2025 BetMGM Premier League Play-Offs: Littler Aims to Defend Title as Darts’ Biggest Stars Converge on London
The 2025 BetMGM Premier League season will culminate in a thrilling conclusion on Thursday, May 29, as four of darts’ biggest stars compete for the £275,000 top prize at The O2 in London. According to a report by PDC TV, the sold-out crowd of 14,000 fans in the capital will witness an exciting finale to the 16-night darting roadshow.
Reigning champion Luke Littler is aiming to defend the title he won on debut 12 months ago, having achieved an unprecedented six nightly wins throughout the season. The World Champion recorded nightly wins in Glasgow, Brighton, Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Sheffield to secure top spot for a second straight year. As per PDC TV, Littler amassed 45 points across the league phase, a new tournament record.
Littler, priced at 5/6 with title sponsor BetMGM to retain the title, is bidding to become the third player to win back-to-back Premier League titles, with Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen the only others to achieve the feat. "That is another moment of history that I will be looking at tomorrow night," Littler insisted, as quoted by PDC TV. "It was a totally new experience for me last year. I didn’t know what to expect. This year has been absolutely fantastic, and I’m really thankful to be in this position."
Littler will play 2023 runner-up Gerwyn Price in Thursday’s opening semi-final, as the Welshman embarks on his second Play-Off appearance. Price has enjoyed a welcome return to form in this year’s Premier League, securing a hat-trick of nightly victories, while also landing nine-dart finishes in Manchester and Aberdeen respectively. As PDC TV reported, Price’s first nine-darter of the campaign came against Littler on Night Ten, and despite the teenager’s record-breaking exploits, Price is relishing the pair’s latest showdown.
The second semi-final will see world number one Luke Humphries and 2020 runner-up Nathan Aspinall go head-to-head, with both men chasing maiden Premier League success. Humphries’ haul of nightly wins in Belfast, Exeter, and Leeds guided him to a second-place finish for the second straight year, and now he’s aiming to improve upon his run to the final 12 months ago. As quoted by PDC TV, Humphries said, "This is the big title missing from my CV, so I really want to go and lift that trophy now."
Aspinall, meanwhile, is featuring in the Play-Offs for the first time since 2021, having seen off seven-time champion Michael van Gerwen to secure a top-four finish. The Stockport star also overhauled Price on Night 16 to finish the league phase in third position, and his reward is a long-awaited debut at The O2. As PDC TV reported, Aspinall said, "This will be an amazing feeling for me and my family. It’s a really proud moment for me in my darting career, but I can’t get too emotionally attached to the occasion."
The 2025 BetMGM Premier League will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers (outside of the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland). The semi-finals and final will take place on Thursday, May 29, at The O2 in London, with the following schedule:
- Semi-Finals:
- Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
- Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall (best of 19 legs)
- Final:
- Littler/Price v Humphries/Aspinall (best of 21 legs)
The BetMGM odds for the winner are as follows:
- 5/6 Luke Littler
- 9/4 Luke Humphries
- 6/1 Gerwyn Price
- 11/1 Nathan Aspinall
This article has been sourced from PDC TV.
