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Following the 2023 Premier League Darts season will naturally include many glances over at the current league standings. There is no longer any relegation at the halfway point of the season, because of the changes that were made to the format last season.
It was a big overhaul, and it is now knockout bracket action on each of the sixteen Nights of the regular Premier League season. The knockout intensity then gets driven up a few notches with the arrival of Finals night to decide who will be crowned the season’s champion.
But the league standings are where the bulk of the action is for the campaign. Players will juggle and jostle for position as only a place in the top four at the end of the season books a spot in the semi-finals.
The Points System
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The Premier League Darts 2023 standings are based on the points players earn on each of the weeks. But it’s no longer the straight two-points-for-a-win format that it was. The 2022 move to a weekly bracket tournament changed all that.
Players are still pushing to claim points which determines league standings, but how those points are earned is all a bit different now. The winner of the mini-tournament on any given Night receives five points to go towards their league standing.
The runner-up on the Night is awarded three points for at least going close. For those who are eliminated at the semi-final stage, two points get awarded. The players who couldn’t make it past the opening act end the Night with just one point.
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
The Premier League Darts Play-offs
Studying the Premier League Darts standings can give some nice clues about form ahead of current fixtures. That can help sway some darts betting predictions and where to send your bets. Tracking the league standings is basically about the race for a top-four finish.
But punters will find that as the season winds on, certain players become a little more aggressive with their form. If for example, a player has to claim at least three points on Night 16 to complete a late run to reach the play-offs, that’s a huge motivation.
Similarly, players who have already booked a place in the semi-finals with a couple of rounds to spare could take their foot off the gas. The league format is fascinating, and you will likely be able to spot players who come into or fall out of form in streaks across the season.
Some players just naturally thrive for whatever reason at certain venues or find an extra gear when playing in their home city.
Regardless of how they get there, for those who do end the Premier League standings in the top four, a place in the semi-finals beckons. The player at the top of the tree will meet the 4th placed finisher in the semi-finals with 2nd meeting 3rd.
2023 Premier League Final Standings
1st – Gerwyn Price 39pts (Q)
2nd – Michael Smith 33pts (Q)
3rd – Michael van Gerwen 33pts (Q)
4th – Jonny Clayton 24pts (Q)
5th – Nathan Aspinall 24pts
6th – Dimitri Van den Bergh 16pts
7th – Chris Dobey 14pts
8th – Peter Wright 9pts
Losing Semi-Finalists: Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith
Runner-up: Gerwyn Price
Winner: Michael van Gerwen
Table Toppers
The Premier League Darts competition was inaugurated in 2005. Since then there have only been three players who have won the season after finishing top of the table. Granted, two of those, the retired Phil Taylor and current dominant force Michael van Gerwen did it on more than one occasion, including on their respective debut seasons in the competition.
In 2020 debutant Glen Durrant became just the third player to pull it off and he, too, completed the double in what was his debut season in the competition. But just because a player has powered their way to the top of the standings, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to be the one crowned champion at the end of the season.
In the 2021 Premier League Darts season, for example, eventual winner Michael van Gerwen was second in the regular season standings, nine points adrift of table topper Jonny Clayton. Getting to the top four is all that matters, what players do in the play-offs is really where it all counts.
Week By Week State Of Play
Round 1
1st Dobey, 2nd Van Gerwen, 3rd Van den Bergh, 4th Aspinall
Chris Dobey was the early leader in the 2023 Premier League standings. He pulled off a shock victory over Michael van Gerwen in the Night’s Final to be the first league leader of the new season.
Round 2
1st Dobey, 2nd Van Gerwen, 3rd Price, 4th Aspinall
Dobey remained on top after week two, despite falling to a defeat in his first match. Van Gerwen stayed second with a semi-final exit as Gerwyn Price jumped into the top four by winning the week’s Final.
Round 3
1st Smith, 2nd Aspinall, 3rd Price, 4th Dobey
A new leader was crowned in round three as Michel Smith’s victory on the Night sent him to the summer. Former leader Chris Dobey meanwhile had slipped down to fourth and Van Gerwen to sixth because of an early quarter-final exit.
Round 4
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Smith, 3rd Price, 4th Aspinall
Van Gerwen wasn’t to be kept though as he won in Dublin on Night 4. That put him at the top of the pile for the first time this season. Michael Smith was relegated to second place but held firm in the top four with Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price.
