Premier League Darts

Premier League Darts

Current season, competition or edition: 2025 Premier League Darts
Founded	2005
First season	2005
Organising body	PDC
Countries	United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany
Most recent champion(s)	Luke Littler (2024)
Tournament format	Legs
2025 Premier League Darts

Premier League Darts, known for sponsorship purposes in 2024 as BetMGM Premier League Darts, is a darts tournament which launched on 20 January 2005 on Sky Sports. Now played weekly from February to May, the event originally started as a fortnightly fixture in small venues around the United Kingdom. The tournament originally featured seven players, gradually expanded to ten by 2013, before reduced again from 2022 to eight players from the Professional Darts Corporation circuit competing in a knockout style format, with nights also hosted in Europe at different venues. The top four players in the PDC Order of Merit are joined by four wildcard selections to make up the eight-person field. Alongside the World Championship and the World Matchplay, it is considered part of the sport's Triple Crown.

While active, Phil Taylor dominated the event, winning six of the thirteen tournaments he appeared in. He went unbeaten throughout the first three seasons before James Wade ended his 44 match run in the first match of the 2008 season. A new champion was to be crowned after Mervyn King defeated him in the 2009 semi-finals, where Wade defeated King 13–8 in the final, to pick up the £125,000 first prize. Taylor defeated Wade the following season to claim his fifth title in the competition in 2010, achieving two nine-dart finishes in the final, the only player to achieve this accomplishment.

Although there have been eight overall winners of the Premier League, the league stage has been dominated by Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, with Taylor topping the table for each of the first eight editions and van Gerwen winning the next seven. In 2020, Glen Durrant became the third player to finish top after all league fixtures had been completed. He went on to win the title, meaning all three players both topped the table and won the play-offs at their first attempt. In 2024, this feat was then repeated by Luke Littler who became the fourth player to both top the table following the completion of the league stage and then win the play-offs on their debut Premier League appearance.

The prize fund has risen from £265,000 in the early years of the tournament, steadily increasing each year for a prize fund of £1,000,000 in 2022. The winner currently receives £275,000.

Television coverage

The matches have been broadcast on Thursday nights on Sky Sports since the tournament inception. Originally the league alternated with Premier League Snooker one week and Premier League Darts the next. From 2006, the snooker moved to late autumn – giving the Premier League darts a straight weekly run in the spring.

American sports channel OLN aired the 2006 Premier League Darts season on a slight delay, in August 2006. In 2018, BBC America started airing Premier League Darts on Thursday nights. In 2020, BBC America started airing Premier League Darts on Sunday mornings.

German sports channel Sport1 broadcasts most matches live on TV and gives coverages of a selection of matches.

The PDC announced in December 2017 that the contract with Sky Television for coverage of the Premier League had been extended to 2025. ^[1]

Finals

Year	Final					Tournament
	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Best of	Venue	Prize Fund	Sponsors	Players	Venues	League winner
2005	Phil Taylor (101.01)	16–4	Colin Lloyd (97.20)	31 legs	G-Mex, Manchester	£150,000	888.com	7	11	Phil Taylor
2006	Phil Taylor (101.41)	16–6	Roland Scholten (92.01)		Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth	£167,500	Holsten
2007	Phil Taylor (99.20)	16–6	Terry Jenkins (90.81)		The Brighton Centre, Brighton	£265,000		8	15
2008	Phil Taylor (108.36)	16–8	James Wade (100.14)		Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff	£340,000	Whyte & Mackay
2009	James Wade (90.38)	13–8	Mervyn King (85.83)	25 legs	Wembley Arena, London	£405,000
2010	Phil Taylor (111.67)	10–8	James Wade (100.08)	19 legs		£410,000
2011	Gary Anderson (94.67)	10–4	Adrian Lewis (85.75)				888.com
2012	Phil Taylor (97.08)	10–7	Simon Whitlock (95.32)		The O2 Arena, London	£450,000	McCoy's
2013	Michael van Gerwen (103.29)	10–8	Phil Taylor (104.10)			£520,000		10		Michael van Gerwen
2014	Raymond van Barneveld (101.93)	10–6	Michael van Gerwen (102.98)			£550,000	Betway		16
2015	Gary Anderson (104.85)	11–7	Michael van Gerwen (105.81)	21 legs		£700,000
2016	Michael van Gerwen (104.68)	11–3	Phil Taylor (98.84)			£725,000
2017	Michael van Gerwen (104.76)	11–10	Peter Wright (101.06)			£825,000
2018	Michael van Gerwen (112.37)	11–4	Michael Smith (97.01)				Unibet		15 [a]
2019	Michael van Gerwen (103.36)	11–5	Rob Cross (100.98)					9 [b]	16
2020	Glen Durrant (91.84)	11–8	Nathan Aspinall (92.15)		Ricoh Arena, Coventry [c]				8 [d]	Glen Durrant
2021	Jonny Clayton (100.18)	11–5	José de Sousa (100.53)		Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes	£855,000		10	1 [e]	Michael van Gerwen
2022	Michael van Gerwen (99.10)	11–10	Joe Cullen (99.36)		Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin	£1,000,000	Cazoo [2]	8	17	Jonny Clayton
2023	Michael van Gerwen (105.43)	11–5	Gerwyn Price (99.50)		The O2 Arena, London					Gerwyn Price
2024	Luke Littler (105.60)	11–7	Luke Humphries (102.47)				BetMGM			Luke Littler
2025

