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| Current season, competition or edition: | |
| Founded | 2005 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2005 |
| Organising body | PDC |
| Countries | United Kingdom,Ireland,Netherlands,Germany |
| Most recent champion | (2025) |
| Tournament format | Legs |
Premier League Darts, known forsponsorship purposes asBetMGM Premier League Darts, is adarts tournament which launched on 20 January 2005 onSky Sports. Now played weekly from February to May, the event originally started as a fortnightly fixture in small venues around theUnited Kingdom. The tournament originally featured seven players, gradually expanded to ten by 2013, before reduced again from 2022 to eight players from theProfessional Darts Corporation circuit competing in a knockout style format, with nights also hosted in Europe at different venues. The top four players in thePDC Order of Merit are joined by four wildcard selections to make up the eight-person field. Alongside theWorld Championship and theWorld Matchplay, it is considered part of the sport'sTriple 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 beforeJames Wade ended his 44 match run in the first match of the 2008 season. A new champion was to be crowned afterMervyn King defeated him in the2009 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 twonine-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 andMichael 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 byLuke 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.
The matches have been broadcast on Thursday nights onSky Sports since the tournament inception. Originally the league alternated withPremier 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 channelOLN 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 channelSport1 broadcasts most matches live on TV and gives coverages of a selection of matches.
The PDC announced in December 2017 that the contract withSky Television for coverage of the Premier League had been extended to 2025.[1]
| Rank | Player | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | |
| 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 13 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 10 | 2005 | 2025 | |
| 2 | 8 | 2013 | 2023 | |
| 1 | 2 | 2011 | 2015 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2021 | 2021 |
Nineteennine-dart finishes have been thrown in the Premier League. The first one was in 2006, and the most recent one was in 2025.
| Year | Player | Legs | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Terry Jenkins | 0–8 | |
| 2008 | Phil Taylor | 8–0 | |
| 2012 | James Wade | 8–0 | |
| 2014 | Phil Taylor | 0–7 | |
| 2015 | James Wade | 0–7 | |
| 2016 | Robert Thornton | 0–7 | |
| 2016 | Robert Thornton | 0–7 | |
| 2017 | Adrian Lewis | 0–7 | |
| 2018 | Raymond van Barneveld | 0–7 | |
| 2019 | Daryl Gurney | 0–7 | |
| 2020 | Jermaine Wattimena | 0–7 | |
| 2021 | Glen Durrant | 0–7 | |
| 2022 | Michael van Gerwen | 6–0 | |
| 2023 | Michael van Gerwen | 0–6 | |
| 2023 | Michael van Gerwen | 6–0 | |
| 2025 | Luke Littler | 6–0 |
| Ten highest Premier League one-match averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 123.40 | 2016, Week 4 | 7–1 | ||
| 119.50 | 2017, Week 5 | 7–2 | ||
| 118.43 | 2025, Week 10 | 6-1 | ||
| 117.95 | 2016, Week 10 | 7–5 | ||
| 117.35 | 2012, Week 4 | 8–4 | ||
| 116.90 | 2015, Week 12 | 7–0 | ||
| 116.67 | 2016, Week 5 | 7–2 | ||
| 116.10 | 2012, Week 13 | 8–1 | ||
| 116.01 | 2009, Week 12 | 8–3 | ||
| 115.97 | 2023, Week 11 | 6–2 | ||
| Five highest tournament averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year | ||
| 107.48 | 2016 | |||
| 106.73 | 2012 | |||
| 105.26 | 2015 | |||
| 104.68 | 2017 | |||
| 104.11 | 2018 | |||
Since the tournament made its debut in 2005,Phil Taylor made an appearance in every Premier League competition until his retirement following the2018 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 thePDC Order of Merit after thePDC World Darts Championship automatically qualified, with onewildcard (2005 and 2006) and two wildcards (2007–2010) chosen by either the PDC orSky 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, bothLuke Humphries andLuke 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.
| Player | # | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | W | W | W | W | SF | W | SF | W | RU | SF | 5 | RU | SF | × | ||||||||
| 3 | RU | SF | 5 | × | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | SF | 6 | 6 | 6 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | SF | RU | 8 | × | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 5 | × | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 6 | × | 8 | 6 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 7 | 7 | × | 5 | WD | × | ||||||||||||||||
| 14 | × | SF | SF | SF | SF | 6 | SF | 5 | SF | W | SF | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | × | ||||||
| 2 | × | 5 | × | 5 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | × | RU | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | × | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | × | SF | × | C | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | × | 7 | SF | C | 7 | RU | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | SF | 8 | × | |||||||||
| 12 | × | RU | W | RU | 5 | SF | SF | × | 7 | 6 | 7 | × | SF | × | 6 | SF | × | |||||
| 2 | × | RU | SF | × | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | 7 | × | 9 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | × | SF | 6 | RU | 6 | 10 | × | 8 | × | |||||||||||||
| 11 | × | C | × | W | 8 | 10 | SF | W | SF | SF | SF | WD | SF | 8 | 8 | × | ||||||
| 1 | × | C | × | 8 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | SF | 7 | × | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | × | 7 | × | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | × | W | RU | RU | W | W | W | W | 6 | SF | W | W | SF | 5 | ||||||||
| 3 | × | C | × | 5 | 8 | × | 8 | × | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | 9 | 9 | × | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | × | 5 | 9 | 5 | RU | 7 | 8 | SF | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | × | |||||||||
| 4 | × | 7 | SF | 9 | 5 | × | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | 8 | × | C | × | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | 10 | × | 10 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | × | 10 | × | RU | 7 | 7 | × | 6 | SF | SF | × | |||||||||||
| 6 | × | SF | RU | 9 | 9 | × | 6 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | × | 5 | SF | 8 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | 9 | 6 | × | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | × | 10 | 5 | 5 | WD | 7 | RU | 7 | SF | |||||||||||||
| 5 | × | C | RU | SF | × | 5 | 5 | SF | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | C | W | 10 | × | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | C | × | 5 | × | 6 | × | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | × | C | W | SF | SF | × | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | × | RU | × | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | × | RU | × | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | C | C | × | 7 | × | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | C | C | × | RU | W | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | × | W | RU | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
WhenGary 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 andJeffrey 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 andJermaine Wattimena were the challengers.