Nathan Aspinall secured the final Premier League play-off spot while Luke Littler – the brilliant winner on the night – set new records in Sheffield.
Englishman Aspinall defeated Michael van Gerwen 6-2 in the quarter-finals to eliminate the seven-time champion.
Meanwhile, table-topping world champion Littler averaged more than 114 as he broke his own Premier League points record, reaching 42 after earning two in thrashing Stephen Bunting 6-1.
Littler defeated Aspinall 6-4 in the last four and Luke Humphries 6-3 in the Sheffield final to take his tally to 45 and seal a record-extending sixth Premier League nightly win on the 16th and last evening of the league phase.
The 18-year-old’s victory featured 155 and 170 checkouts as he clocked up eight ton-plus finishes on the night.
“I’m happy to be top, breaking these records,” said Littler, who described the victory as a “warm-up” for next week’s finale.
Aspinall, 33, had finished in fifth, one place below qualification, in the previous two seasons.
But he will join Littler, Humphries and Gerwyn Price at the London play-offs on 29 May after beating Van Gerwen, the only player who could stop him going through.
The 36-year-old Dutchman, without a nightly win in the whole 2025 campaign, misses out on the play-offs for only the second time in 13 years of competing.
Aspinall said: “There was a lot of emotion as soon as I walked off stage. Michael didn’t look himself but I thought I put in a fantastic performance under that pressure.”
He will face Humphries in the play-offs at the O2, while defending champion Littler will come up against Welshman Price.
