Overview
- The play-offs at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday feature two best-of-19 semi-finals: Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton v Luke Humphries, with the final a race to 11 legs.
- Bookmakers often list world number one Luke Littler as favourite after he topped the 16-week league, but pundits and markets are split because defending champion Luke Humphries has hit high averages and reached several consecutive nightly finals.
- Littler received an MBE this week and met Prince William, offering tickets to the World Darts Championship, a development that has increased mainstream attention on the sport and on Littler’s public profile.
- Former pro Vincent van der Voort and others have warned that persistent crowd boos and Littler’s on-stage reactions could pose a reputational risk if results turn against him.
- The two semi-final losers will each take home a large season payout while the runner-up and winner will receive larger prizes, with the winner reported to get £350,000, making Finals Night the richest single-night conclusion to the Premier League season.