BetMGM Premier League Darts Finals Night: Van Gerwen Gunning for 8th Title

After 16 weeks of exhilarating darts, Play-offs Night is here and what a line-up we have in store as the tournament culminates at London’s O2.

Three players had already assured their top four spots ahead of last week’s final regular night in Sheffield but we were still treated to some fantastic darts – and drama.

Luke Littler got the night underway with a win over Peter Wright which meant he finished as the league leader. He would, though, go on to lose to overall night winner Michael Smith.

Second-placed Luke Humphries also won his quarter-final against Rob Cross and went on to make the final by beating Michael van Gerwen in the next, finishing just four points behind league winner Littler.

The night, however, belonged to Smith.

His quarter-final showdown with Nathan Aspinall was a straight shootout for a place in the top four. After a slow start from both players with so much at stake the turning point came with a bull-bull-double 18 136 finish from Bully Boy. It flipped the match in his favour and he didn’t look back from there, turning on the style to win 6-3 and secure his place in London

It was heartbreak for Aspinall, who had spent the last nine weeks in a play-off spot, but poetic for Smith as he bookended the 2024 BetMGM Premier League Darts regular campaign by winning the first and the last nights.

The competitors for Finals Night are Littler, Humphries, Van Gerwen and Smith, so let’s run through the fixtures and format of play as the competition ends in London.

BetMGM Premier League Darts Finals Night Fixtures

Though there are just three matches on Finals Night the format is longer; players face a best-of-19-legs semi-final and a best-of-21-legs final, making for lots of opportunities for twists and turns.

Luke Littler vs Michael Smith

After topping the table in the league phase, Luke Littler will get the night underway as he faces Michael Smith in the first semi-final.

Littler and Smith are well acquainted with one another, having faced off seven times, including in the semi-final last week. Smith won that one on his way to victory and has in fact won five of the meetings between the pair in the 2024 BetMGM Premier League.

It should make for an intriguing battle this one, with the two victories Littler recorded being comprehensive at 6-1 and 6-2. While 11 points separated them in the league table Finals Night represents a reset; can 2018 runner-up Smith make his experience and momentum tell against the competition debutant?

Luke Humphries vs Michael van Gerwen

It’s world number one versus seven-time reigning BetMGM Premier League champion in the second semi-final in what promises to be an absolute blockbuster.

Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen have met five times during the regular BetMGM Premier League season with the Yorkshireman winning the last four on the spin.

Indeed, including European Tour events, Humphries is on a six-game winning streak against the Dutchman with MVG’s last win coming on Night 3 of the BetMGM Premier League in Glasgow.

Yet Van Gerwen has won seven Premier League titles for a reason. A born winner, he will be an incredibly tough opponent for Cool Hand.

Though Humphries had the better of the head-to-head matches, they both won the same amount of nights with four apiece and arrive at the play-offs having finished just one place and five points apart.

It will be a fascinating contest – the form and better darts throughout the tournament lies with Humphries but the experience of Finals Night is with Van Gerwen. Expect a best-of-19 tungsten thriller.

Play-offs Night semi-finals in full: Luke Littler vs Michael Smith; Luke Humphries vs Michael van Gerwen

12/1 BetMGM Premier League Darts Finals Night Accumulator

As we did throughout the 16 nights of regular BetMGM Premier League action, we have put together an acca for Finals Night. On this occasion, we have picked two selections from each semi-final which fall into the betslip at an intriguing 12/1.

Luke Littler vs Michael Smith

Acca selection 1 – Michael Smith to win the match

The league winner takes on the player who sneaked into Finals Night at the last possible chance in an interesting battle in the first semi-final.

Despite leaving it until the death to clinch a play-off spot, Michael Smith has enjoyed a good tournament of late, suffering just one quarter-final exit in the final seven weeks of the competition. His two nightly wins came in Cardiff and Sheffield, at the very beginning and very end of the campaign, and while he finished some distance behind Littler in the table he seems to have the edge over the youngster when they meet.

Last week saw Bully Boy claim another win over Littler – making it five out of seven in the head-to-heads – and while Littler has played some scintillating darts throughout the BetMGM Premier League the experience and know-how of Smith could make the difference. The 2023 world champion to win the match is the first pick for our acca at 17/10.

Acca selection 2 – Over 11.5 180s in the match

Between them Littler and Smith hit the most 180s overall for exactly half of the 16 nights – Littler with five and Smith with three.

With a combined 210 maximums – and 47 in the games in which they have faced one another – the 180s have simply flowed freely for the pair so far and we don’t expect that to change in London.

Given Littler also leads the whole league for maximums this season, with 114, 9/10 for over 11.5 180s here is surely good value.

Luke Humphries vs Michael van Gerwen

Acca selection 3 – Luke Humphries to win the match

The second semi-final is a genuinely tough one to call.

Luke Humphries has been playing wonderful, consistent darts on his first full BetMGM Premier League season, winning four nights and making two more finals. MVG also won four nights but his eight quarter-final defeats showed some alarming dips in form and meant he ended with a leg difference of just plus-eight.

MVG is vastly experienced in this environment though. A winner of this competition seven times and a runner-up twice in addition to his plethora of other major darts honours, if there is one player that can pull a performance out of the bag it is him. Despite this, though, it’s Humphries we are backing to make the final.

The world number one already holds the PDC World Championship, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players’ Championship Finals titles – the BetMGM Premier League would make for the crowning moment of a mighty quintuple of successes.

It won’t be easy, of course, but he has played the better darts and also enjoys a much better recent head-to-head record over MVG, going undefeated against him for six matches. As such, 12/25 for a Humphries win makes up leg three of our Finals Night acca.

Acca selection 4 – Over 16.5 total legs in the match

With the semi-finals played to the best of 19 there are plenty of opportunities for this game to throw up some drama.

Though we have picked Humphries to win it is likely going to be a close game due to the ability of Van Gerwen to perform when it really matters. Adding to this that three of the Dutchman’s last four semi-finals on Finals Night have featured over 16.5 legs, this is where our final pick heads. Humphries vs Van Gerwen to contain over 16.5 legs at 8/11 completes the acca.

Finals Night Accumulator

Michael Smith to beat Luke Littler
Michael Smith vs Luke Littler over 11.5 180s
Luke Humphries to beat Michael van Gerwen
Luke Humphries vs Michael van Gerwen over 16.5 legs

Priced at 12/1 with BetMGM

Remember, with our Golden Arrows promotion you can double your odds on the BetMGM Premier League Darts every Thursday, including on our Finals Night acca, making this an even more appealing 24/1 shot. Read more about Golden Arrows here.

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change

Finals Night Odds & BetMGM Specials

Despite not topping the table, world number one Luke Humphries heads to the O2 as 6/4 favourite to win the night and become the 2024 BetMGM Premier League Darts champion.

Table-topping Luke Littler is 7/4 to take the title in his debut tournament, while Michael van Gerwen is available at 7/2 to win his eighth Premier League crown.

Michael Smith is yet to win this competition but was runner-up in 2018 and has momentum on his side – he is the outsider at an interesting 9/2.

We have a BetMGM Special available for you on Finals Night too, with each player to hit six or more 180 in the semi-finals coming in at a tasty 12/1.

Littler, Humphries, Van Gerwen and Smith hit a total of 393 maximums between them in the regular competition and were the leading four players for 180s. Are you backing the maximums to flow one final time?

As well as our acca and the overall win odds BetMGM also carries odds on outcomes such as total evening 180s, over/under three-dart average, King of the Oche and specific doubles to be hit should you fancy backing something a bit different.

BetMGM has a host of other markets available in-play throughout the evening so be sure to keep an eye on the BetMGM Premier League Darts Hub throughout Finals Night.

BetMGM Golden Arrows

Don’t forget – you can double your winnings on any BetMGM Premier League Darts market weekly with Golden Arrows. Read more about Golden Arrows here.

The 2024 BetMGM Premier League has reached its climax. Will it be Newcomers Littler or Humphries to claim glory, can Van Gerwen come good and win it for an eighth time, or will Michael Smith continue his momentum and spoil the party?

It’s showtime!

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