Can van Gerwen return to winning ways on home soil – Night 11 preview

Michael van Gerwen hopes a return to home turf will spark his comeback when the BetMGM Premier League season resumes in Rotterdam on Thursday evening.

The Rotterdam Ahoy will host Night 11 of this year’s roadshow on April 17, as Dutch superstar Van Gerwen prepares to take centre stage.

The seven-time Premier League winner is now outside the Play-Off spots on legs difference, having only made it to one weekly final in the first ten weeks.

Van Gerwen, on the other hand, has won more quarter-final matches than any other player in this year’s championship, and he will be trying to keep that streak going when he faces Stephen Bunting.

Bunting ended his Premier League blank with a Night Nine victory in Berlin a fortnight ago, but Van Gerwen averaged 109 and won 6-1 when the two played on Night Two.

“This is always the week where you want to perform and do well,” insisted Van Gerwen – the most successful player in BetMGM Premier League history.

“Playing on home soil in front of your family and friends, you always want to produce something extra. It’s really enjoyable and it gives me more energy, which I think is really important.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit recently, but I’ve been battling and picking up points here and there, and I know there is plenty more in the tank.

“This is a difficult format, especially when you’re not performing at your best, but I need to make sure I do the right thing for myself, and hopefully I can get my first nightly win [of the season] here in Rotterdam.”

If Van Gerwen defeats Bunting, he will face either Luke Littler or Rob Cross, with league leader Littler aiming for a record-breaking fifth nightly win this season.

Littler’s advantage at the Premier League summit has been reduced to five points following his semi-final defeat to Luke Humphries in Manchester, while Cross is three points below the top four following his last-eight departure against Nathan Aspinall.

Following his stunning victory on Night Ten, Aspinall propelled himself into the Play-Off places, defeating Cross, Van Gerwen, and Humphries to continue his impressive run.

The Stockport native won his first European Tour victory in Gottingen last month, and he has since appeared in another European Tour final before reaching Monday’s Players Championship 13 final.

“Five weeks ago, I was really struggling, but the last three weeks have proved why I’m still playing,” declared Aspinall, a Premier League runner-up in 2020.

“I’ve been through a horrendous two years but I’m a fighter; I’m a warrior.

“I don’t know when I’m beaten and I’m in a privileged position doing a job I love. I keep fighting to the end and I will never give up.

“I’m feeling confident, and the thing is with me, when I’m a confident player and scoring well, there’s not many people in the world of darts that can beat me.”

Aspinall will face Gerwyn Price for a place in the Night 11 semi-finals, after the Welshman landed a remarkable nine-darter in a defeat to Littler last week.

Price became the fourth Premier League player to reach perfection this season, but he’ll be focused on returning to winning ways in Rotterdam, where the pair are separated by only two legs heading into Thursday’s game.

The evening’s opener will pit Chris Dobey against world number one Humphries, who has advanced to his seventh nightly final of the season in Manchester.

Humphries recorded an astounding 118.43 average in his quarter-final victory over Bunting, the third-highest figure in Premier League history, and he has also won all three encounters with Dobey this season.

Can van Gerwen return to winning ways on home soil 

2025 BetMGM Premier League

Night 11 – Thursday April 17

Rotterdam Ahoy

Quarter-Finals

Chris Dobey v Luke Humphries

Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall

Stephen Bunting v Michael van Gerwen

Luke Littler v Rob Cross

Semi-Finals

Dobey/Humphries v Price/Aspinall

Bunting/Van Gerwen v Littler/Cross

Final

v

All matches best of 11 legs