Premier League Darts 2025: Fixtures, venues, players, format as Luke Littler returns as defending champion | News about darts
Who will be playing in the BetMGM Premier League in 2025? Which players were absent? What is the format and how much can players earn? Everything you need to know and key questions ahead of the new season live on Sky Sports…
The Premier League pits the world’s best darts players against each other over 17 nights of action from February to May every Thursday, with the annual tournament part of the PDC Darts schedule since its launch in 2005.
Luke Littler returns as the defending champion after last year’s win over the world no.1 Luke Humphriesand the teenage star is looking to continue his historic success at the World Darts Championship Michael van Gerwen and continue the impressive start to 2025.
Van Gerwen and Rob Cross he completed four automatic qualifications through the Order of Merit, doc Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price were announced as elections – live on Sky Sports News – to complete the line-up of eight players
The matches take place every Thursday night from 6 February to 29 May and are played at various venues across the UK, Ireland and Europe, including Germany and the Netherlands.
February will also feature league nights in Glasgow, Dublin and Exeter during an action-packed opening month, before the 17-week extravaganza continues with visits to Brighton, Nottingham, Cardiff and Newcastle in March.
Berlin, Manchester, Rotterdam and Liverpool host events in April, before the season draws to a close in May. The final four regular league nights take place in Birmingham, Leeds, Aberdeen and Sheffield, before the end-of-season play-off takes place at the O2 in London on Thursday 29 May.
What is the Premier League Darts format?
Every Premier League night – from 2022 – has become a mini-tournament where eight players compete in four quarter-finals, with each of the players meeting once in the first seven weeks and then again from weeks nine to 15.
The winners advance to the semi-finals, and the last four winners advance to the finals, where the winner of the night will be announced.
Each match is a best-of-11 division and the winner receives five points, the runner-up three points and the two losing semi-finalists two points. The top four players in the Premier League table at the end of Night 16 in Sheffield will advance to the play-offs and the final in London on May 29.
How do the playoffs work?
The player at the top of the table going into the final night of the season will play the fourth-placed player, the second-placed player will face the third-placed player, and the two semi-finals are played between the best 19 legs.
The winner of those semi-finals will go against each other in the final later that evening, which is the best of 21 legs, with the first player to reach 11 legs then becoming the Premier League champion.
Can anyone stop Luke Littler from winning again?
Littler is the pre-tournament favorite to successfully defend his title ahead of Humphries, with Van Gerwen next in the bookies after reaching the final of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.
The newest darts star won four nights in a seven-week period on his way to the top of the all-season standings last season, adding two runners-up and reaching the semi-finals on seven other occasions during his debut campaign.
The 11-7 victory over Humphries in a thrilling final last year included a stunning nine-dart finish, with the success one of 10 PDC titles secured by Littler – including the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts – in a remarkable 2024.
How much prize money is available?
The 2025 champion will win £275,000 in prize money, with £125,000 going to the runner-up and £85,000 each to the other two players who reach the semi-finals, while those who finish between fifth and eighth place earn between £75,000 and £60,000.
Each winner of the week will receive a £10,000 win bonus on the night, bringing the total prize pool for this year’s Premier League to £1 million once again.
Who missed a place in 2025?
Jonny Clayton and Dave Chisnall are the two highest-ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit who did not take a place in the Premier League, ranked sixth and seventh respectively when the line-up was confirmed, with world number 8 Damon Heta – who produced a brilliant nine-darter display during the World Cup – is also not included.
Double world champion Peter Wright misses out on a place in the Premier League for the first time since 2013, doc Michael Smith – a Premier League semi-finalist in each of the last two years – failed to secure a place after a disappointing year.
Mike De Decker becomes the first reigning World Grand Prix champion not to be offered a place in the Premier League, with a compatriot Dimitri Van den Bergh is also not included in 2025 despite winning the UK Open last season.
Who won the Premier League before?
Phil Taylor won six of the first eight editions of the Premier League between 2005 and 2012, with James Wade (2009) and Anderson (2011) the only players to stop “The Power” in that period.
Van Gerwen won the first of his record seven Premier League titles in 2013, with compatriot Raymond van Barneveld coming out on top a year later, with Anderson claiming victory in 2015 ahead of Van Gerwen who won each of the next four editions.
Glen Durrant and Clayton were Premier League champions in 2020 and 2021, with Van Gerwen winning back-to-back editions from 2022 before Littler’s impressive breakthrough title – on his Premier League debut – in 2024.
How can I watch the Premier League in 2025?
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League in 2025, with exclusive coverage every night live with World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sports with NOW.
