Premier League Darts LIVE! Michael Smith wins Night One after Luke Littler loses semi-final

Michael Smith won Night One of the Premier League Darts in Cardiff with a dominant victory over hometown favourite Gerwyn Price in the final.

Bully Boy held his composure all evening, first up against Michael van Gerwen before beating Luke Littler in the semi-final.

The Nuke had already got revenge on Luke Humphries following the World Darts Championships final by beating ‘Cool Hand’ 6-2 on his debut in this format. He averaged 100.30 to book a semi-final meeting with Smith.

Littler, however, fell to a thrilling 6-5 defeat to Smith. The teenager managed six 180s and fought his way back from 4-2 down but Bully Boy held his nerve.

Smith then made light work for Price in the final. He silenced the crowd with a heavy beating of the hometown favourite despite losing the opening leg. Smith would rattle off five legs before a fifth 180 of the match took the 2023 world champion to the victory.

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• Full night one report

Good night!

23:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

Thanks for joining Standard Sport's LIVE coverage of Night One in the Premier League Darts schedule!

Find our full report below!

Smith wins Night One in Cardiff as Littler loses semi-final

22:58 , Jonathan Gorrie

Michael Smith won Night One of the Premier League Darts schedule in Cardiff with a victory over hometown favourite Gerwyn Price.

Luke Littler overcame Luke Humphries to enact some revenge for December’s World Championship final defeat but ‘The Nuke’ ultimately fell to Smith.

The teenager hit six 180s in a match of the highest quality and fought his way back from 4-2 down.

Read our full report here!

Gerwyn Price 2-6 Michael Smith

22:48 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith takes out on 20 to win the match! A dominant victory.

Gerwyn Price 2-5 Michael Smith

22:45 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Iceman responds to hold throw with a ton on D10.

Gerwyn Price 1-5 Michael Smith

22:44 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith pins a fantastic 107 checkout on D16. He's on it tonight!

Gerwyn Price 1-4 Michael Smith

22:42 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith lands 140 and checks out on 120 to go within two legs of winning the final!

Gerwyn Price 1-3 Michael Smith

22:42 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy hits a fourth 180, with Price unable to find a treble.

Sith hits D10 to silence the crowd.

Gerwyn Price 1-2 Michael Smith

22:41 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith gets the first break in the final on tops and finishes on 75.

Gerwyn Price 1-1 Michael Smith

22:39 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy responds to land a D5 on the second attempt.

Gerwyn Price 1-0 Michael Smith

22:36 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price opens with 180 and eventually get the hold he wanted with a shootout of 80 on tops.

Premier League Darts: Away we go in the final!

22:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price vs Smith up next!

Premier League Darts: A good night for Michael Smith

22:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Michael Smith 6-5 Luke Littler

22:15 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith responds to Littler's 180 with a 135.

The Nuke roars back with a 171 to tee up 94 but can't finish!

Bully Boy wins it with a 55 checkout on tops!

Michael Smith 5-5 Luke Littler

22:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

Littler hits another 180 but misses two for hold of throw.

Smith can't take out 130 and The Nuke comes back to pin D5.

Michael Smith 5-4 Luke Littler

22:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy tees us 76 and wins the leg on tops.

Michael Smith 4-4 Luke Littler

22:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy losing control now as Littler sinks D10 to level the game.

Michael Smith 4-3 Luke Littler

22:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

Momentum swings again!

Smith only scores 28 to allow The Nuke back in. Littler then takes out 85 on the bullseye.

Michael Smith 4-2 Luke Littler

22:06 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith hits 140 to set up 81 and then breaks on D12 for a 12-darter.

Michael Smith 3-2 Luke Littler

22:05 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy opens with a 180 of his own and then hits 171.

He then pins tops for a 13-dart hold to take the lead.

Michael Smith 2-2 Luke Littler

22:04 , Jonathan Gorrie

Littler starts the leg with a 180 and lands D10 for a 14-dart hold.

Michael Smith 2-1 Luke Littler

22:03 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy wins the leg on D10 as Littler fails to respond.

Michael Smith 1-1 Luke Littler

22:01 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Nuke responds as he wraps up a 12-dart leg on tops!

