World Champion Michael Smith looks to win his first night in this year’s Premier League as he takes on last week’s winner Gerwyn Price at the quarter-final stage in Glasgow (February 16).
The St Helens man got off the mark last week by defeating Welshman Jonny Clayton in Cardiff.
An underwhelming performance in the semi-final saw him lose to Nathan Aspinall 6-4 and finish the night on two points.
Price sits second in the table with five points.
The Welshman won in his home country last week, beating Aspinall 6-3 in the final.
The World Number One last met Price in the Bahrain Darts Masters final where he lifted the trophy after an 8-6 victory.
The “Bully Boy” returned to Pro Tour action at the weekend, exiting at the last 16 and the quarter-final stages.
Smith will be looking to improve on his recent performances.
He averaged 91.09 last week in the Premier League and below 90 three times at the two Player’s Championship events.
Price withdrew from both events.
The winner of this tie will face either league leader Chris Dobey or rock bottom Jonny Clayton.
Clayton topped the table last year but successive defeats to Smith and Dimitri van den Bergh leaves him on zero points.
“The Ferret” reached the semi-final of the Players Championship 1 last Saturday, losing out to eventual champion Ryan Searle despite averaging seven points higher.
Dobey will be looking to bounce back from disappointment this week.
The 2023 Masters Champion lost to Price in a last leg decider in last week’s quarter-final.
In the other half of the draw, Michael van Gerwen opens the night with a clash against last week’s runner-up Nathan Aspinall.
The reigning Premier League Champion MVG lost in the semi-final last week to Price.
The Green Machine averaged 110.75 and missed two match darts.
The Asp reached the final with a couple of 105+ averages but couldn’t replicate his earlier performances against Price.
In the remaining quarter final, Peter Wright faces Belgian Dimitri van den Bergh.
The former Premier League finalist is still looking for his first league points this year.
Snakebite has a tournament average of 100.5 despite failing to win a game.
Van den Bergh lost in the quarter-final last week to van Gerwen and has lost his last two meetings with Wright.
The two know each other well as Peter Wright allowed the Belgian to stay with him for several months during the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can watch the PDC Premier League Thursday February 16 at 7pm on Sky Sports Mix.
(Featured pic with permission from Taylor Lanning/PDC)
