2025 Night 3 Premier League Darts Preview

James Punt landed a full house last week. This Thursday’s action comes from Dublin, check out his 2025 Night 3 Premier League Darts preview below.

Night 2 Reflections

Night Two was a good night for the tips with three wins from three. The PDC Whistlers helped to get Luke Littler over the line and that will be a feature in all of Littler’s matches from here to eternity, or at least until a new crowd darling comes along. It was disappointing to hear Littler say that he wasn’t happy that the referee called for the whistlers to stop, as it made it worse. He knows that it can put his opponents off, and in a tight match…he will take it.

The only thing that will stop it is to throw the whistlers out, immediately. Take the players off until the offenders have been put outside the venue. It would stop within a week or two. Easy. It is almost like the PDC don’t want to stop it.

Profit

It was a +3.13 point profit on the night and we are +2.32 points up. Early days of course, but hopefully we can add to that on Night 3 which comes from Dublin.

We had two Players Championship events on Monday and Tuesday. The two Lukes did not enter and MVG only played on the Monday. Of the PL players who did go, Chris Dobey won PC3 and he played really well, averaging 98.95 across his seven matches. Gerwyn Price averaged 100.36 when reaching the quarter finals. Rob Cross also made the quarters but only managed 93.07.

PC4 saw the first non PL player picking up a title as Ryan Searle, the early season specialist, won PC4. He was a nice 26.00 winner for JamesPunt’s followers on Blueskysocial!

Luke Humphries vs. Stephen Bunting

Luke Humphries tops the table after two nights and he is keeping himself fresh by skipping three of the four Players Championships played so far. It is not long before we have the second major of the season and these PL players are trying to be competitive week in and week out, while still being fresh for a busy long weekend in Exeter next Thursday, followed by the UK Open in nearby Minehead.

Humphries won Night One and was runner up last week. He was booed out of the match by the Littler fans, but he will just have to get used to it. The PDC don’t care, Littler winning is good for business. Humphries has won eight of his last ten matches, and the two defeats were in deciding legs. Cool Hand is somewhere near top form.

Struggling Bunting

Bunting on the other hand is not having such a good time. Bottom of the table, averaging 93.98 and checking out at 28%. It is not just in the PL that Bunting is not firing. He went to the Netherlands on Monday and Tuesday for the Players Championships and won three of his five matches, meaning that he has won six of his last ten.

He is still playing decent stuff, just not the great stuff he was in the latter part of 2024. At this level, especially with Littler, Humphries and MVG banging in ton plus averages, he needs his A game.

Their H2H record is 11-6 to Luke Humphries. Bunting did win their last match, in the meaningless Bahrain Masters, 7-6, but Humphries was 5-2 in 2024.

Humphries is the 1.44 favourite with Bunting 2.90. I would not disagree with those odds. The question is, can Humphries cover the handicap? He is just 1.75 giving up -1.5 legs. I can’t see much value here.

2025 Night 3 Premier League Darts Tip: No Bet

Gerwyn Price vs. Luke Littler

Gerwyn Price is a player who likes to get his season off to a good start, getting a few good runs or titles in the Players Championships and Euro Tours, and then managing his schedule.

He picked up a Players Championship title last week, and he was playing some good stuff earlier this week, reaching the quarter final on Monday. He has already played thirty matches in 2025 and won twenty one of them, including two wins out of two against Luke Littler.

Luke Littler skipped the midweek Players Championships, so his last outing was winning Night Two in Glasgow. He was aided and abetted by the whistlers, and I guess we can expect more of the same here. Price has tended to get an easier time outside of Britain, or more specifically England, but everyone is going to get it when they play Littler. At least Price is used to it.

Strong On Stage

Littler has won eight of his last ten matches and in his last nine TV matches, he has won seven, but hit nine ton plus averages. He is a better player on stage, which partly explains his light Players Championship schedule.

Their H2H record is 5-4 to Price, and 2-0 in 2025. In fact, Price has won their last four matches in a row and Littler last beat the Welshman in April last year. Littler was 2-1 in last year’s PL.

