Chris Dobey won his first Premier League night of the season with a 6-4 win over Stephen Bunting in the final to move within three points of a playoff place.
Premier League Darts Night 11 took place in Rotterdam yesterday where Michael van Gerwen, despite recent form, was still one of the favourites to perform in front of his home crowd.
Instead, the final would be between the two players who were nestled at the bottom of the table in Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting.
Dobby was yet to win a night so far in 2025 but a hat trick of results against Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting see’s him become a contender for a playoff place.
The top four race is looking tight after Night 11!#PLDarts pic.twitter.com/JquNax5gsC
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 17, 2025
The night didn’t produce as much drama as Night 10 in Manchester, however, there have been some interesting stories to come out of the night…
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Michael van Gerwen’s Struggles Reach PEAK
Everyone is aware of Michael van Gerwen’s darts struggles, including himself!
Despite the Dutchman making it to the 2025 World Darts Championship final, he’s now into his third year without picking up a major title.
Deep tournament runs and ProTour titles see him still sitting third in the Order of Merit rankings but MVG is struggling to perform like we’ve never seen him do and this Premier League campaign is not helping…
Yet to win a night, this is uncharted territory for a perennial winner.
In front of his home crowd, with his first match against Stephen Bunting who was bottom of the table going into the game, last night was the perfect opportunity to turn his fortunes around.
It wasn’t meant to be though as Stephen Bunting, despite his Premier League form, took out a pressure 11-dart leg in the deciding leg to win 6-5.
It was a great checkout under a hostile atmosphere but it just further highlighted the current downfall MVG is going through.
We don’t use downfall lightly, you can’t write off the man’s ability but week after week he just isn’t able to reach a level we expect.
Failing to reach even a 90 average last night is so far below the standard we expect to see from him it’s mind boggling.
In midweek media interviews, MVG said it’s impossible to go back to his old throw and we really might be witnessing a genuine decline of a once unbeatable player.
Darts Fans not Impressed by Luke Humphries ‘Sulking’ Following Early Exit
A few weeks ago Luke Humphries made headlines after saying the busy darts schedule felt like a ‘chore’ and was met with heavy social media backlash for his comments.
The world number one would then say it’s the last time he would share his true feelings as people didn’t understand the context behind his comments.
He made the final of the Premier League night in Manchester last week and looked to have put the controversy behind him.
This week he didn’t play in the Players Championship events in Rosmalen so came into the Premier League night seemingly fresh and heavy favourite to beat Chris Dobey in their opening game.
Chris Dobey hit form though while Humphries struggled and fans were quick to show they weren’t impressed with Humphries attitude…
DUTCH DELIGHT FOR DOBEY!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 17, 2025
Chris Dobey stuns Luke Humphries with a 6-3 win in the opening game of the night in Rotterdam!
📺 https://t.co/CxOorrFXK9 #PLDarts25 | QF1 pic.twitter.com/kMJdnJDKXJ
On the PDC X account, fans commented:
@conor_200333 – “Humphries is finished he needs a break”
@cxllum7 – “Tell Luke to stop sulking”
@AlexoohMajei – “Humphries sportsmanship is in the pits”
@SDMorpeth – “Humphries is becoming more unlikeable with every game he plays!
He visibly didn’t look himself on stage, but the change in attitude towards him at the moment is really unexpected.
Humphries has been a great ambassador for darts during his reign as world champion throughout 2024 and as the world number one so the backlash this month has really come out of nowhere!
The Competition for a Play-off Place has Increased
After results last week, it looked like Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were certain to clinch the 1st and 2nd positions in the table.
Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting looked rooted to the bottom meaning Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross were all competing for the two remaining playoff positions with just three points separating them all.
The shock of last night would therefore be Dobey and Bunting both making the final. Not a shock based on ability but just on form and performances in the Premier League this campaign.
A Chris Dobey win means that he now jumps ahead of Rob Cross and see’s five players looking likely to compete for the playoff spot with only five points separating them all (the equivalent of a night win).
Early on, we thought MVG would be a favourite to claim 3rd with everyone else battling for 4th, but he finds himself outside the playoff places and the competition is increasing as we go into the stretch of the campaign with five nights of darts remaining.
Predicting who will claim the playoff places is becoming one of the more exciting prospects of this campaign!
You can see all highlights from the night provided by the PDC below:
Darts action resumes this weekend with the fourth European Tour event of the year at the German Darts Grand Prix.
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