1. A scheduled night at Westpoint Arena was cancelled due to Storm Emma. An extra round was held at Rotterdam Ahoy to compensate.
2. 9 players played regularly, with 9 others serving as 'contenders' for each of the first 9 nights.
3. Final planned in the O₂ Arena in London, but moved to Coventry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Eleven scheduled nights at ten venues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rounds were held at Marshall Arena behind closed doors to compensate.
5. Sixteen scheduled nights at sixteen venues were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rounds were held at Marshall Arena behind closed doors to compensate.

Records and statistics

As of 24 May 2024.

Total finalist appearances

Rank	Player	Won	Runner-up	Finals	Appearances
1	Michael van Gerwen	7	2	9	11
2	Phil Taylor	6	2	8	13
3	Gary Anderson	2	0	2	11
4	James Wade	1	2	3	12
5	Raymond van Barneveld	1	0	1	14
	Glen Durrant	1	0	1	2
	Jonny Clayton	1	0	1	2
	Luke Littler	1	0	1	1
9	Colin Lloyd	0	1	1	3
	Roland Scholten	0	1	1	3
	Terry Jenkins	0	1	1	5
	Mervyn King	0	1	1	2
	Adrian Lewis	0	1	1	10
	Simon Whitlock	0	1	1	6
	Peter Wright	0	1	1	9
	Michael Smith	0	1	1	5
	Rob Cross	0	1	1	4
	Nathan Aspinall	0	1	1	2
	José de Sousa	0	1	1	1
	Joe Cullen	0	1	1	1
	Gerwyn Price	0	1	1	5
	Luke Humphries	0	1	1	1

• Active players are shown in bold
• Only players who reached the final are included
• In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved

Champions by country

Country	Players	Total	First title	Last title
England	4	9	2005	2024
Netherlands	2	8	2013	2023
Scotland	1	2	2011	2015
Wales	1	1	2021	2021

Nine-dart finishes

Eighteen nine-dart finishes have been thrown in the Premier League. The first one was in 2006, and the most recent one was in 2025.

Player	Year (+ Week)	Location	Method	Opponent	Result
Raymond van Barneveld	2006, Week 5	Bournemouth	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Peter Manley	8–3
Raymond van Barneveld	2010, Week 12	Aberdeen	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Terry Jenkins	8–6
Phil Taylor	2010, Final	London	T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18	James Wade	10–8
			3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
Phil Taylor	2012, Week 2	Aberdeen	3 x T20; T20, 2 x T19; T20, T17, D18	Kevin Painter	8–5
Simon Whitlock	2012, Semi-Final	London	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18	Andy Hamilton	8–6
Adrian Lewis	2016, Week 11	Belfast	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	James Wade	7–5
Adrian Lewis	2017, Week 11	Liverpool	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Raymond van Barneveld	7–4
Michael Smith	2020, Week 4	Dublin	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Daryl Gurney	7–5
Peter Wright	2020, Night 11	Milton Keynes	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Daryl Gurney	6–8
Jonny Clayton	2021, Night 3	Milton Keynes	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	José de Sousa	7–3
José de Sousa	2021, Night 4	Milton Keynes	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Nathan Aspinall	6–6
Gerwyn Price	2022, Night 3	Belfast	2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12	Michael van Gerwen	6–5
			3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	James Wade	6–4
	2024, Night 10	Manchester	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	Michael Smith	6–3
Luke Littler	2024, Final	London	3 x T20, 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Luke Humphries	11–7

