Schedule for PDC Premier League Darts Night 5 in Exeter

Luke 'The Nuke' Littler, who spent his early childhood in Runcorn but now lives in Warrington and is an ardent Warrington Wolves fan, faces St Helens thrower Michael Smith - a massive Saints supporter - in the fourth of Thursday night's quarter-finals.

The two huge rugby league fans and consistent honours chasers in elite darts are set to put on another show of arch rivalry.

Smith defeated 17-year-old former Padgate Academy student Littler 6-5 in a high-quality semi-final on Night 1 in Cardiff.

They are due on stage at 8.45pm, with the winner going on to meet either Gerwyn Price or Rob Cross in the second semi-final at 9.45pm.

Competing players in 2024 PDC Premier League Darts:

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

Schedule for PDC Premier League Darts Night 5, Exeter, live on Sky Sports, Thursday, February 29:

Quarter-final 1: Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen, 7.15pm

Quarter-final 2: Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright, 7.45pm

Quarter-final 3: Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross, 8.15pm

Quarter-final 4: Luke Littler v Michael Smith, 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

A reminder of what happened last week:

Results for PDC Premier League Darts Night 4, Utilita Arena, Newcastle, Thursday, February 22:

Quarter-final 1: Michael Smith 5-6 Nathan Aspinall

Quarter-final 2: Rob Cross 6-5 Luke Humphries

Quarter-final 3: Peter Wright 5-6 Luke Littler

Quarter-final 4: Gerwyn Price 4-6 Michael van Gerwen

Semi-final 1: Aspinall 6 Cross 4

Semi-final 2: Littler 5-6 Van Gerwen

Final: Aspinall 4 Van Gerwen 6

PDC Premier League Order of Merit:

Premier League Darts 2024 Order of Merit (Image: PDC)

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 5, Exeter, February 29: Humphries v Van Gerwen, Aspinall v Wright, Price v Cross, Littler v Smith.

Night 6, Brighton, March 7: Humphries v Price, Cross v Van Gerwen, Aspinall v Littler, Smith v Wright.

Night 7, Nottingham, March 14: Wright v Price, Humphries v Smith, Van Gerwen v Littler, Cross v Aspinall.

Night 8, Dublin, March 21: Fixtures confirmed following Night Seven.

Night 9, Belfast, March 28: Humphries v Littler, Smith v Van Gerwen, Aspinall v Price, Cross v Wright.

Night 10, Manchester, April 4: Aspinall v Cross, Littler v Van Gerwen, Smith v Humphries, Price v Wright.

Night 11, Birmingham, April 11: Wright v Humphries, Cross v Littler, Price v Smith, Van Gerwen v Aspinall.

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