Round 5
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Smith, 3rd Aspinall, 4th Price
Van Gerwen racked up another Night win which saw him extend his lead at the top. It was a big enough lead to ensure the top spot would be held for Week 6 as well, without that round of action even being played. Nathan Aspinall at this point was the only player to have been inside the top four every week of the season.
Round 6
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Smith, 3rd Aspinall, 4th Price
Everything stayed as it was the previous week in the entire Premier League Darts standings. There was no movement at all, as Michael van Gerwen wrapped up yet another Night victory, his third in a row. The victory in the night’s Final over local lad Michael Smith saw Van Gerwen stretch his advantage at the summit even further over Smith. The big breakthrough of the night was Peter Wright winning his first match of the season, scoring a quarter-final win over Gerwyn Price before losing heavily in the semi’s to MVG.
Round 7
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Price, 3rd Smith, 4th Aspinall
There was plenty of drama knocking around on Night 7 of the 2023 Darts Premier League. Chris Dobey pulled off two huge upsets, beating Michael Smith in the quarter-finals and then smashing Michael van Gerwen 6-0 in the semi-finals. But he couldn’t go all the way and land the win on the Night as he was defeated in the Final by Gerwyn Price. That was the third Final of the season for Price and his second victory, pushing him up to second in the standings.
Round 8
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Price, 3rd Aspinall, 4th Smith
There was more success for Gerwyn Price as he made it back to back Night victories following his success in Nottingham the previous week. The Welshman ruled in Newcastle on Night 8, beating Jonny Clayton and then Chris Dobey on his way to the Final. In the showcase match he duelled with Michael van Gerwen in a heavyweight clash, but Price saved his best for last, winning 6-1 with a huge 114 three-dart average.
Round 9
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Price, 3rd Smith, 4th Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen had a shock quarter-final exit in Berlin, losing to Jonny Clayton. It was Clayton who would go on to win the Night 9 round of action in Germany, toppling two other top-three players in Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith along the way.
Smith’s return to form in reaching the Final boosted his top-four chances, while Nathan Aspinall claimed an important quarter-final win over Chris Dobey who was on his heels. Dobey’s misfire last week has left his hopes of a finish in the top four, slim.
But with the maximum points from Night 9, it’s now Jonny Clayton who looks like the big threat to Smith and Aspinall.
Round 10
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Price, 3rd Clayton, 4th Smith
There was a big shakeup in the standings at the end of Night 10 in Birmingham. For the second week running, Jonny Clayton bagged maximum points and he jumped up into third place in the standings from fifth because of his latest success.
Early in the night’s action, he gained some big momentum by beating Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals. Clayton then went on to beat Michael van Gerwen and then Peter Wright in the Final. The result shook things up nicely.
Van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price look locks for the top two spots. But Clayton’s form has created a three-way race for the remaining two spots. Aspinall dropped out of the top four for the first time this season, with Michael Smith just clinging onto fourth.
Round 11
1st Van Gerwen, 2nd Price, 3rd Smith, 4th Clayton
Gerwyn Price was the last man standing in Brighton as he claimed his fourth success of the season. The result meant the Welshman stayed in second place in the Premier League table, but he closed the gap on leader Michael van Gerwen down to two points after the Dutchman had lost to Price in the semis.
Michael Smith was the beaten finalist in Brighton, but ‘Bully Boy’ picked up enough points to boost him up to third at the expense of Jonny Clayton who only slipped back to fourth. Clayton was a first round loser last week, but with another misfire from Nathan Aspinall who has suffered back-to-back quarter-final exits for the first time this season, means that it is ‘The Asp’ who has ground to make up.
At the end other end of the table, Peter Wright made a little more progress in trying to get off the bottom. After reaching the semi-finals, he’s now only two points behind the badly slumping Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Round 12
1st Price, 2nd Van Gerwen, 3rd Aspinall, 4th Clayton
The Night in the Netherlands belonged to Nathan Aspinall. The Asp claimed a massively important win in the final over Gerwyn Price. Aspinall had been on the slide and dropped out of the top four for a couple of weeks.
But the maximum points haul in Rotterdam recharged Aspinall’s chance of a top-four finish, boosting him up to third. Michael Smith was the one to drop out of the top four from the previous week after not making it past the first round.