Tournament records

• Most titles: 7 – Michael van Gerwen
• Most tournament appearances: 14 – Raymond van Barneveld
• Most matches played: 211 – Raymond van Barneveld
• Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches – Phil Taylor (2005–2008)
• Biggest victories (league stage): 11–1 Phil Taylor v Wayne Mardle (2005), 11–1 Phil Taylor v Peter Manley (2005)
• Biggest victories (playoff stages): 16–4 Phil Taylor v Colin Lloyd (2005 final)
• Most 180s by one player in a single match: 11 – Gary Anderson v Simon Whitlock (2011). ^{[3] [4]} 11 – José de Sousa v Nathan Aspinall (2021).
• Most 100+ averages in a season: 18 – Michael van Gerwen (2017). Van Gerwen became the first player to average over 100 in every match of a season.
• Highest match average: 123.40 – Michael van Gerwen (2016)
• Highest group stage overall average: 107.95 – Phil Taylor (2012)
• Lowest group stage overall average: 86.36 – Glen Durrant (2021)
• Highest average in the final: 112.37 – Michael van Gerwen (2018)

Whitewashes

Year	Player	Legs	Player
2007	87.32 Terry Jenkins	0–8	Colin Lloyd 88.43
2008	96.97 Phil Taylor	8–0	Wayne Mardle 88.43
2012	96.97 James Wade	8–0	Simon Whitlock 80.79
2014	99.45 Phil Taylor	0–7	Michael van Gerwen 109.59
2015	93.93 James Wade	0–7	Michael van Gerwen 116.90
2016	75.68 Robert Thornton	0–7	Dave Chisnall 101.16
2016	88.38 Robert Thornton	0–7	Phil Taylor 102.15
2017	94.53 Adrian Lewis	0–7	Michael van Gerwen 110.75
2018	96.58 Raymond van Barneveld	0–7	Michael Smith 103.15
2019	94.45 Daryl Gurney	0–7	James Wade 109.59
2020	81.24 Jermaine Wattimena	0–7	Gerwyn Price 102.15
2021	84.42 Glen Durrant	0–7	Dimitri Van den Bergh 93.94
2022	99.10 Michael van Gerwen	6–0	Peter Wright 87.52
2023	100.36 Michael van Gerwen	0–6	Chris Dobey 101.33
2023	100.20 Michael van Gerwen	6–0	Nathan Aspinall 93.00

High averages

Ten highest Premier League one-match averages
Average	Player	Year (+ Round)	Opponent	Result
123.40	Michael van Gerwen	2016, Week 4	Michael Smith	7–1
119.50	Peter Wright	2017, Week 5	Adrian Lewis	7–2
117.95	Michael van Gerwen	2016, Week 10	Robert Thornton	7–5
117.35	Phil Taylor	2012, Week 4	Simon Whitlock	8–4
116.90	Michael van Gerwen	2015, Week 12	James Wade	7–0
116.67	Michael van Gerwen	2016, Week 5	Peter Wright	7–2
116.10	Phil Taylor	2012, Week 13	James Wade	8–1
116.01	Phil Taylor	2009, Week 12	John Part	8–3
115.97	Gerwyn Price	2023, Week 11	Chris Dobey	6–2
115.80	Phil Taylor	2015, Week 7	Raymond van Barneveld	4–7

Five highest tournament averages
Average	Player	Year
107.48	Michael van Gerwen	2016
106.73	Phil Taylor	2012
105.26	Michael van Gerwen	2015
104.68	Michael van Gerwen	2017
104.11	Michael van Gerwen	2018

Appearances

Since the tournament made its debut in 2005, Phil Taylor made an appearance in every Premier League competition until his retirement following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. Raymond van Barneveld competed in every Premier League from 2006 to 2019. From 2005 until the 2010 tournament, the top six players in the PDC Order of Merit after the PDC World Darts Championship automatically qualified, with one wildcard (2005 and 2006) and two wildcards (2007–2010) chosen by either the PDC or Sky Sports. From the 2011 tournament, only the top four in the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualified, with four wildcards (2011 and 2012) chosen by both the PDC and Sky Sports. In 2013, the tournament grew from eight players to ten, with the top four players in the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualifying and six other players chosen as Wildcards on the basis of their performance in the past year or in earlier editions of the Premier League. In 2022, the tournament shrank back down to eight.

