Clayton Chases Finals Night Spot in Sheffield
Night 15 of the 2023 Premier League Darts heads to the Utilita Arena in Sheffield as Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall face off for the Final Play Off position, in the league table.
World Number 1 Michael Smith joined defending champion Michael van Gerwen and league leader Gerwyn Price in confirming their spots at the O2 Arena, with Bully Boy beating Clayton in last week’s Final in Manchester.
The Ferret has picked up 2 Night wins in this year’s Premier League, beating the World Number 1 6-4 to win at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin, before winning in Birmingham a week later.
The 2021 Premier League Champion comes into the Utilita Arena on the back of a good run last week in Manchester, with Jonny set to face 7th placed Dimitri van den Bergh in the final Quarter Final of the night.
The former Matchplay champion cannot qualify now for Finals Night but will still be looking to end his second Premier League campaign on a high. The Dream Maker’s last win came in Rotterdam on Night 12, with Clayton winning 2 of his last 3 Quarter Final matches in the competition.
Other Play Off hopeful Nathan Aspinall will open the night in Sheffield against already qualified Gerwyn Price, with the Iceman still hunting to finish top of the Premier League table for the first time in his career.
The World Number 4 will make his Finals Night debut at the O2 on the 25th of May after finishing in the Play Off positions for the first time, with the Markham player winning four nights this year in hometown Cardiff, Nottingham, Newcastle, and Brighton.
Defending Champion Michael van Gerwen has also secured his spot at Finals Night but will be hoping to finish top of the table for the first time since 2021, with 2 weeks of league format remaining.
The Dutchman has finished top of the Premier League table 8 times since making his debut back in 2013, with Glen Durrant and Jonny Clayton the only other players to finish 1st since then.
Mighty Mike comes into Sheffield on the back of winning the Belgian Darts Open for the first time on Sunday, returning to World Number 2 with his victory in Wieze. Van Gerwen will hope to continue his good form, as he faces a rematch of the recent World Championship Final against last weeks winner Michael Smith.
Peter Wright will be looking to finish his Premier League campaign strong as he faces Masters Champion Chris Dobey in the other Quarter Final on Night 15.
Snakebite is one of two players to not win a night yet in this year’s campaign but has picked up wins more frequently towards the back end of the league format, including reaching the Final on Night 10 in Birmingham where he lost a last leg decider against Jonny Clayton.
The action starts from 7pm live on Sky Sports, with league leader Gerwyn Price opening the night’s action against Play Off chasing Nathan Aspinall at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.
By Harry Masterson
Premier League: Night 15 Order of Play:
Quarter Finals:
Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall
Chris Dobey v Peter Wright
Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith
Jonny Clayton v Dimitri van den Bergh
Semi Finals:
Price/ Aspinall v Dobey/ Wright
Van Gerwen/ Smith v Clayton/ Van den Bergh
Final:
Winner of SF1 v Winner of SF2
2023 Premier League Table:
- Gerwyn Price: 33pts
- Michael van Gerwen: 31pts
- Michael Smith: 28pts
- Jonny Clayton: 22pts
- Nathan Aspinall: 22pts
- Chris Dobey: 12pts
- Dimitri van den Bergh: 11pts
- Peter Wright: 9pts