Masters Champion Chris Dobey will enter Night 3 of the 2023 Premier League top of the table ahead of last week's winner Gerwyn Price on legs difference. You can follow the action at the OVO Hydro Arena on Thursday night via darts live scores provided by Flashscore.
The Bedlington thrower will face bottom of the table Jonny Clayton in the last Quarter Final of the night, with the Ferret beating Michael van Gerwen last year to win Night 13 in Glasgow. The Pontyberem thrower finished top of the league in 2022 but missed out in Finals night, losing to Joe Cullen in the Semi Finals.
Dobey is making his debut in the Premier League but will hope for a better showing in Scotland after losing in the Quarter Finals to eventual winner Gerwyn Price last week, as the Iceman clinched a last leg decider to delight the sell-out crowd in the Cardiff International Arena.
Michael van Gerwen the reigning Premier League champion will open the night against fourth placed Nathan Aspinall, as MVG looks for his first nightly win of this year’s tournament. Mighty Mike lost 6-5 in the Final of Night 1 to Chris Dobey, as the competition started its first of seventeen weeks in Belfast.
The Dutchman averaged over 110 in his Semi Final defeat seven days ago to Gerwyn Price, losing 6-5 despite averaging a staggering 14 points more than his Welsh opponent.
Nathan Aspinall reached the Final last week in Cardiff, beating World Number 1 and reigning World Champion Michael Smith 6-4 in the Semi Finals. The Asp returns to Premier League action after a year out, with the player from Stockport losing in the Final of the 2020 competition to former Lakeside winner Glen Durrant.
2nd placed Gerwyn Price will hope to push on from his win seven days ago, as the former World Champion prepares to face the World Number 1 for a spot in the Night 3 Semi Finals. Smith has only picked up the one win from the first two nights of action, beating Jonny Clayton 6-3 in the opening match last week.
The Welshman has started this year well after the controversy of the recent World Darts Championship, with the Markham player deciding to wear ear defenders on New Year’s Day. Since the start of the year, Price reached the Final of the Bahrain Darts Masters, losing to Bully Boy at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Smith won the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time on January 3rd after beating Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in the Final and will look to kick on after his life changing win at the Alexandra Palace, by winning his first Premier League trophy.
World Number 2 Peter Wright is yet to achieve glory in the Premier League and will hope for his maiden win of the trophy as he faces Dimitri van den Bergh in the second match of the night. Snakebite lost to Nathan Aspinall last week but has started the year on the winning side after beating Gerwyn Price to win the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen.
The Scotsman beat the entirety of the top four on the PDC Order of Merit, claiming victory over Michael van Gerwen in the Quarter Finals and Michael Smith in the Semis.
The Dream Maker who became the first Belgian to reach the Semi Finals of a PDC World Championship, is making his second appearance in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on a place in the Play Offs back in the 2021 competition after finishing 5th.
The action starts at 7pm live on Sky Sports from the OVO Hydro on Thursday night with World Number 3 Michael van Gerwen facing fourth placed Nathan Aspinall in the first Quarter Final.
By Harry Masterson
Premier League 2023 Night 3: Glasgow Order of Play
Quarter Finals:
Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
Peter Wright v Dimitri van den Bergh
Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith
Jonny Clayton v Chris Dobey
Semi Finals:
Aspinall/ Van Gerwen v Wright/ Van den Bergh
Price/ Smith v Clayton/ Dobey
Final:
Winner of SF1 v Winner of SF2
