Michael Smith kicked off Week 4 of the Darts Premier League, facing off against Nathan Aspinall in Newcastle.

Heading into the night, St Helens’ Smith was the only player with the opportunity to knock Michael van Gerwyn off top spot.

The first game set a high standard for the following games, as an 11 leg thriller finished with Nathan Aspinall beating Smith, as Bully Boy headed home with no points on the night for the second week in a row. 

Aspinall won his first points of the tournament, after being knocked out in the quarter finals in the previous three weeks. Despite good performances in the previous nights, all of Aspinall’s opponents averaged over 100. 

Despite both firing three 180s each, neither player stood out with only a 94.89 average from Smith and 87.55 from Aspinall.

The Rest of the Table

Rob Cross and Luke Humphries kept up the excitement with another match reaching the 11th leg, with Cross winning 6-5. 

Luke Littler kicked off his night knocking out Peter Snakebite Wright, with a convincing display, pushing himself up the Premier League table. 

It was a good performance from Wright, also taking Littler to an 11th leg, however Littler’s 170 checkout turned out to be the difference.

Van Gerwen sent Gerwyn Price home with a 6-4 win for the reigning champion. The Dutchman averaged 107.27, while Price only managed an average of 99.09.

Heading into the semi-finals, Aspinall dispatched of Rob Cross in a 6-4 victory to claim the first spot in the Final. Both players averaged 98 across the match.

Littler aimed to make it to a second weekly final in the Premier League in a tie against Van Gerwen, but lost out in the 11th leg.

Van Gerwen crushed the 17-year-old’s hopes of winning the night in Newcastle, as he reached the final for the third week in a row.

Littler led MVG 2-0 and 4-2 with his highest average reaching 108. However, this wasn’t enough as Van Gerwen came back to win 6-5.

Aspinall started the final well against Van Gerwen, leading 2-0, looking to seal a third leg in a row. 

Van Gerwen then took control of the match leading 5-3, with a chance to seal the night off. But Aspinall had other ideas, with a 170 checkout.

MVG came out victorious with a 6-4 win over Aspinall to secure his third win out of the four nights so far in the Premier League.

The Dutchman is dominating the Premier League this year, and is eight points clear of second placed Michael Smith.

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