Price wins while Littler booed in Liverpool loss

Gerwyn Price finished as runner-up in the 2023 Premier League

Gerwyn Price won night 12 of the Premier League Darts in Liverpool while Luke Littler was booed in an agonising defeat by Michael van Gerwen.

Welshman Price moved up to third in the table with a 6-4 success over England's Luke Humphries in the final.

It was a third nightly win of the campaign for the 40-year-old after victories in Dublin and Nottingham.

Price, the 2021 world champion, averaged 104.43 on a night where he topped the ton mark in all three matches to become the fifth different winner in the past five weeks.

"When I'm on my game I am the best in the world. I'm just a little inconsistent," he said. "If I keep pushing forward, there's no reason why I can't win the Premier League this season."

Littler was again seeking a record fifth nightly win of the season, but blew a 4-0 lead in a 6-5 loss to Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals.

Manchester United fan Littler came out to boos from the Liverpool crowd, though he appeared to have shrugged those off as he did last year when claiming victory here.

The 18-year-old looked emotional as he left the stage after missing two darts for a 5-1 lead, and two match darts at 5-3.

World and defending Premier League champion Littler still remains top of the eight-player table and on track to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs on 29 May.

There was also an early exit in Liverpool for local hero Stephen Bunting on his homecoming, beaten 6-1 by Rob Cross in the last eight.

Dutchman Van Gerwen could not maintain his momentum in the semi-finals, going down 6-4 to Humphries, while Price defeated Cross 6-2.

It was a happier night for Price, a week after he said his darts were "blowing everywhere" in breezy conditions in Rotterdam.

"Sometimes I do throw my toys out of the pram when things don't go my way, but I had a reason last week," he added. "We don't deserve to play in those conditions."

Littler booed and surrenders 4-0 lead

Luke Littler won the Premier League in his debut campaign in 2024

Littler had posted on social media beforehand to say "bring on the boos Liverpool" because of his support for United - and he got the reception he expected.

However, he brushed that off and raced into a 4-0 lead against seven-time Premier League winner Van Gerwen and averaged more than 20 points higher per visit than the Dutchman.

The teenager missed a dart at bullseye for 5-0 and that allowed Van Gerwen to reduce the deficit to 4-3.

Littler took out a stunning 160 to move a leg away and nodded to the crowd before gesturing to them to calm down.

He missed match darts at tops and double 10 in leg nine and Van Gerwen was able to take that and the subsequent two legs to win 6-5.

Humphries, who Littler beat in last year's grand final, saw off Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in the opening quarter-final in a stunning performance.

He averaged 113.5, took out 66.7% of his checkouts and controlled Aspinall, who himself averaged 104.03 and was 75% on the double.

It was another tricky night for bottom-of-the-table Bunting as he was brushed aside in a dominant win for 2018 world champion Cross.

The fourth quarter-final saw Price beat last week's winner Chris Dobey 6-2 with an average of 106.74.

Premier League Darts night 12 results

Final

Luke Humphries 4-6 Gerwyn Price

Semi-finals

Luke Humphries 6-4 Michael van Gerwen

Rob Cross 2-6 Gerwyn Price

Quarter-finals

Luke Humphries 6-3 Nathan Aspinall

Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Luke Littler

Rob Cross 6-1 Stephen Bunting

Gerwyn Price 6-2 Chris Dobey

Premier League Darts table

Premier League Darts format and points system

Premier League Darts is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final each night.

Each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks one to seven and 9-15, with week eight and week 16 fixtures done off the table. It means we will get fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.

Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.

The top four players after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 23 May, with first facing fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the best of 21 legs, follows.

If players are level on points after the 16 weeks then places are decided by nights won and then matches won.

Premier League Darts night 13 order of play

Thursday, 1 May - Birmingham

• Luke Littler v Stephen Bunting

• Nathan Aspinall v Chris Dobey

• Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price

• Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen