BetMGM Premier League Darts Night 16 Preview & Tips: Smith & Aspinall battle it out for Play-offs Night spot

The 2024 BetMGM Premier League Darts season has reached Night 16 and the final matchday before the play-offs. Sheffield’s Utilita Arena is the venue for what promises to be a nail-biting finish to the regular tournament – particularly for Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith.

Luke Humphries’ victory last week on his home night in Leeds leaves him with a chance, albeit a slim one, of pipping Luke Littler to top the table by the end of Night 16. His pulsating win in the final against Michael van Gerwen saw Cool Hand pick up maximum points and also meant the Dutchman will be joining him at the O2 in London.

Rob Cross was facing a Herculean task to join them at Play-offs Night and, sure enough, his quarter-final demolition at the hands of Humphries saw his Premier League dream end. He joins the already eliminated Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright, leaving just one spot in London up for grabs.

All of this means the quarter-final between Aspinall and Smith will decide who takes the final spot in the top four. Sixteen weeks of darts come down to a best-of-11 leg shootout for the Asp and Bully Boy in the undeniable standout tie in Sheffield.

Yes, it’s time for Night 16 as the fight for the 2024 BetMGM Premier League Play-offs Night concludes. Let’s take a run-through of the final set of fixtures as the regular tournament culminates in South Yorkshire.

BetMGM Premier League Darts Night 16 Fixtures

With the fixtures for Night 16 determined by the league standings, the first quarter-final sees league leader Luke Littler take on bottom-placed Peter Wright. Snakebite will not be relishing this one following last week’s 6-1 thrashing at the hands of the same opponent.

It has been a campaign to forget for the Scotsman, winning just two matches so far and failing to make it past a semi-final. In contrast, Littler has enjoyed a memorable debut tournament and a win here will see him top the table ahead of Play-offs Night.

Second up is the big one: Nathan Aspinall vs Michael Smith. It’s winner-takes-all in this quarter-final, with the victor joining the already-qualified top three in the play-offs. The pair faced off last week in Leeds with Smith winning to keep within touching distance, though a heavy defeat in the semi-final meant he could not overtake Aspinall in the standings.

For a few weeks prior the Asp looked to be heading to Play-offs Night and remains in pole position but two consecutive quarter-final exits have left the door ajar for Bully Boy to sneak in at the last. It all makes for an intriguing match and a close one to call.

Next, Night 15 winner Luke Humphries takes on Gerwyn Price, whose disappointing tournament will end in Sheffield. Eliminated following his withdrawal through injury in Aberdeen, the Welshman has struggled to find form and is yet to win a night in the 2024 BetMGM Premier League. Humphries has had no such trouble, winning four of them, though he needs to add a fifth if he is to have any chance of stealing top spot.

Finally, Michael van Gerwen takes on Rob Cross, having secured his play-off spot despite a narrow defeat in the Night 15 final. Four nightly wins have helped get him there, though they have been mixed with some early exits and the Dutchman will be hoping for a strong performance to help build some form and consistency ahead of the trip to London.

Voltage started the tournament well enough, was in the top four after Night 6 and has played well recently, but it is the run of six weeks without a win in-between that ultimately has cost him a play-off chance.

Night 16 quarter-finals in full: Luke Littler vs Peter Wright; Nathan Aspinall vs Michael Smith; Luke Humphries vs Gerwyn Price; Michael van Gerwen vs Rob Cross

13/1 BetMGM Premier League Darts Night 16 Accumulator

Luke Littler vs Peter Wright – Littler King of the Oche @ 6/5

Littler and Wright meet again following the youngster’s dominant 6-1 win last week. It is difficult to see a different outcome in Sheffield. Snakebite threw just one 180, won just one leg and averaged a measly 82.69 as he was comprehensively beaten in what has been the story of the two-time world champion’s tournament.

Littler will win the league section with a victory here and we are backing him to go even further than that once again. He was ‘King of the Oche’ in this fixture last week, hitting four maximums to Wright’s one, having a match-high checkout of 146 and winning the game with ease. As such, an appealing 6/5 for Littler to be ‘King of the Oche’ is the first pick for the acca.

