The Premier League heads to Liverpool this week as the scramble for coveted Play-off places intensifies.
Beside Phil Taylor, who has already secured his place at the O2 in May, all seven other players remain in contention to join him, but that number could be narrowed down by the end of the night with four highly important matches on the cards.
James Wade and Kevin Painter kick off the action at 7pm with The Machine looking to all but seal his place in the Semi-Finals and Painter looking to revive his chances.
Newcomer Painter ended his miserable winless run last week with a hard-fought victory over Gary Anderson, while 2009 champion Wade was held to a draw by Andy Hamilton.
Painter is currently three points adrift of fourth place and knows that realistically only a win will be sufficient to keep his hopes alive with just two weeks remaining.
Despite occupying third spot, Wade is just one point ahead of Raymond van Barneveld in fifth and will be desperate to secure maximum points from this one ahead of his difficult run-in against Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in the coming weeks.
World number one Phil Taylor looks to bounce back from a rare defeat last week which ended his unbeaten run this season, by defeating second-placed Aussie Simon Whitlock.
Taylor suffered a shock 8-5 defeat to Adrian Lewis in Bournemouth but is renowned for fighting back after being beaten and will be out to do a job on Whitlock.
Whitlock met Taylor in the 2010 world final and has reproduced the form that took him there, reaching the 14 point mark which many believe to be good enough to reach the play-offs.
Both players possess a consistently clinical all-round game and are likely to provide a thrilling encounter in the match of the night on Thursday evening.
Raymond van Barneveld comes up against a determined Andy Hamilton in the third match of the night.
Barney has slipped out of the top four for the first time in a number of weeks following a disappointing defeat to Simon Whitlock last week.
The popular Dutchman will be hoping to settle the score and prove that sluggish display was a rare blip as he looks to pile the pressure on the players above him.
Stoke ace Hamilton moved off the bottom of the table last week and has dug deep to earn two consecutive draws to keep his slim hopes alive.
He is level on eight points with fellow league newcomer Kevin Painter and knows that anything but a win this week will end his chances of sneaking through the back door to reach the O2 in London next month.
The final match of the night sees world champion Adrian Lewis take on rock bottom defending champion Gary Anderson.
On paper, the outcome should be a formality, with Lewis going into the fixture full of confidence after defeating Phil Taylor last week, and Anderson in the middle of a miserable six game winless run.
Anderson is playing for pride and will not want to end the season in last position having won the title last year.
Lewis occupies the all-important fourth spot but holds only a slender one point gap, meaning should he drop points and Raymond van Barneveld picks up a victory, the youngster will slip back out of the play-off zone.
The Flying Scotsman's last victory came over Lewis and he may take some encouragement over his 8-1 drubbing of the Stokie earlier in the season.
The duo are two of the heaviest scorers in the game and are certain to provide a quick-fire classic to round off the night in Liverpool.
The action gets underway at 7pm on Thursday, with matches played over the best of 14 legs and streamed live from the Echo Arena, Liverpool.
Week 12 order of play
April 26 - Echo Arena, Liverpool
7.10pm James Wade 1/2 v Kevin Painter 3/1 (draw 5/1)
8.00pm Phil Taylor 1/3 v Simon Whitlock 9/2 (draw 6/1)
8.45pm Andy Hamilton 2/1 v Raymond van Barneveld 8/11 (draw 9/2)
9.30pm Adrian Lewis 8/15 v Gary Anderson 11/4 (draw 5/1)
Match odds courtesy of
Bet365 (25/4/12)
Betting Tips:
A £10 accumulator for James Wade, Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis to win their matches pays £52 with
Bet365.
Latest League Table
P W D L +/- Pts
Phil Taylor (Q) 11 9 1 1 +39 19
Simon Whitlock 11 6 2 3 +6 14
James Wade 11 5 1 5 +1 11
Adrian Lewis 11 4 3 4 -1 11
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Raymond van Barneveld11 4 2 5 -11 10
Kevin Painter 11 4 0 7 -10 8
Andy Hamilton 11 2 4 5 -11 8
Gary Anderson 11 3 1 7 -13 7
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