Dobey beats Bunting for Rotterdam triumph

On a night of shocks in Rotterdam, Chris Dobey defeated Stephen Bunting to claim his first Premier League victory on 2025.

Few would have anticipated the all-English final, with the bottom two going into night 11;

Dobey reached the semi-finals with a 6-2 victory over Nathan Aspinall, his first final since a 6-1 loss to Luke Humphries on opening night.

The 34-year-old Northumberland-born player won his second consecutive Premier League nightly win 5-1 over Bunting and sealed an impressive victory with an average of 101.84.

Dobey, who is currently sixth in the table, is only three points clear of the four play-off spots, while only five points keep Aspinall, who is seventh, and Rob Cross, who are both seventh.

“I think I can still make it to the top four,” she said. If I keep this performance, I have a good chance the following week, he said.

“I’m a fighter, I’ve won big matches and been cruising all the way back to the top.” I’m going to stay until the end, and I’m here to win.

With the defeat of world champion Luke Littler and Dutchman Michael van Gerwen, Bunting won two of the final three matches.

Premier League champion Littler defeated Rob Cross 6-5 in the quarter-finals despite his opponent’s 110 average in the gloomy Ahoy Arena.

In an effort to keep his arrows on track, the 18-year-old, who is leading the league and aiming for a fifth nightly win of the year, went for heavier darts, up three grams to 26g.

After being defeated by Aspinall in the final eight, Gerwyn Price was unhappy with the breeze on stage in Rotterdam, according to several players.

Aspinall initially warned him that he had a shoulder injury, but his Welsh opponent saw off against him without any symptoms.

After that, Price said on Instagram, “We move on to the next week, and this week was pointless.” Everywhere, the darts were exploding.

“I’m hoping we’ll stop coming here and look for alternative locations.” You look just as foolish as you appear if you believe that the situation applies to both players.

Cross had a five-match losing streak against Littler, but he appeared to be on the verge of victory before his rival clinched a 145 finish.

Littler was the 2018 world champion, but the teenager held on for the win again, 110.15 to 108.56.

Dutch fans disappointed when home hero Van Gerwen lost to Bunting 6-5.

The seven-time Premier League champion has only advanced to the top ten games in the first ten weeks, only to reach a single nightly final.

Final

Stephen Bunting defeated Chris Dobey 6-2.

Semi-finals

Nathan Aspinall defeated Chris Dobey 6-2

Luke Littler 6-5 Luke Bunting

Quarter-finals

Luke Humphries defeated Chris Dobey 6-3

Nathan Aspinall 3-6 Gerwyn Price

Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Stephen Bunting

Premier League Darts is played in 16 league starts, with quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals on each night.

In the quarter-finals in weeks one through seven and nine through fifteen, with the eight and sixteen fixtures being eliminated from the table, each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven. On the final league-stage night, Sheffield will play host to fourth-and-fifth place teams, with potential playoff spots also in the cards.

Players are awarded two points for each quarter-final victory, five for each semi-final victory, and five for each night’s victory.

In a best-of-19-leg competition, the top four players will advance to the play-off night on May 23 at London’s O2 Arena, with first facing first and second facing third. The best leg of the 21 legs is the final.

Liverpool on Thursday, April 24.