Nathan Aspinall to beat Michael Smith @ 22/25

It all comes down to this for Aspinall and Smith as they try to make the last four of the 2024 BetMGM Premier League. Just one point separates them in the table, with Aspinall having won two nights to Smith’s one. The two cannot end level on points though, making this a straight shootout for progression.

Having faced each other three times already, it is the Asp with the upper hand, winning two of the meetings despite losing the clash in Leeds on Night 15. Both players have finished a night as runner-up three times and are separated by just one match win, making this a tough one to call – and even tougher still when you consider Bully Boy’s victory at this venue last year.

That said, Aspinall has been in the driving seat for the last few weeks and has arguably played better darts throughout the competition. This, coupled with the narrow advantage in the head-to-heads, makes Aspinall our pick to win the match at 22/25, securing his place in the play-offs in the process.

Luke Humphries to average over 101.5 vs Gerwyn Price @ 10/11

It was clear that last week in Leeds meant a lot to Humphries as he triumphed in front of an adoring home crowd. Night 15 was his fourth overall win of the tournament and his first since Night 8 in Dublin. Cool Hand played some fine darts on his way to victory, having the highest average of the week at 109.48, helping to keep his three-dart average for the whole Premier League campaign to date above 101.

A 102.84 average in the semi-final was followed by a 99.99 in his victory over Michael van Gerwen in the showpiece and it’s to the averages we are heading for our acca pick as a result. Backing him to build on his excellent performance in Leeds, the 10/11 for Humphries to average over 101.5 is our choice.

Michael van Gerwen vs Rob Cross – Van Gerwen over 2.5 180s @ 17/20

Both players have had interesting tournaments – just for different reasons. Van Gerwen has won four nights and seen some wonderful darts mixed in with eight quarter-final exits while Cross has made the final on three occasions and the semi-finals on five, yet went six weeks without winning a single game.

With Cross already eliminated and MVG already through to Play-offs Night, both players should play with some freedom with the pressure removed. Though he hasn’t been at his scoring peak throughout the Premier League, Van Gerwen hit the joint highest amount of maximums last week with 11 and we like the look of the 17/20 for him to hit over 2.5 180s to complete our picks for Night 16.

Night 16 Accumulator

• Luke Littler ‘King of the Oche’ vs Peter Wright
• Nathan Aspinall to beat Michael Smith
• Luke Humphries to average over 101.5 vs Gerwyn Price
• Michael van Gerwen over 2.5 180s vs Rob Cross

Priced at 13/1 with BetMGM

Remember, with our Golden Arrows promotion you can double your odds on the BetMGM Premier League Darts every Thursday, including on our Night 16 acca, making this an even more appealing 26/1 shot. Read more about Golden Arrows here.

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change

Night 16 Odds & BetMGM Specials

Top of the table, and needing just one win to stay there, Luke Littler leads the betting at 7/4 favourite to win the night in Sheffield. Luke Humphries is the only player who has a slim chance of catching Littler and has to win the night to stand any chance at all – he is 5/2 for back-to-back wins. Michael van Gerwen is guaranteed his play-off spot and is 5/1 for a fifth nightly win while Gerwyn Price can be backed at 7/1.

Winner here last year Michael Smith is priced at 10/1, as is Nathan Aspinall, while Rob Cross is 16/1 and Peter Wright is a huge 66/1 to spring the biggest of surprises on the final night.

Humphries hit a nine-darter at the weekend despite losing the final of the latest European Tour event to Cross. Price remains the only player to throw a perfect leg so far in the 2024 BetMGM Premier League but we have odds of 8/1 for one to be hit at any point in Sheffield. Can Humphries hit two in a week?

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 Night 14.

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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 comes to a close with a fascinating battle for the final play-off spot about to take place. Will it be Nathan Aspinall or Michael Smith making it to London’s O2 in next week?

It’s showtime!

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