Michael Smith 1-0 Luke Littler

22:01 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy takes the first leg with a double 10 at the first time of asking.

Premier League Darts: Smith vs Littler

21:57 , Jonathan Gorrie

Here we go! A place in the final against Price awaits.

Premier League Darts: Price beats Cross

21:51 , Jonathan Gorrie

Another successful night for the Iceman in Cardiff!

Rob Cross 2-6 Gerywn Price

21:49 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Welshman hits 121 and 128, winning the match on tops!

Rob Cross 2-5 Gerwyn Price

21:47 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Iceman pins tops to close in on the final!

Rob Cross 2-4 Gerwyn Price

21:46 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross misses three at D16, Price breaks throw on D12.

Rob Cross 2-3 Gerwyn Price

21:42 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price sinks a 13-darter to go ahead after a host of missed doubles from Cross.

Rob Cross 2-2 Gerwyn Price

21:39 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price goes just above tops for the break and Voltage holds on D4.

Rob Cross 1-2 Gerywn Price

21:39 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Iceman comes back to pin D10.

Rob Cross 1-1 Gerywn Price

21:38 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross levels up on D16.

Rob Cross 0-1 Gerywn Price

21:33 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross responds with a 140 to Price's 137 but the Welshman holds with a 117 checkout.

Premier League Darts: Cross vs Price

21:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Our first semi-final of the evening!

Luke Littler 6-2 Luke Humphries

21:13 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Nuke lands tops to move through to the semi-final!

Luke Littler 5-2 Luke Humphries

21:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Nuke is now one leg away from the semi-finals after taking out a double 10.

Luke Littler 4-2 Luke Humphries

21:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cool Hand finds a double three with his last dart to stop The Nuke running away with it.

Luke Littler 4-1 Luke Humphries

21:08 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Nuke lands four perfect darts and finishes hitting tops to round off an 11-dart leg.

Luke Littler 3-1 Luke Humphries

21:08 , Jonathan Gorrie

Two big fishes missed as Littler wins the leg on D10.

Luke Littler 2-1 Luke Humphries

21:05 , Jonathan Gorrie

Littler recovers after hitting 26 following a 180 from the world champion by scoring 125.

The Nuke then hits D5 after Humphries misses the bullseye for a 127.

Luke Littler 1-1 Luke Humphries

21:03 , Jonathan Gorrie

Humphries fires back after hitting T19, 19 and D16.

Luke Littler 1-0 Luke Humphries

21:01 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Nuke opens with 119 as the world champion misses two at double 16 for a break and Littler nails a D10.

Premier League Darts: Luke Littler up next!

20:55 , Jonathan Gorrie

The teenager is going to get a huge reception.

Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Michael Smith

20:51 , Jonathan Gorrie

MVG can't build on a 140 opener, allowing Smith to find a 140 and 98 before winning the game by pinning tops.

Michael van Gerwen 5-5 Michael Smith

20:45 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith responds with a 180 of his own.

Bully Boy scores 129 to tee up 77 and cleans up with a double 10 to level up ahead of the final leg.

Michael van Gerwen 5-4 Michael Smith

20:44 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Dutchman scores 136 and then hits D16 to seal a 13-dart leg.

Michael van Gerwen 4-4 Michael Smith

20:42 , Jonathan Gorrie

MVG now lands a fourth maximum but slips with a score of 40. He then recovers to finish off 17 on D8.

Michael van Gerwen 3-4 Michael Smith

20:41 , Jonathan Gorrie

MVG lands a third maximum and holds throw on tops.

Michael van Gerwen 2-4 Michael Smith

20:40 , Jonathan Gorrie

Bully Boy messes up of 62 but MVG fails to pin D16. Smith then finds D1 with his last dart.

Michael van Gerwen 2-3 Michael Smith

20:38 , Jonathan Gorrie

The two trade 180s and Van Gerwen comes close to a tops finish but Smith breaks again on D9.

Michael van Gerwen 2-2 Michael Smith

20:36 , Jonathan Gorrie

MVG hits a fourth 140 of the match.

The Dutchman scores 99 to tee up tops and returns to sink D10.

