Night 10 was a week of upsets and a third Nightly win for Jonny Clayton should be enough for the current Premier League leader to feel pretty confident he will be one of the final four standing.
Luke Littler and Gerwyn Price both failed to add to the points already achieved, but at 21 and 19 points respectively, they probably need to avoid Quarter Final defeats in half of the next six weeks and that should be enough to progress to the Semi Final. They are due to face off on Night 10 in Rotterdam, but there will be no sense of panic as far as the player losing a second consecutive Quarter Final is concerned.
It was a strong week in Brighton for Michael van Gerwen, although he will be disappointed he was not able to close out the Nightly win having moved into a dominant position in the Final against Clayton. Three more points keeps him in 4th place though and van Gerwen is now 4 points clear of Gian van Veen in 5th place which means the pressure is certainly building on those hoping to chase a Play Off spot.
One of those now beginning to look like he is in a desperate position is the defending Champion.
Luke Humphries has not played poorly, but he has lost far too many matches he should have won and 11 points means he has a lot of work to do over the next few weeks- it has been a really poor campaign in terms of results with only one Final reached and Humphries having been beaten in his opening match in half of the Nights played, including on each of the last three weeks.
While not quite in 'must win' mode, Luke Humphries has to dig in being on the tougher half of the draw on Night 11 nad facing Luke Littler in the Quarter Final on Night 12.
If Luke Humphries still has some hope of pushing into the top four, the same can be said for Stephen Bunting who also has 11 points on the board, but he HAS to win his Quarter Final on the weaker side of the draw in Rotterdam, even if Bunting is set to face an improving Josh Rock.
Another European Tour event will be taking place in Germany this weekend, but some of those in the Premier League were involved in Players Championship tournaments earlier this week.
Challenges of getting to these European Tour events have been frustrating for some of the British and Irish players making their way onto the continent, but that should be less problematic from Rotterdam.
The two Lukes are not attending, but a good field is getting together at the European Darts Grand Prix ahead of this weekend's action.
Before that, the latest Premier League Night will have to be played and completed.
Luke Littler to win & most 180s v Gerwyn Price: After the criticism that was hurled his way following a controversial conclusion to his defeat against Gian van Veen, Luke Littler did not look at all interested in his Quarter Final defeat to Stephen Bunting last week.
He is a young man and mistakes will be made, but the PR team that should be supporting Littler has let him down and he is likely to receive an 'interesting' response in Rotterdam on Night 11.
There are times when the crowd can dictate the Luke Littler mood, but he should be focused on this Quarter Final as he looks to maintain the current edge over Gerwyn Price.
The Welshman has been playing like the second best player in the world through 2026, but he has been a little under the weather earlier this week and that could be an issue in this match. Even at full health, Gerwyn Price has found a way to come up a little short when facing Luke Littler and all four Premier League defeats have been in competitive matches.
It is the Night 7 Final defeat that will particularly sting as Gerwyn Price failed to convert a 5-0 lead in a race to six Legs, but he will be happy with his overall form in 2026.
However, if Price is not yet fully recovered, he could come up a touch short again and Luke Littler's power scoring has seen him complete this Match Double in all four Premier League wins over The Ice Man.
Luke Humphries to win & most 180s v Gian van Veen: Dropping down to 7th place in the Premier League standings has put Luke Humphries under immense pressure to find a string of positive results over the next month.
Three Quarter Final losses in a row will have dented some of the confidence, while Luke Humphries had a couple of mixed days in Players Championship action earlier this week.
This looks a seriously tough test for the World Number 2, at least from a mental point of view, with Night 11 of the Premier League being played in Rotterdam.
Both Dutch players taking part in the Premier League will receive huge support and it is Gian van Veen going out first for this Quarter Final.
Four matches between the players in 2026 have been split with two wins apiece, while they are 1-1 in the Premier League.
However, there is a lot on the line in this Quarter Final with the two points so important to the chances of one of these players to start getting closer to the top four positions.
Gian van Veen did get to the Final of a Premier League Night a couple of weeks ago, but his overall recent form has not been the best and that has to give Luke Humphries a huge amount of encouragement. The World Number 2 remains the bigger maximum hitter and he will need to find some early rhythm in this one to make sure he earns enough opportunities at the doubles to find a way into the Semi Final.
The home fans may not be best pleased by the result in this Quarter Final, but they may have more to celebrate soon afterwards.
Michael van Gerwen to win & both players over 1.5 180s v Jonny Clayton: He may still be wondering how he was beaten in the Night 10 Final, but the three points earned has put Michael van Gerwen in a strong position in the standings.
More work has yet to be done if the Dutchman is going to return to the Play Offs, but he can snap this losing run against Jonny Clayton.
Credit has to be given to the new Premier League leader for a third Nightly win and the battling display from Jonny Clayton to recover from 2-5 behind to win the Final can only give him further confidence. There has been little wrong with the level of performance produced so far in 2026 and Clayton continues to hit plenty of maximums and show strong doubling when it really matters.
Ending a run of early losses will have been a boost for Clayton, but Michael van Gerwen can use the home crowd to continue picking off the points.
Jonny Clayton put a few wins together across a couple of Players Championship tournaments earlier in the week, but Michael van Gerwen will have been preparing for Rotterdam and can edge past the League leader in what should be another quality Quarter Final.
Josh Rock most 180s v Stephen Bunting: Winning Premier League matches three weeks in a row means Josh Rock has closed on 7th placed Luke Humphries, but he has not been able to string the wins together in each of those Nights.
He has long known that he likely needs to win at least three Premier League Nights if he is going to have any hope of making the final four, but the positive for Josh Rock is that fans are seeing the kind of level he can produce.
The averages are improving, but most notable is the maximum hitting which had deserted Rock earlier this season.
He goes into this Quarter Final as the favourite to progress, but Stephen Bunting will haveb something to say about that having put together a better overall Premier League record compared with last year. There is still a real hope for Bunting fans that their man can reach the Semi Final at the end of May, but he is another who just needs to find some consistency and especially having landed in the 'weaker' half of the draw on Night 11.
Stephen Bunting may win, but Josh Rock's recent maximum hitting has been very improving all of the time- despite playing fewer matches than this opponent, Josh Rock has been peppering the treble 20 bed and now has just one fewer maximum than Stephen Bunting.
All of the pressure is on Bunting and that may allow Josh Rock to continue to show the fans what he is all about and why he was selected for the Premier League in the first place.
MY PICKS: Luke Littler to Win & Most 180s @ 2.60 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Luke Humphries to Win & Most 180s @ 2.75 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Michael van Gerwen to Win & Both Players Over 1.5 180s @ 2.87 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Josh Rock Most Maximums @ 2.10 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Darts 2026: 47-68, - 12.83 Units (112 Units Staked, - 11.46% Yield)
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