Luke Littler in Premier League Darts: TV schedule and who plays who in Rotterdam

CAN Luke Littler solidify his position atop the PDC Premier League Darts table on Thursday evening?

He will be looking to do just that when darts' annual roadshow heads to Holland to take over Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena.

Warrington's Littler, who watched his beloved Warrington Wolves beat St Helens in the Challenge Cup from the away end on Sunday, fell just short of winning a third night in a row last week having lost the Birmingham final to Michael Van Gerwen.

However, he is still top of the overall table and looking well set for a play-off place with five nights of the tournament remaining.

"The Nuke" will open the show this evening as he takes on his "local rival" - St Helens' Michael Smith - in the quarter-finals - they are due on stage at 7.15pm UK time.

"Bully Boy" has held sway in Premier League meetings between the two thus far, but will Littler strike one back?

PDC Premier League Darts, competing players

Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Luke Littler.

Schedule for PDC Premier League Darts Night 12, Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam, live on Sky Sports, Thursday, April 18:

Quarter-final 1: Michael Smith vs Luke Littler, 7.15pm

Quarter-final 2: Rob Cross vs Gerwyn Price, 7.45pm

Quarter-final 3: Peter Wright vs Nathan Aspinall, 8.15pm

Quarter-final 4: Michael Van Gerwen vs Luke Humphries, 8.45pm

Semi-final 1: Winner of QF 1 v Winner of QF 2, 9.15pm

Semi-final 2: Winner of QF 3 v Winner of QF 4, 9.45pm

Final: Winner of SF1 v winner of SF 2, 10.30pm

Interesting note:

Three of the four Premier League meetings between Littler and Smith have been won by the St Helens man.

Smith triumphed 6-4 in the Night Eight quarter-finals and was also victorious in semi-finals on Night One in Cardiff and Night Six in Brighton.

Littler's only Premier League win over Smith to date is a 6-2 win in the Night Five quarters in Exeter.

A reminder of what happened last week:

Results for PDC Premier League Darts Night 11, Utilita Arena, Birmingham, Thursday, April 11:

Quarter-Finals

Luke Humphries 6-4 Peter Wright
Luke Littler 6-5 Rob Cross
Michael Smith 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Nathan Aspinall

Semi-Finals

Luke Littler 6-5 Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Michael Smith

Final

Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Luke Littler

PDC Premier League Order of Merit:

Format for PDC Premier League nights 2024:

Each night will see quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final played over the best of 11 legs (first to six).

Players will face each other twice in quarter-final ties throughout the season, with the fixtures being balanced for players to be in opposite halves of the draw in an equal number of weeks.

The fixtures for Night 8 and Night 16 will be based on the league table following Night 7 and Night 15 respectively.

The top four players from the final league table will progress to the Play-Offs, which will feature the semi-finals over the best of 19 legs and the final over the best of 21 legs.

The order of throw for all league night matches will be decided by a bull-off, which will be conducted beforehand in the practice room. For the Play-Offs, the semi-finals will see the higher-placed player from the final league table throw first, with a bull-off for the final.

League Points per Night:

Night Winner - 5 points + £10,000 bonus

Runner-Up - 3 points

Semi-Finalists - 2 points

Prize Fund:

Winner - £275,000

Runner-Up - £125,000

Semi-Finalists - £85,000 each

Fifth in League Table - £75,000

Sixth in League Table - £70,000

Seventh in League Table - £65,000

Eighth in League Table - £60,000

Nightly Winner Bonus - £10,000 x16

Total - £1,000,000

Schedule for remaining PDC Premier League Darts 2024, quarter final fixtures:

Night 12, Rotterdam Ahoy, April 18: Smith v Littler, Cross v Price, Wright v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Humphries.

Night 13, Liverpool, April 25: Littler v Price, Humphries v Aspinall, Wright v Van Gerwen, Smith v Cross.

Night 14, Aberdeen, May 2: Wright v Smith, Littler v Aspinall, Van Gerwen v Cross, Price v Humphries.

Night 15, Leeds, May 9: Van Gerwen v Price, Littler v Wright, Humphries v Cross, Aspinall v Smith.

Night 16, Sheffield, May 16: Fixtures confirmed following Night 15.

Play-Offs: The O2, London, May 23: The top four players after 16 nights.

Story of 2024 so far for Luke Littler:

PDC World Darts Championship runner-up

Bahrain Darts Masters Champion, including first leg nine-darter in quarter-final

Dutch Darts Masters runner-up

Premier League Night 1 (Cardiff) semi-finalist

Premier League Night 2 (Berlin) finalist

Players Championship 1 (Wigan) winner, including nine-darter in the last 32

Premier League Night 4 (Newcastle) semi-finalist

Premier League Night 5 (Exeter) semi-finalist

UK Open quarter-finalist

Premier League Night 6 (Brighton) semi-finalist

Belgian Darts Open Champion, including nine-darter in final

Premier League Night 7 (Nottingham) semi-finalist

Premier League Night 9 (Belfast) winner

Premier League Night 10 (Manchester) winner

Premier League Night 11 (Birmingham) finalist