Michael van Gerwen 1-2 Michael Smith

20:34 , Jonathan Gorrie

MVG in a bit of trouble as Smith threatens to break again but misses D4.

The Dutchman comes in to sink D7.

Michael van Gerwen 0-2 Michael Smith

20:33 , Jonathan Gorrie

MVG hits a 180 but Smith takes out on 120 tops for a hold of throw.

Michael van Gerwen 0-1 Michael Smith

20:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

Smith breaks early on D5.

Premier League Darts: Michael van Gerwen vs Michael Smith

20:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

Racing through tonight's action!

Premier League Darts: What a match!

20:21 , Jonathan Gorrie

A flawed game, but an entertaining one!

Gerwyn Price 6-4 Nathan Aspinall

20:19 , Jonathan Gorrie

Aspinall misses two at D12, failing to punish Price.

The Iceman checks out on 120 to tee up a meeting with Rob Cross.

Gerwyn Price 5-4 Nathan Aspinall

20:17 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price cannot find a treble, with the home crowd very quiet.

Gerwyn Price 5-4 Nathan Aspinall

20:16 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price fails with three match darts and 'The Asp' hangs on after sinking D4.

Gerwyn Price 5-3 Nathan Aspinall

20:13 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price looks to break by setting up a 170 but fails to the T20 wit his second dart.

He does set up 36 and pins D18.

Gerwyn Price 4-3 Nathan Aspinall

20:12 , Jonathan Gorrie

After a slow start, this is coming into life!

The Iceman is far ahead in this leg he gets time to set up tops. He's back to pin it and takes the lead.

Gerwyn Price 3-3 Nathan Aspinall

20:10 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price just misses the bullseye for a 16 finish and 'The Asp' responds by finding D18.

Gerwyn Price 3-2 Nathan Aspinall

20:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price set up 24 and he's back to pin D16 for a 13-darter.

Gerwyn Price 2-2 Nathan Aspinall

20:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price breaks back with a ton-plus checkout to turn the game around!

Gerwyn Price 1-2 Nathan Aspinall

20:04 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Iceman gets on the board by pinning D12.

Gerwyn Price 0-2 Nathan Aspinall

20:04 , Jonathan Gorrie

Price misses chances to break back and Aspinall is equally as sloppy with his doubles.

'The Asp', however, manages to hold on D4.

Gerwyn Price 0-1 Nathan Aspinall

20:01 , Jonathan Gorrie

Aspinall silences the crowd with a 180 on his first attempt.

After slipping up on his second dart at 20 making double tops look impossible, 'The Asp' seeks out the gap to win the first leg.

Gerwyn Price vs Nathan Aspinall

19:57 , Jonathan Gorrie

Here we go!

Premier League Darts: Gerwyn Price vs Nathan Aspinall

19:53 , Jonathan Gorrie

'The Iceman' is going to get some reception...

Peter Wright 3-6 Rob Cross

19:50 , Jonathan Gorrie

The moment 👇

Peter Wright 3-6 Rob Cross

19:50 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross throws for a place in the semi-finals but misses a match dart for a 156 checkout, before missing three more at D18.

Wright has one dart at double tops to break back but misses. Cross then finds the double required to tee up a meeting with either Nathan Aspinall or Gerwyn Price.

Peter Wright 3-5 Rob Cross

19:45 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross seals the leg having been left on 109. Brilliant checkout on D16.

Sloppy stuff from Wright.

Peter Wright 3-4 Rob Cross

19:44 , Jonathan Gorrie

Wright averaging less than 85, with Cross two legs away from reaching the semi-finals later tonight.

Peter Wright 3-4 Rob Cross

19:42 , Jonathan Gorrie

'Voltage' lands on D16 and holds.

Peter Wright 3-3 Rob Cross

19:40 , Jonathan Gorrie

'Snakebite' is growing and Cross hits 74 for a break but fails to convert.

Wright converts on D2 after missing D5.

Peter Wright 2-3 Rob Cross

19:39 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross finds a couple of 140s as a slow start costs Wright.

Peter Wright 2-2 Rob Cross

19:36 , Jonathan Gorrie

Wright finding his feet now, after a difficult start.

