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Michael van Gerwen will face Raymond van Barneveld in Rotterdam as Premier League fixtures revealed

Premier League Darts
Image: The fixtures for the second phase of the Premier League have been released as the race to the O2 hots up

Michael van Gerwen's Rotterdam meeting with Raymond van Barneveld headlines Phase Two of the Premier League, which gets underway on Thursday when the top four face off in Sheffield.

After the first stage ended on an emotional night in Liverpool with Mensur Suljoivic joining Gerwyn Price in dropping out of the competition, the fixtures for the final six nights of tungsten action have been released.

The opening night at Sheffield's FlyDSA Arena will see the league's top four going head to head in a line-up that could open up an already tightly grouped chasing pack.

Top-of-the-table Van Gerwen, on a six-match winning streak after a solitary defeat to Peter Wright on Night Two, plays fourth-placed Simon Whitlock who ended a run of five without a win by beating Gerwyn Price last Thursday.

Michael Smith Michael van Gerwen
Image: Van Gerwen and Smith occupy the top two places after blistering starts to the competition

Second-placed Michael Smith, a Pro Tour winner again at the weekend, has seven wins from his nine matches and will take on red-hot world champion Rob Cross this week, who is up to third place after starting his debut Premier League campaign with back-to-back defeats.

Smith has seven wins from his nine matches, a far cry from his debut in the competition two years ago when he won just a solitary game as he was eliminated after the first stage.

Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright will double up in Sheffield as the first four nights will feature five matches - a pair of victories for either man will keep them in the top-four hunt.

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Barney kicks off against Daryl Gurney while Wright is in action against Gary Anderson before the pair return to end the evening.

Night Ten - April 12

FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
Raymond van Barneveld v Daryl Gurney
Gary Anderson v Peter Wright
Simon Whitlock v Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith v Rob Cross
Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright
BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS 2017.AHOY ARENA,.ROTTERDAM,THE NETHERLANDS.PIC;LAWRENCE LUSTIG.JAMES WADE V JELLE KLAASEN.General view.
Image: Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena will play host to a Premier League double-header next week

After Sheffield, attention turns to Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena when back-to-back nights of action will thrill the Dutch crowd, who will get the chance to again turn the venue into a sea of orange as they did last year.

On Wednesday, Van Barneveld and Van Gerwen can expect the full support of the crowd as they go up against Whitlock and Wright respectively but Thursday promises to be a memorable night.

The two darting icons will go up against each other in the evening's penultimate match and the pair often bring out the best in each other with Van Gerwen inspired by Van Barneveld who rises to the challenge.

Gurney and Whitlock play twice on Thursday with world champion Cross and Gary Anderson doubling up on Wednesday in the final game of a blockbuster start to two days in the Netherlands.

Night 11 - April 18

Rotterdam Ahoy
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Rob Cross v Daryl Gurney
Raymond van Barneveld v Simon Whitlock
Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
Rob Cross v Gary Anderson

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Premier League Darts goes double Dutch

Night 12 - April 19

Rotterdam Ahoy
Simon Whitlock v Michael Smith
Daryl Gurney v Gary Anderson
Rob Cross v Peter Wright
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney v Simon Whitlock

After the 'Double in the 'Dam' the roadshow rolls on to Manchester. Birmingham and then Aberdeen for the final night of action as the race for the play-offs hots up with those holding the top four spots heading to London's O2 for Finals Night on May 17.

With just four points currently separating fourth and eighth, the final night of the regular season could be one of the most dramatic in the competition's history and the BHGE Arena in Aberdeen always provides a raucous atmosphere with Scottish hero Anderson roared to the stage.

The Flying Scotsman will face Van Gerwen as he did last year, with the Dutchman aiming to finish top for a sixth successive year. Smith will face Van Barneveld, Whitlock takes on Cross and Wright will face Gurney before attention switch to London

Night 13 - April 26

Manchester Arena
Peter Wright v Michael Smith
Daryl Gurney v Michael van Gerwen
Simon Whitlock v Gary Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld v Rob Cross
Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen

Night 14 - May 3

Arena Birmingham
Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock
Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith
Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld

Night 15 - May 10

BHGE Arena, Aberdeen
Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
Simon Whitlock v Rob Cross

The 2018 Premier League heads to the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield on Thursday for week 10 with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Mix, which you can find on channel 287, and is free for all Sky customers. Five weeks of tungsten action will then continue through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.

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