THE first phase of the Unibet Premier League season concludes on Thursday with Judgement Night at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, with Peter Wright and Mensur Suljovic battling for survival.
With bottom-placed Gerwyn Price already eliminated from the tournament following eight games, either Wright or Suljovic will join the Welshman in dropping out of the Premier League on Thursday.
Suljovic has picked up four points from his opening eight matches, but has now lost his last three games.
The Austrian ace will take on Michael van Gerwen - in a repeat of the 2016 European Championship final - as he bids to claim at least a point to pile the pressure on Wright.
Wright broke his own three-game losing run - after going down 7-1 in three successive weeks - with a draw against Simon Whitlock in Belfast last Thursday.
The world number two now sits one point clear of Suljovic going into his tie against Daryl Gurney.
That means Wright could be safe from elimination by the time he enters the stage if the Champions League of Darts winner is defeated by Van Gerwen.
Previous Meetings
Suljovic's only previous televised win over Van Gerwen came at the 2011 World Championship, with the Dutchman following up his European Championship final victory with a defeat of the Austrian in the 2017 Masters.
Suljovic, though, won 6-3 in their most recent meeting in a Players Championship in Dublin last September, following up his 6-3 quarter-final triumph by taking the title.
Whilst Wright defeated Gurney on his way to the 2017 UK Open title, he has lost to the Northern Irish ace in their past three televised meetings, at the 2017 Perth Darts Masters, European Championship and World Series of Darts Finals.
The pair also played out a classic in the 2017 World Matchplay semi-finals, where Wright emerged a 17-15 winner at the Winter Gardens.
Seasonal Stats
When comparing performances so far in the 2018 Premier League, Suljovic actually has the second-highest tournament average of 99.55, compared to Wright's 96.06, which puts him seventh of the ten players.
Suljovic is also third in the checkout stats at 46% compared to Wright's 38% ratio, although the Scot has landed 17 maximum 180s to his rival's 11.
Suljovic has also lost three of his matches by a 7-5 scoreline, with Wright's closest loss being 7-4 ahead of three defeats by a six-leg margin - including against the Austria in Leeds.
The Unibet Premier League Judgment Night will be held on Thursday April 5 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. For tickets, visit www.echoarena.co.uk or call 0844 8000 400.
Unibet Premier League
Judgement Night - April 5
Echo Arena, Liverpool
Simon Whitlock v Gerwyn Price
Raymond van Barneveld v Michael Smith
Gary Anderson v Rob Cross
Mensur Suljovic v Michael van Gerwen
Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright
Tickets via www.echoarena.co.uk and 0844 8000 400
League Table
