Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen will face off in a crunch contest in the race to make the top four on Night 13 of the Premier League Darts season in Aberdeen.
Ven Gerwen is once again in contention for Finals Night, sitting in fourth place in the table on 18 points, four ahead of his Dutch compatriot Gian van Veen.
The ‘Green Machine’ missed out on a spot at The O2 in 2025 and remains focused on returning there next month.
Van Gerwen missed out on the Play-Offs in 2025, but has enjoyed a steady 2026 campaign to date
“Every week now is really important, you need to take a couple of points,” said Van Gerwen, who has made the Play-Offs in 11 of his 13 Premier League campaigns.
“Everyone knows I’m always here to win, and I always give 100 per cent.
“It’s still a long way to go, but it doesn’t matter. You need to keep grafting and keep battling, then anything is possible.
“I messed up a couple of weeks by not winning the games I should have won, but that’s the way it is.
“The pressure is on everyone. You know you have to always deliver. I just have to win games.”
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Michael Bridge and Chris Murphy debate who is the best Dutch darts player of all time
Van Gerwen’s quarter-final opponent Humphries, meanwhile, is languishing in sixth, without a nightly win to his name after 12 weeks of action.
The defending Premier League champion has made Finals Night on both of his previous appearances in the competition, yet finds himself in uncharted territory, having never previously been outside a Play-Off spot later than Night Five.
The world No 2 will also take no solace from the fact that he is yet to win a game in Aberdeen in the Premier League, having only picked up two points in 2024 when Gerwyn Price pulled out due to a back injury.
“Maybe it’s going to be one of those years that I’m going to have to fight it out hard and scrape through in the end,” said Humphries, who has won one of his three meetings with Van Gerwen in this year’s competition.
“I’m going to keep trying, keep pushing, and give it everything that I’ve got.”
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‘He’s running out of time’ – speaking on Love The Darts, Michael Bridge and Chris Murphy discuss Humphries’ dip in form in the Premier League
Porter: Pressure more on Humphries ahead of MVG showdown – but don’t rule him out yet
PDC chief executive Matt Porter spoke to Sky Sports on Wednesday:
“Luke’s perhaps not had the Premier League campaign that he would have wanted. He’s got himself into good positions a lot of the time, but not always been able to convert that into wins.
Defending champion Humphries is yet to clinch a nightly win in 2026
“Whereas Michael’s been quite steady, actually. You know, he’s been pretty consistent, and if you keep the scoreboard ticking over with two points every week or picking up three and five occasionally, and just making sure you always get that first win under your belt, then you leave yourself in a good place.
“The pressure is a little bit more on Luke. He’s going to probably want to win a night just to really get himself back into contention for the top four.
“But you wouldn’t rule that out, obviously, with the talent that he’s got.”
Littler and Clayton continue to vie for top spot
Technically, the top two can still be caught. Neither Jonny Clayton nor Littler are yet assured of their places at Finals Night, even though it feels a mere formality after another final between between the pair in Liverpool on Night 12.
Clayton and Littler have shared the last three nightly wins to sit first and second respectively, on 32 and 29 points, while Littler matched the Welshman’s four nightly wins for the season as he prevailed in the pair’s second-straight final match-up, winning 6-1.
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Highlights of the Premier League Darts final between Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton on Night 12 in Liverpool
Clayton can confirm his place at The O2 on May 28 with victory in his quarter-final against Van Veen in Aberdeen. Even in defeat, he could still clinch his spot, so long as Van Veen does not go on to win the night.
The bigger story at the top of the table, though, is the tussle for top spot between Clayton and Littler, with only three points separating the pair.
“I’m very close to Jonny now. I’m going to go chasing,” Littler promised after his thumping final win over ‘The Ferret’ in Liverpool. “I want to finish top once again. If it’s not to be, it’s not to be. But there’s still four weeks to go.”
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Speaking after winning Night 12, Littler insists he will not settle for just a Premier League Play-Off place and plans to chase Clayton for the top spot in the table
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Littler let it all out after pinning the last two legs in his semi-final against Van Gerwen in Liverpool
Littler takes on Josh Rock in the quarter-finals in Aberdeen, with the Northern Irishman close to having his very slim chances of making it to The O2 disappear.
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? You can watch the action every single Thursday until May 28 on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
