Follow the action on Sky Sports Action, Main Event and Mix from 7pm on Thursday
Thursday 22 February 2018 19:44, UK
An unlikely top-of-the-table clash headlines when Premier League Darts breaks new ground again on Thursday and rolls into a near 12,000 sell-out at Berlin's Mercedes-Benz Arena.
After the huge success of Rotterdam last year when 10,000 orange-clad fans packed out the Ahoy Arena for a raucous night, the PDC take the Premier League into a second city in mainland Europe.
A return to Holland follows later this year, but what will Germany have in store as Berlin picks up the baton for the Premier League roadshow?
Top-of-the-table Simon Whitlock and Michael Smith are the opening act of what promises to be another thrilling evening.
Gerwyn Price and Mensur Suljovic meet with both men looking to pick up a first win in the event, while Michael van Gerwen takes on Daryl Gurney and world champion Rob Cross and Raymond van Barneveld face off in a mouthwatering clash.
Peter Wright against Gary Anderson brings the curtain down on the evening and an enthralling atmosphere awaits as the German fans, who have packed out smaller arenas for the World Cup in Frankfurt and the European Masters in Dusseldorf, get their chance to welcome the 10 best players on planet darts.
After three weeks of action it is the unlikely pairing of Smith and Whitlock who have the league's only 100 per cent records.
The pair go head to head in Thursday's opener with a draw seeing both maintain their unbeaten records and ensure they remain in the top two positions for another week.
Both men were relegated in their last Premier League campaign (Smith in 2016 and Whitlock in 2014) having picked up just one win in those seasons, so while defeat would be disappointing they are well set for a run at a play-off place.
Both men remain winless after the opening three nights but Gerwyn Price will be the happier of the two having forced battling draws against Daryl Gurney and Peter Wright.
In contrast Champions League of Darts winner Suljovic is the only man to have lost all three games but the Austrian can feel a touch hard done by.
He lost both of his opening matches by the same 7-5 scoreline and averaged more than 100 on both occasions before a heavy defeat to Michael Smith in Newcastle last week.
"I've been 5-1 down twice now so I've got to believe in myself. Maybe I'm trying a bit too hard so I think I need to relax a bit more."
The world number one is in sensational form, adding the opening two Players Championship events to a blistering start to the season.
He beat James Wade and Corey Cadby in finals at the weekend, hot on the heels of a spellbinding match against Gary Anderson where he returned to winning ways having suffered defeat to Peter Wright in Cardiff.
Gurney is another player searching for a first win in his first Premier League bid and despite a couple of draws feels he is yet to find his best form.
"The way I've played in the last couple of weeks, I've been steady enough, playing okay but I can play so much better," he said.
The world champion takes on Barney in the most eye-catching of the evening's matches. Cross is still rediscovering finding his form over the last couple of weeks but picked up a first Premier League win against Snakebite last time out.
That victory was not without its controversy but Voltage is pleased just to be playing darts again after the circus surrounding his sensational world title on debut at Alexandra Palace.
Van Barneveld got a rapturous reception in Rotterdam last year and can expect more of the same over the border in Germany but it's been a bit of everything from Barney so far with a defeat to in-form Whitlock his most recent outing following a win over Suljovic and a draw with Gurney.
The four-week gap after the World Championship was hard because I wasn't on the practice board as much and it killed my momentum, and I'm digging myself out of it now. I'm practising and playing well and enjoying myself, and it's getting better.
Two of the world's top four end proceedings in Berlin when Gary Anderson looks to return to winning ways after his defeat to Van Gerwen in last week's cracker.
Anderson's spectacular 170 finish was not enough as MVG powered away to victory and inflicted a second defeat of the tournament on the Scot.
Wright was left unhappy with the behaviour of Rob Cross in last week's defeat although he refused to elaborate too much on just what had irked him. His only victory has come against MVG and like Barney, the Scot has a win, a draw and a defeat from his three matches.
The Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin is Thursday night's venue with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action, Main Event, and Mix. The season continues through to the conclusion on May 17 with the Play-Offs at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