The Iceman has a good record in Dublin. He has played a total of ten matches, won five, drawn two and lost three. Under the latest format, he has won all three quarter finals, made one final and hit four ton plus averages in the last two visits. It is likely he will need another ton, but he is capable of getting one.

This time last year, Michael Smith was a thorn in Littler’s side and maybe this year, it is Gerwyn Price. The odds are good enough to have a go with the Welshman. Price is the 3.30 outsider outright, and 2.30 with a +1.5 leg handicap. That handicap would not have made any difference to their H2H record in best of eleven matches so far, so I will go with a straight win bet.

2025 Night 3 Premier League Darts Tip: 1 point Gerwyn Price to win @ 3.25 with Betfair, Ladbrokes, SpreadEx, Betvictor

Rob Cross vs. Nathan Aspinall

The Asp’s form is very confusing, and for him, I imagine very frustrating. He has lost seven of his last ten matches and his 2025 win rate is just 38%. It is early days, but that is setting off alarm bells.

Aspinall went to the Netherlands for the two Players Championships and averaged 101.33 but won just one match. Six of his last ten averages have been 95+, but he is really struggling to find wins. He is trying his hardest, but when you try hard and still can’t get a win, you are going to get frustrated, and it is hard to play well when frustrated. A vicious circle can start very easily, but he won’t stop trying.

No Frustrations For Cross

Rob Cross has a 2025 win rate of 71% and has won a World Series and Players Championship title. Frustration is not part of his game. He took Littler to a deciding leg last week and went to the Netherlands on Monday and Tuesday, reaching the quarter final of PC3.

Voltage was not at his best, but won five matches and hit a couple of ton plus averages. He is not in top form, he could be more consistent, but he is in decent form.

Their H2H record is 10-7 to Aspinall and it is the Asp who has won their last five in a row, all in last year’s PL. Overall in the PL, Aspinall leads Cross 6-1.

Rob Cross is the 1.67 favourite, Aspinall 2.30, and it is Cross who is being backed. I wonder if that 5-0 H2H record in last year’s PL will inspire the Asp? It might, but he is hard to back right now. That said, I expect that we will get a reasonably close match.

2025 Night 3 Premier League Darts Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.10 with Betfair

Michael van Gerwen vs. Chris Dobey

Van Gerwen has made a solid start to the PL, picking up two quarter final wins, but he is not in good form. His 2025 win rate is just 50% and he has lost six of his last ten matches.

He is scoring well enough. Of those last ten matches, nine saw 95+ averages and seven over 97. His doubling hasn’t been great but there is more to it than that. He just looks to be lacking in confidence.

The midweek Players Championships were held in the Netherlands, and very close to his home. MVG played just one match on Monday, losing 4-6 to an unknown Irish amateur, Mickey Finn. MVG averaged 97 and was 57% on the doubles, hit a couple of 180s, lost and went home and didn’t come back for the next day.

Very strange. It can’t have been about managing his schedule. He has only played twelve matches in 2025. It is all very odd.

In Form On The Floor

Chris Dobey was there for both days, winning the title on Monday, hitting four ton plus averages, including a 113 in a 6-1 win over Krzysztof Ratajski. Dobey is now top of the Players Championship OOM having been runner up in PC2 last week. Nothing wrong with his floor form…. again. Can he bring to the stage in Dublin?

Dobey reached the final in Belfast, losing to Humphries, and he lost to Humphries in Glasgow last week. Is he still a little intimidated by the big beasts?

His record against MVG is 6-19. Their last match was a 1-6 thrashing in the World Championship semi-final and before that a 1-6 loss on the European tour. He has improved what was a dire record against MVG. Winning four of their last ten and in the 2023 PL, it was 2-3 and Dobey got a famous 6-0 win over MVG. They met in Dublin in 2023 and MVG won 6-3, his only quarter final win here.

The market has Van Gerwen as the 1.63 favourite and Dobey as the 2.50 outsider. MVG’s form is a real head scratcher, but Dobey is playing some very good stuff. I think the obvious course of action is to back the in-form outsider.

2025 Night 3 Premier League Darts Tip: 1 point Chris Dobey to win @ 2.50 generally available

-JamesPunt