Luke Littler quieted the home crowd in Liverpool and narrowed the Premier League lead with a commanding 6-1 triumph over Jonny Clayton on Night 12. While Clayton still tops the league table with 32 points and four regular weeks left, Littler has closed the margin to just three points, sitting on 29. Gerwyn Price occupies third place with 19 points, and Michael van Gerwen is fourth on 18.
Behind them, Gian van Veen holds 14 points and defending champion Luke Humphries sits sixth with 13, as the battle for the coveted Finals Night intensifies. This victory marks Littler’s fourth nightly win of the season. The Manchester native endured a chorus of jeers from a Liverpool audience that had firmly backed his opponent, yet he remained composed, particularly on the doubles, and secured a vital win that could propel him to the top of the standings heading into Finals Night.
"It was a good night. I'm very happy with myself," Littler told Sky Sports after the match. He added, "Usually the doubling is not there, but I'm very thankful it was tonight. A lot of crucial doubles at crucial times.
I'm very close to Jonny now, three points off. I'm going to go chasing – I want to finish top once again – and if it's not to be, it's not to be. But there's still four weeks to go." In the final against Clayton, Littler raced to a 5-0 lead, denying the Welshman any chance to get into the contest early.
Clayton’s only early checkout opportunities were on the bullseye, and although he managed to stop the rout and avoid a whitewash, he could only delay Littler’s victory by a single leg. Littler also overcame a formidable challenge from Michael van Gerwen in a 6-5 semi‑final. Van Gerwen displayed a classic performance, hitting nine maximums, converting 71 % of his doubles and posting a 107.54 average. Despite the Dutchman’s dominance, Littler turned the tide, recovering from 3-1 down and showcasing impeccable finishing to clinch the deciding leg.
Even after Littler’s comeback, the match seemed to swing back to Van Gerwen when he broke Littler’s throw with an 11‑dart finish to go 5-4 ahead and set up a match dart. Littler responded by breaking back immediately, celebrating the turn of events and ultimately sealing the leg. The world No.
1 then hit a 180 at a crucial moment in the final leg, setting himself up on 46, which he cleared with a top‑edge finish before the crowd’s applause. Luke Humphries suffered a severe blow to his Premier League aspirations after a 6-2 quarter‑final loss to Littler, leaving him with no further points from Liverpool.
Although Humphries scored heavily, his double conversion rate slipped to just 18 %, allowing Littler to run off four consecutive legs and build a 4-0 lead. Humphries managed two throws of his own, but it was insufficient, marking his seventh defeat to the world No. 1 in their last eight meetings.
Clayton secured his place in a sixth nightly final with a dramatic 6-5 victory over Gian van Veen. Van Veen started strongly, taking a 2-0 lead, but Clayton demonstrated his battle‑hardened nature, weathering a series of break‑of‑throw exchanges before holding to produce a massive 121 checkout that leveled the match at 3-3. After another hold, Clayton, nicknamed "The Ferret," delivered a sensational 156 checkout to move within one leg of victory.
Van Veen fought back, breaking to tie the scores at 5-5, but missed a match dart at the bull. Clayton responded with a maximum, then finished on double 16 under pressure to clinch the win in Liverpool. Earlier in the night, Clayton had also survived a tense 6-5 quarter‑final against hometown hero Stephen Bunting. The match was a pure throw‑and‑hold contest, and as usual for the Premier League, Clayton grew into the game, remained composed, and sealed the decider on double 8, much to the disappointment of the partisan Liverpudlian crowd.
This consistency has seen Clayton record his ninth quarter‑final win in the 12‑week league. Elsewhere, Gian van Veen opened his night with a tight 6-4 win over Gerwyn Price, debuting new darts in the process.
Michael van Gerwen began his evening with a convincing 6-3 victory over Josh Rock. As the season approaches its climax, the question remains: who will claim this year’s Premier League Darts title? Defending champion Luke Humphries will be looking to retain his crown, and fans can follow the action each Thursday until May on Sky Sports, with streaming options available via NOW.