He was amazing in Belfast, now could Luke “The Nuke” Littler be amazing in Manchester?
Warrington’s junior darts excitement returns to home soil on Thursday when the PDC Premier League promotional trip heads to the AO Arena.
And he aims to continue his flow of confidence after securing a first night win in Northern Ireland last week.
In the quarter-finals he will face Michael Van Gerwen, whom he beat 6-3 en route to victory in Belfast last week, and in the semi-finals he will face either Nathan Aspinall or Rob Cross.
Littler-Van Gerwen is the second of four quarter-finals, so will start at approx. 19.45.
PDC Premier League Darts, opposing players
Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Luke Littler.
PDC Premier League Darts Night 10, AO Arena, Manchester, Thursday 4 April Sky Sports live broadcast schedule:
Quarter-final 1: Nathan Aspinall v Rob Cross, 19.15
2nd Quarter Final: Luke Littler – Michael Van Gerwen, 19.45
3rd Quarter Final: Michael Smith – Luke Humphries, 20.15
Quarter-final 4: Gerwyn v Peter Wright, 20.45
1st Semi-Final: QF 1 Winner – QF 2 Winner, 21.15
2nd Semi-Final: QF 3 Winner – QF 4 Winner, 21.45
Final: SF1 winner vs SF 2 winner, 22.30
Here’s what Luke Littler had to say about Night 10 in Manchester:
“Winning in Belfast gave me a lot of confidence and it definitely showed that work pays off.”
“Obviously I’m not too far from Manchester and I’m a Manchester United fan, so to win in front of these crowds on Thursday would mean the world.
“I know it’s going to be tough. Michael brings out the best in me and I definitely bring out the best in him.
“We know he’s not in the best form, but he can always turn the other gears on, so I’m just focused on winning my first game and getting some more points on the board.”
Littler faces Michael Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals of Night 10 in Manchester (Image: PA Wire)
A reminder of what happened last week:
PDC Premier League Darts Night 9, SSE Arena, Belfast, Thursday 28 March results:
Quarterfinals
Luke Littler 6-5 Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Michael Smith
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright 6-3 Rob Cross
Semi-Finals
Luke Littler 6-3 Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall 6-2 Peter Wright
Final
Luke Littler 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
PDC Premier League Order of Merit:
PDC Premier League nights 2024 format:
Each night will feature quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to sixth).
Players will face each other twice in quarter-final matches throughout the season, with fixtures balanced by players being placed in opposite halves of the draw over an equal number of weeks.
The fixtures for Night 8 and Night 16 will be determined according to the league table after Night 7 and Night 15 respectively.
The top four players from the final league table will participate in the Play-Offs, where the semi-finals will be played over the best of 19 legs and the final over the best of 21 legs.
Pitching order for all league night games will be determined by a bullpen in the practice room beforehand. In the Play-Offs, the semi-finals will see the player highest placed in the final league table take the first shot and the final will see the bullfight take place.
Nightly League Points:
Night Winner – 5 points + £10,000 bonus
Second place – 3 points
Semi-Finalists – 2 points
Prize Fund:
Winner – £275,000
Runner-up – £125,000
Semi-Finalists – £85,000 each
Fifth in League Standings – £75,000
Sixth in League Standings – £70,000
Seventh in League Standings – £65,000
Eighth in League Standings – £60,000
Overnight Winner Bonus – £10,000 x16
Total – £1,000,000
Schedule of remaining quarter-final fixtures in PDC Premier League Darts 2024:
Night 10, Manchester, 4 April: Aspinall v Cross, Littler v Van Gerwen, Smith v Humphries, Price v Wright.
11th Night, Birmingham, 11 April: Wright v Humphries, Cross v Littler, Price v Smith, Van Gerwen v Aspinall.
12th Night, Rotterdam Ahoy, 18 April: Smith v Littler, Cross v Price, Wright v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Humphries.
13th Night, Liverpool, 25 April: Littler v Price, Humphries v Aspinall, Wright v Van Gerwen, Smith v Cross.
14th Night, Aberdeen, 2 May: Wright v Smith, Littler v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Cross, Price v Humphries.
Night 15, Leeds, 9 May: Van Gerwen v Price, Littler v Wright, Humphries v Cross, Aspinall v Smith.
Night 16, Sheffield, 16 May: Fixtures confirmed following Night 15.
Play-Offs: O2, London, 23 May: Top four players after 16 nights.
The story of 2024 so far for Luke Littler:
PDC World Darts Championship runner-up
Bahrain Darts Masters Champion, including a nine-darter in the first leg of the quarter-final
Dutch Darts Masters runner-up
Premier League Night 1 (Cardiff) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 2 (Berlin) finalist
Players Championship 1 (Wigan) winner, including nine-darter in the last 32
Premier League Night 4 (Newcastle) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 5 (Exeter) semi-finalist
Quarter-finalists at the British Open
Premier League Night 6 (Brighton) semi-finalist
Belgian Darts Open Champion, including a nine-darter in the final
Premier League Night 7 (Nottingham) semi-finalist
Premier League Night 9 (Belfast) winner