Cross fails to break and 'Snakebite' lands a nice 145 to seal the leg.

Peter Wright 1-2 Rob Cross

19:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross holds throw and retakes the lead.

Wright struggling.

Peter Wright 1-1 Rob Cross

19:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross gets the first 180 of the night in Cardiff!

Peter Wright 1-1 Rob Cross

19:30 , Jonathan Gorrie

Wright not finding it easy in the early legs but Cross allows him in, with the Scot leveling by taking out 37, with Cross needing 45.

Peter Wright 0-1 Rob Cross

19:28 , Jonathan Gorrie

Cross holds the opening leg, with Wright struggling to find the trebles.

Cross hits double 16 for the opener.

Premier League Darts: Peter Wright vs Rob Cross

19:26 , Jonathan Gorrie

Here we go!

Premier League Darts: First match tonight

19:16 , Jonathan Gorrie

Peter Wright meets Rob Cross in the first match of the night.

Premier League Darts: Round 1

19:05 , Jonathan Gorrie

Here we go! Looks like quite the atmosphere in Cardiff.

Premier League Darts: Warming up!

18:47 , Jonathan Gorrie

We're edging closer now...

Luke Littler darts tonight

18:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

Luke Littler's bid to win back-to-back World Series titles was dashed by Michael van Gerwen in the final of the Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch.

Littler was beaten 8-6 by the three-time world champion, who had fallen to the 17-year-old in the final in Bahrain last weekend.

Luke Littler: Age, earnings and ranking after stunning run to World Darts Championship final

18:10 , Jonathan Gorrie

Littler was born in Runcorn, Cheshire, and was first introduced to the world of darts when he was just 18-months-old, throwing at a magnetic board. By the age of four he was using a proper board and his first 180 followed just a couple of years later.

Two years ago, Littler hit a nine-darter during the Junior Darts Corporation Masters Tournament and the teenager grew up regularly playing in leagues above his age group.

Read the full profile here!

Luke Humphries: Darts' self-confessed 'Mr Boring' is an inspirational and worthy champion

17:51 , Jonathan Gorrie

Moments after landing the dart that made him the world champion, Luke Humphries was acutely aware he was the secondary story.

Almost to the point of apologising to the crowd for ending their dreamed-of victory for his opponent Luke Littler, he singled out the 16-year-old for praise in the same breath that he celebrated his own dream come true.

Read the full story here!

Premier League Darts: Round 1 schedule tonight

17:38 , Jonathan Gorrie

Peter Wright vs Rob Cross

Gerwyn Price vs Nathan Aspinall

Michael van Gerwen vs Michael Smith

Luke Littler vs Luke Humphries

Luke Littler unfazed ahead of 'big boys' debut in Premier League Darts

17:37 , Jonathan Gorrie

One by one the eight best darts players were wheeled out in a hospitality suite of Principality Stadium, where Wales begin their Six Nations bid against ­Scotland on Saturday.

And last year’s world champion Michael Smith summed it up ­succinctly: “There’s only one name on people’s lips and it’s not mine.”

Read the full story here!

Premier League Darts: Format explained

17:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Premier League spans 17 weeks across 17 different locations, with the winner crowned in May. At each event, the eight players will compete in four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and then a weekly final.

Premier League Darts: When is Luke Littler playing?

17:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

Litter's rematch with Humphries is scheduled for the final match of the evening at Cardiff's Utilita Arena on Thursday.

With the first of four matches expected to begin around 7:30pm GMT, it is likely that Litter will reach the oche after 9:30pm.

Premier League Darts: TV channel and live stream

17:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

TV channel: In the UK, the Premier League Darts will be televised live on Sky Sports, across both the Main Event and Mix channels. Coverage will begin at 7pm GMT.

Sky Sports have coverage of every arrow thrown across all 17 evenings up to and including May.

Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.

Live blog: You can follow all the action tonight via Standard Sport’s live blog.

Welcome

17:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Good evening and welcome to Standard Sport's LIVE coverage of the Premier League Darts Round 1.

The action begins at 7pm GMT inside the Utilita Arena.