In 2024, both Luke Humphries and Luke Littler have made their debuts, with Littler, aged 17 years and 11 days when the 2024 campaign began, the youngest ever competitor in the Premier League. Littler would also become the youngest player to win the Premier League, aged 17 years and 123 days.

Premier League players and performance

Player	#	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Phil Taylor	13	W	W	W	W	SF	W	SF	W	RU	SF	5	RU	SF	×
Colin Lloyd	3	RU	SF	5	×
Peter Manley	4	SF	6	6	6	×
Roland Scholten	3	SF	RU	8	×
Mark Dudbridge	1	5	×
John Part	3	6	×		8	6	×
Wayne Mardle	4	7	7	×	5	WD	×
Raymond van Barneveld	14	×	SF	SF	SF	SF	6	SF	5	SF	W	SF	7	6	6	9	×
Ronnie Baxter	2	×	5	×			5	×
Terry Jenkins	5	×		RU	7	5	8	7	×
Dennis Priestley	1	×		SF	×	C	×
Adrian Lewis	10	×		7	SF	C	7	RU	6	8	6	6	SF	8	×
James Wade	12	×			RU	W	RU	5	SF	SF	×	7	6	7	×	SF	×	6	SF	×
Mervyn King	2	×				RU	SF	×
Jelle Klaasen	2	×				7	×							9	×
Simon Whitlock	6	×					SF	6	RU	6	10	×			8	×
Gary Anderson	11	×				C	×	W	8	10	SF	W	SF	SF	SF	WD	SF	8	8	×
Mark Webster	1	×				C	×	8	×
Andy Hamilton	2	×							SF	7	×
Kevin Painter	1	×							7	×
Michael van Gerwen	13	×								W	RU	RU	W	W	W	W	6	SF	W	W	SF	–
Robert Thornton	3	×				C	×			5	8	×	8	×
Wes Newton	2	×								9	9	×
Peter Wright	11	×									5	9	5	RU	7	8	SF	7	5	8	8	×
Dave Chisnall	4	×									7	SF	9	5	×
Stephen Bunting	2	×										8	×				C	×				–
Kim Huybrechts	2	×										10	×	10	×
Michael Smith	7	×											10	×	RU	7	7	×	6	SF	SF	×
Rob Cross	6	×													SF	RU	9	9	×		6	–
Daryl Gurney	3	×													5	SF	8	×
Mensur Suljović	2	×													9	6	×
Gerwyn Price	7	×													10	5	5	WD	7	RU	7	–
Nathan Aspinall	5	×														C	RU	SF	×	5	5	–
Glen Durrant	2	×														C	W	10	×
Dimitri Van den Bergh	2	×														C	×	5	×	6	×
Jonny Clayton	3	×															C	W	SF	SF	×
José de Sousa	1	×																RU	×
Joe Cullen	1	×																	RU	×
Chris Dobey	2	×														C	C	×		7	×	–
Luke Humphries	2	×														C	C	×			RU	–
Luke Littler	2	×																			W	–

Table Legend
W	Won in playoffs	RU	Runner-up	SF	Lost in the semi-finals	#	Place in table, not qualified for playoffs
#	Place in table, relegated	WD	Withdrew before tournament	WD	Withdrew during tournament	C	Challenger	×	Did not play

When Gary Anderson withdrew from the 2019 season just before it began, Chris Dobey, Glen Durrant, Steve Lennon, Luke Humphries, John Henderson, Nathan Aspinall, Max Hopp, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jeffrey de Zwaan were named as "contenders" to play in Anderson's place each of the first eight weeks. ^{[5] [6]} This format was reused for the 2020 season, with nine regular players and nine challengers; Henderson, Fallon Sherrock, Jonny Clayton, William O'Connor, Humphries, Bunting, Dobey, de Zwaan and Jermaine Wattimena were the challengers.

References

1. Allen, Dave (14 December 2017). "New Seven-Year Deal For PDC & Sky Sports". Professional Darts Corporation . Retrieved 27 January 2024.
2. Allen, Dave. "Cazoo announced as new Premier League title sponsors". PDC . Retrieved 8 November 2021.
3. "888.com Premier League Darts – Night 11". PDC. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
4. "Premier League: Super Scot Gary Anderson breaks 180 record during demolition of Simon Whitlock - Daily Record". 21 April 2011.
5. "2019 Unibet Premier League Field Announced". Sky Sports. B Sky B. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
6. Phillips, Josh. "Premier League 'Contenders' To Replace Injured Anderson". PDC . Retrieved 4 February 2019.

External links

• Premier League Darts page on the PDC website