Suffolk’s Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright can reclaim the top spot in the Premier League Darts standings tonight with a win over current reigning World Champion, Michael van Gerwen.
Wright is the only remaining unbeaten competitor in the competition but lost top spot last week after holding Raymond van Barneveld to a draw, while Dutchman van Gerwen triumphed to overtake the colourful Suffolk-based Scot.
Wright, who lost to van Gerwen in the final of the World Championships held at Ally Pally right at the start of the year, will certainly be keen to gain revenge on an opponent who looks a good bet to challenge Wright for the prestigious title as the tournament starts to reach its climax.
Tonight is the penultimate round of the group stage, and after proceedings next week, the bottom two players will be eliminated as the competition reaches the nitty-gritty stage.
The remaining eight players will then play each other once again before the competitors situated in the top four at the end of this proceed to the play-offs at The 02 in London on May 22.
In his debut campaign on the biggest stage, ‘Snakebite’ has somewhat surprised the darting world as his four wins and three draws show thus far, and although there remains a long way to go, on this form, he looks likely for a spot in the play-offs at least.
Tonight sees the players travel to Dublin, Ireland, and although most eyes will be on what promises to be a fascinating match-up between van Gerwen and Wright, there are also four other all-important ties.
It is a particularly big week for Wes Newton, who has a double-header against Simon Whitlock and Gary Anderson, to try and erase his relegation fears while old foes Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld meet in a heavyweight contest in the last match of the night.
Adrian Lewis meets Dave Chisnall, with draw-specialist Robert Thornton misses out having played twice in a meeting earlier in the competition.
Current League Table
Player Points
Michael van Gerwen 11
Peter Wright 11
Raymond van Barneveld 9
Adrian Lewis 8
Robert Thornton 6
Phil Taylor 6
Gary Anderson 6
Dave Chisnall 5
Wes Newton 5
Simon Whitlock 3
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