At the top of the tree, Michael van Gerwen’s eight-week stay at the summit came to an end when. MVG suffered a shock quarter-final defeat against Nathan Aspinall. With Gerwyn Price making it through to the Night 12 final, it was Price who took over at the top for the first time this season.
Round 13
1st Price, 2nd Van Gerwen, 3rd Smith, 4th Aspinall
Michael Smith was the big mover on Night 13 of the Premier League darts season. Having fallen out of the top four the previous week, Bully Boy was up to the task in Leeds as he claimed maximum points.
Smith beat the table-topping Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the Leeds final, to jump up to third in the table. With Nathan Aspinall falling at the semi-final stage on the night, Jonny Clayton was the one to slip from fourth place to fifth.
Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen have now already qualified for Finals night, leaving two spots open. That is now a race between Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall and Jonny Clayton with only four points separating the three players at the close of play on Night 13.
Round 14
1st Price, 2nd Van Gerwen, 3rd Smith, 4th Clayton
Michael Smith came up big again on Night 14 of the Premier League season. Victory in the night’s final over Jonny Clayton, saw Bully Boy secure a spot in Finals Night. That’s a weight off his shoulders as he joins Gerwyn Price and Van Gerwen there.
Jonny Clayton made the most of a favourable draw in the top half, as he ran through to the final. It was a run that he needed as well, as he moved up into the fourth spot at the end of the night at the expense of Nathan Aspinall.
That was on legs difference against Aspinall as well, so that’s a super tight race still to play out. It’s the only big race that’s left too for the season and one that should keep bubbling nicely over the last two weeks of the regular season.
Aspinall and Clayton swapping places were the only changes in the standings after Night 14.
Round 15
1st Gerwyn Price, 2nd Michael Smith, 3rd Michael van Gerwen, 4th Jonny Clayton
The only major change in the Premier League standings after Round 15 was Michael Smith moving up into second place at the expense of Michael van Gerwen. Smith swept his way to a third consecutive haul of maximum points with victoy in Sheffield.
Smith toppled Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals, then got past Chris Dobey before taking out Gerwyn Price in the Night 15 final. He holds a two-point advantage in the standings now over reigning Premier League champion, Michael van Gerwen and is three behind Price.
As it stands, Smith will meet Van Gerwen in the semi-finals on Finals Night, unless he does enough in Aberdeen on Night 16 to take over at the top. Jonny Clayton holds a narrow advantage in fourth place over Nathan Aspinall.
Round 16
1st Gerwyn Price, 2nd Michael Smith, 3rd Michael van Gerwen, 4th Jonny Clayton
There was no dramatic late shift in the race for Finals Night last Thursday in Aberdeen. The major issue of the night to be settled was who would take fourth place out of Jonny Clayton and Nathan Aspinall.
Those two met in the quarter-finals and Aspinall dominated, posting a 6-1 victory to keep his chances of stealing fourth place from Clayton alive. But Aspinall, who had to get to the Night 16 final to claim enough points, could get no further as he was brushed aside in the semi-finals by Gerwyn Price.
Gerwyn Price’s run to his fifth final in the last six rounds meant that he convincingly finished top of the standings. Michael Smith’s slim outside chance of taking it from the Welshman was shot down early, Smith losing to Dimitri Van den Bergh in the semis.
So it’s Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton who go forward to Finals Night at the O2 in London.
Finals Night Winner – Michael van Gerwen
For Finals Night of the 2023 Premier League season, it was 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd from the regular season standings that determined the fixture list. That meant Gerwyn Price vs Jonny Clayton and Michael Smith vs Michael van Gerwen.
As the regular season’s table-topper, Gerwyn Price had been the outright favourite to win this season’s Premier League title, which would have been his first. He looked on course too after a rapid-fire 10-2 victory over Clayton in the semi-finals.
But he came up against an inspired Michael van Gerwen in the Final. MVG had narrowly seen off Michael Smith in his semi and was the underdog in the match. However, in his bid for a successful title defence, the Dutchman turned up the heat.
Van Gerwen romped away to an impressive 11-5 victory, not giving Price a sniff of a chance. With the win, Van Gerwen secured a record-breaking seventh Premier League crown.
Premier League Standings
Keep up to date with the latest Premier League Darts standings here, as updates will follow throughout the season. Remember that for your darts betting, reading any kind of form and statistics is going to help immensely.
There is a lot to be gained by looking at the standings. You can spot some trends in form and as the further season winds on, start to get a projection together of just who might make it into the final four.
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