2026 PL Darts Night 9 Preview & Tips – JP
2026 PL Darts Night 9 Preview
Last week was a bit of a nightmare for James Punt but he’s determined to bounce back straight away. His 2026 PL Darts Night 9 preview and tips are below.
Night 8 Reflections
Night 8 in Berlin last week was a bad one. Three out of four bets lost, including the 2 pointer on Clayton to beat Rock. It was a -2.5 point loss and we are now -5.99 points down so far.
This week the venue is Manchester, so home advantage for Luke Littler, who is now on top of the league having won three of the last four PL Nights. Long time leader, Jonny Clayton, is having a slump, with no points from the last two weeks. He is still five points clear of Price in third place, and six ahead of Van Gerwen in fourth.
Luke Humphries needs to start stringing some wins together. He is in fifth place, two points outside of the top four. Humphries has only reached one final and is yet to pick up a nightly win.
Michael van Gerwen vs. Stephen Bunting
Van Gerwen continues to play a lot of good darts but isn’t getting much to show for it. He does like playing Bunting, however. Their H2H record is 25-5 and in 2026 it is already 3-0. Two of those were in the Mickey Mouse World Series events back in January, and then there was an easy 6-2 win for MVG on Night 1.
Bunting has lost six of his eight quarter final matches and is inconsistent, at best. He played great in Berlin last week, averaging 107.47, but still lost 3-6 to Luke Littler. He was carrying the Punt Pound of course, and that was a heavy burden.
2026 PL Darts Night 9 Tip: 1 point Michael van Gerwen to win @ 1.72 with Livescorebet
Gerwyn Price vs. Luke Humphries
Both players skipped the Players Championship events on Monday and Tuesday.
Price also skipped ET3 and he has had a light schedule in the last two weeks since losing the final of ET2. He has won seven of his last ten matches and is playing well. However, his two duff performances in his last ten were both in finals. He has won five of his last six PL quarter finals and is hard to beat, except in finals or if his opponent is Luke Littler.
Humphries has also won seven of his last ten matches, is playing very good darts and finally got some reward when winning the Belgian Darts Open two weeks ago. Is he over his doubling woes? No. Five of his last ten matches saw checkout rates of 33% or less. His confidence on the outer ring remains fragile. It is hard to be totally confident that he can convert heavy scoring in to match wins.
H2H Close
Their H2H record is 16-14 to Price and in 2026, 2-2. They have played ten PL matches under the current format, of which six were over 9.5 legs. Their last match was a 6-1 win for Price, and while both averaged over the ton, Humphries only got three darts at a double and hit one. Price was just unplayable that night.
Humphries is the 1.75 favourite, Price 2.10. I would say there is a bit of value with Price, but I will go for a close match. A lot depends on Humphries’ doubling, but his scoring should at the very least give him some chances.
2026 PL Darts Night 9 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.98 with Livescorebet
Gian Van Veen vs. Luke Littler
Gian van Veen made his return following abdominal surgery in Berlin last week, and lost 1-6 to Gerwyn Price. He said afterwards that it was perhaps too soon to return as he felt tired. Van Veen has had another week to recover. He did not play in the two Players Championship events earlier in the week.
Littler was another to miss the Players Championship events, as is his modus operandi. He won’t be traveling to Munich for this weekend’s German Darts Grand Prix either, as he keeps his schedule light.
Littler is in top form, having won eight of his last ten matches, hitting nine ton plus averages. He has won three of the last four PL nights, including Berlin, won the UK Open and The Polish Darts Open.
Not Unbeatable
He can be beaten. Luke Humphries averaged 105.71 to beat him in the Night 6 semi-final, and Neils Zonneveld averaged 101.58 to beat him in the Belgium Darts Open. Littler’s win rate in 2026 is now 84% and he is just about unbeatable right now.
Gian Van Veen had already lost his form before having surgery, and his health problems won’t have helped. He has lost seven of his last ten matches and his scoring has dropped off in recent matches. He last played Litter in the final of the Polish Darts Open and lost 4-8. Overall, their H2H record is 7-5 to Littler, and in 2026 3-1 to Littler.
Littler Odds On
Littler is the 1.29 favourite, Van Veen 4.00. I expect Van Veen to be fitter than he was last week, but he has not been close to his best since February.
Littler is ‘at home’ this week, but I doubt that will make much difference. He won the night here in 2024 and lost in the semi-final last year.
If their relative recent form continues, then this should be a comfortable win for Littler, and a very bad time for Van Veen to have to play him. Littler can be a bit slow to start, but I will take him to cover a -2.5 leg handicap.
2026 PL Darts Night 9 Tip: 1 point Luke Littler to win -2.5 legs @ 2.00 with Betfair
Jonny Clayton vs. Josh Rock
A repeat of last week’s quarter final match, which Rock won 6-3. It was Rock’s first points of the tournament, but it wasn’t a stellar return to form, rather a poor performance from Clayton, of which Rock was able to take advantage.
It was always going to happen, it was just a bummer that it had to happen when we had 2 point bet on Clayton. Rock was subsequently beaten by MVG in the semi-final
Josh rock has lost six of his last ten matches and averaged just 90.90. He didn’t take the chance to play in the Players Championships this week. Rock has checked out at below 30% in six of his last ten matches and his checkout rate in the PL is just 24.44%. That is going to get you found out very quickly at this level.
Faltering Ferret
Jonny Clayton’s form has dropped off. From solid and consistent, his averages are now increasingly modest. He has won six of his last ten matches and he did play in this week’s Players Championships, going out in the third round on both days. His average over his last ten matches is just 92.60.
Neither player in is good form, but they played just last week, and Rock won 6-3. The Ferret is still playing better than Rock, especially on the doubles, but neither will be full of confidence going into this.
Last week’s match was poor, both averaging below 90. For once, Rock was better on the doubles. Their other match in the PL saw Clayton winning 6-2. That was a very different affair. Clayton averaged 109.81, Rock 101.83, and Clayton won 6-2.
This is a hard call. Neither player is in decent form. They have played two PL matches so far, and they couldn’t have been more different. Both ended with wide margin wins.
Clayton is the 1.67 favourite, Rock 2.25. Another unders match is 1.88, but I am happy to give this match a very wide berth. No bet.
