reason why he can't reach the Play-Offs this year.

He'll still be hurting about his defeat to Brendan Dolan at the Ally Pally back in December but his performances on the World Series this month have looked solid enough and there's no shame in back-to-back defeats to Luke Littler.

The Iceman will no doubt be spurred on by the emergence of Littler and I'd expect him to face him in a blockbuster final in Cardiff on Thursday night, with a huge home crowd roaring him on.

Before that he must take care of Nathan Aspinall, who was on the end of Littler's nine-darter in Bahrain and then suffered a first-round exit to Danny Noppert in the Netherlands a week later.

The Asp hasn't been very active in the past few months and a fired up Price is a deserved favourite.

Verdict: 6-2

Does the darts calendar need a little more variation when it comes to tournament formats rather than the standard 501 played over legs? Here, former major winner and leading commentator Paul Nicholson joins Sporting Life darts expert Chris Hammer and host Dom Newton to runs through some ideas that could be popular with fans and players including a Royal Rumble and a Ryder Cup!

Michael van Gerwen (4/9) v Michael Smith (13/8)

• Head to Head: 41-15 (TV: 20-10)
• 2024 Average: 98.34 - 93.37
• 2024 180s per leg: 0.28 - 0.33
• 2024 checkout percentage: 44.35% - 42.86%

Michael van Gerwen made a typically defiant response to the heartbreak of missing out on a fourth world title by winning seven of his eight matches on the World Series tour this month - and also bounced back from a final defeat to Luke Littler in Bahrain by getting revenge on the teenager a week later.

MVG knows full well the long-term threat posed to him by both Littler and Luke Humphries, and will probably need to recapture those consistent jaw-dropping performances of old if he's to take home a decent share of the silverware this season.

That said, we all expected Michael Smith to be a regular content for major honours this time last year but Bully Boy struggled to exert a stranglehold over his rivals throughout 2023 - particularly towards the end - and now seems he lacks that dominant aura he worked so hard to build up.

Smith suffered a first-round defeat to Gian van Veen in the Dutch Darts Masters, where he averaged just 88, but in Bahrain he reached the semi-finals before an agonising 7-6 defeat to MVG.

His 180 hitting in the World Series was prolific at 0.33 per leg and he can outdo MVG in that aspect of the game once again - just like he did in Bahrain.

Verdict: 6-4

Have you ever wondered how much money professional darts player can earn and whether the top stars are really enjoying a millionaire life of luxury? Paul Nicholson joins Sporting Life's Chris Hammer and Dom Newton to lift the lid on the realities of playing for your livelihood and it's not quite as lucrative as you may think.

Luke Littler (10/11) v Luke Humphries (10/11)

• Head to Head: 1-1 (TV: 1-1)
• 2024 Average: 98.53 - 94.77
• 2024 180s per leg: 0.40 - 0.33
• 2024 checkout percentage: 39.39% - 43.75%

A repeat of the World Championship final is the one we're all looking forward to most and it's no surprise to see both Premier League debutants priced at 10/11 to make a winning start.

Of course this is the third time they're meeting in the space of four weeks after Littler got a very small measure of revenge in the Dutch Darts Masters, where he edged an entertaining quarter-final 6-5 with an average of just under 98.

Littler also hit five of the eight 180s in the match while they both contributed a 100+ checkout, so I think it's a fairly safe assumption that we'll see more high quality darts from the pair in Cardiff.

If we see plenty of legs then I'd be surprised if another match produces more maximums given how prolific both these players are when it comes to 180s while I also like the look of the 4/1 that they both manage a ton+ finish.

They smashed in nine between them (Littler four, Humphries five) during the Ally Pally showpiece in 48 legs of darts and they will surely be several chances for them both to fire in some more on Thursday night.

I do think the winner of this match progresses to the final but I'm going to give the edge to Littler.

There are many season-long specials revolving around the 17-year-old sensation and one of those is that he manages at nine-darter at any point in the season.

I shouldn't really be tipping this after writing an article this week about how the nine-dart finish is often underestimated in terms of difficulty - especially compared to a 147 break - but Littler has already managed a moment of perfection on the World Series tour and his rate of 180 hitting will always make you feel there's a chance right until his very last leg of the competition.

Verdict: 6-4

Leading pundit and former major winner Paul Nicholson joins host Dom Newton and Sporting Life's darts expert Chris Hammer to discuss the 'darting pyramid', the importance of averages, how to crack Q School and other factors such as choosing sponsors, nicknames and walk-on music.

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