Luke Littler quieted the vocal Liverpool supporters and narrowed the margin at the summit of the Premier League standings by delivering a commanding 6‑1 win against Jonny Clayton on Night 12. The victory has tightened the race: Clayton still tops the table with 32 points and four regular weeks remaining, but Littler has closed the gap to just three points, now sitting on 29. Gerwyn Price occupies third place with 19 points, while Michael van Gerwen is fourth on 18.
Gian van Veen follows on 14 points and defending champion Luke Humphries is sixth with 13, underscoring how the battle for the coveted Finals Night is entering its decisive phase. This win marks Littler’s fourth nightly success of the campaign. The Manchester‑born competitor endured a chorus of jeers from the partisan Liverpool crowd, who were clearly backing his opponent throughout the evening.
Despite the hostile atmosphere, Littler remained composed, especially on the doubles, and clinched a crucial victory that keeps his ambition of entering Finals Night as the table‑leader very much alive. "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 surged to a 5‑0 lead, denying the Welshman any chance to get into the contest early on.
Clayton’s only early checkout opportunities were on the bullseye, and although he managed to stop the rout and avoid a whitewash, his resistance only delayed Littler’s triumph by a single leg. Littler’s earlier semi‑final against Michael van Gerwen was a classic encounter. Van Gerwen produced a vintage performance, hitting nine 180s, converting 71 % of his doubles and posting a 107.54 average.
Yet Littler showed resilience, adjusting his throw and turning a 3‑1 deficit into a winning finish. At one point it appeared the match belonged to Van Gerwen when he broke Littler’s throw with an 11‑dart finish to go 5‑4 ahead, setting himself up for a match‑winning dart. Littler, however, broke back immediately, celebrated the break, and rode the momentum to secure the deciding leg. The world No 1 then produced a dramatic 180 at the most critical moment of the final leg, setting himself up on 46, which he cleared with a tops finish before handing the spotlight back to the crowd.
In the quarter‑finals, Luke Humphries suffered a heavy 6‑2 defeat at the hands of Littler, effectively ending his hopes of adding more points to his Premier League finals night tally. Although Humphries was scoring heavily, his double conversion rate slipped to a modest 18 %, allowing Littler to race to a 4‑0 lead by rattling off four successive legs. Humphries managed to hold his throw twice, but it was insufficient, marking his seventh loss to the world No 1 in their last eight meetings. Clayton secured his place in a sixth nightly final by edging out Gian van Veen 6‑5 in a gripping encounter.
Van Veen started strongly, taking a 2‑0 lead, but Clayton demonstrated his battle‑hardened nature, weathering a series of break‑of‑throw swings and eventually holding to level the match at 3‑3 with a massive 121 checkout. After another hold, Clayton – known as "The Ferret" – delivered a sensational 156 checkout to move within one leg of victory. Van Veen fought back, breaking again to tie the scores at 5‑5.
When Van Veen missed a match dart at the bull, Clayton responded with a maximum and then finished on double 16 under pressure, clinching the win in front of the Liverpool audience. Earlier in the night, Clayton also survived a tense 6‑5 quarter‑final against hometown favourite Stephen Bunting.
The match was a pure throw‑alternating contest, and as he has done throughout the Premier League, Clayton grew into the game, kept his composure, and sealed the decider on double 8, much to the disappointment of the partisan crowd. This consistency has seen Clayton record his ninth quarter‑final victory across the twelve‑week season. Elsewhere on the night, Gian van Veen opened his campaign with a close 6‑4 win over Gerwyn Price, debuting new darts in the process.
Michael van Gerwen also enjoyed a solid start, defeating Josh Rock 6‑3. The Premier League Darts season continues to build intrigue as the remaining weeks approach. Defending champion Luke Humphries will be looking to retain his title, and fans can tune in every Thursday until May on Sky Sports or stream the action via NOW.
The battle for the top spot remains wide open, with Littler, Clayton, Price, and van Gerwen all still in contention for the ultimate prize.