A winner-takes-all shootout between best mates Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith is the highlight of Week 16 of the Premier League from Sheffield.
Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen have booked their place in next week’s play-offs, and that just leaves Smith or Aspinall to claim the fourth and final spot.
- NATHAN ASPINALL TO BEAT MICHAEL SMITH
- LUKE LITTLER MATCH TREBLE V PETER WRIGHT
- LUKE LITTLER TO WIN NIGHT 16
Aspinall To Send Smith Flying
There is no doubt the dust-up between Smith and Aspinall is match of the night at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, a match in which the winner goes through to the play-offs, the loser goes out.
They played last week and it was Smith who won 6-3 and Aspinall has since come out and lost to Ritchie Edhouse in the Baltic Sea Open.
That ought to combine to give Bully Boy an edge going into their quarter-final tussle, yet The Asp has been here before and has the bottle to pull this off. It’s also worth noting that his averages are high - his standards are not dropping.
Twelve months ago Aspinall had to beat Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals in the final round of action to have any hope of making the play-offs. He did just that before losing to Gerwyn Price in the semis.
Aspinall will enjoy the tension and should be taken to avenge last week’s loss.
NATHAN ASPINALL TO BEAT MICHAEL SMITH
The Nuke To Explode Into Action
The Luke Littler match treble came off in his quarter-final against Peter Wright last Thursday, and it’s well worth betting history repeats itself.
It’s first versus last which tells you all you need to know about the fortunes of these two over the course of the last three months.
The gulf between the two players was amply illustrated last week when The Nuke crushed Snakebite 6-1, also hitting most 180s and the highest checkout.
Littler has won 22 matches in his campaign, Wright just two, so presuming the youngster does the business, the likelihood is he lands more maximums and the highest checkout.
LUKE LITTLER TO WIN, MOST 180S, HIGH CHECKOUT TREBLE
Littler Can Sign Off In Style
Littler simply has to beat Wright to guarantee finishing top of the table, something to be proud of in his debut campaign.
But this is a teenager who continues to set the bar high, so take him to sign off in style by winning in Sheffield.
Littler already has four nightly triumphs to his name, the same as closest challenger Luke Humphries and seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
Littler arrives in South Yorkshire fresh from a surprising early exit at the Baltic Sea Open, where he lost 6-3 to Wessel Nijman. He blamed lack of sleep and the travel to Kiel for that loss but he’s had five days to get ready for his showdown with Wright.
