Inside the Premier League of Darts: Format, Prize Money, and More

Premier League Darts is one of the biggest and most lucrative tournaments on the calendar boasting a £1 million prize fund. First staged in 2005 and originally touring leisure centers and town halls in the UK, the Premier League of Darts is now a cross-continental event and is held in some of the largest indoor arenas across the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands.

The darts Premier League is played over 17 consecutive Thursday nights from February through to May each year, with eight of the world’s best players competing against each other to determine who is the premier player in the world of darts. The 2024 edition of the Premier League marked the 20th year of the competition and attracted lots of anticipation too, as PDC World Darts Championship runner-up Luke Littler made his debut and went on to win the title.

Premier League Darts Format & Rules

The Premier League Darts format has undergone many changes during its history, with seven and 10-player line ups, relegations, contenders and challengers all featuring at some point in the first 20 years of its existence. Ahead of the 2022 season, the Premier League Darts new format saw eight players selected and a nightly tournament held every week with points on offer in each game.

The top four players on the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) Order of Merit automatically qualify, which in 2024 was Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall. Those four players are joined by four wildcards, and in 2024 the PDC’s picks were Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Luke Littler.

The first 16 weeks of the competition sees the eight selected players compete in a nightly tournament with all matches played over the best of 11 legs. The current darts Premier League format sees five points awarded to the winner of each night, three points to the runner-up and two points to each of the losing semi-finalists. The four losing quarter-finalists do not score any points.

The points go towards a league table with the top four players after the 16 weeks qualifying for the end of season play-offs, with first playing fourth and second facing third in the semi-finals, which are the best of 19 legs. The Premier League Darts final format is slightly longer with it being the best of 21 legs. The winner of the final is crowned the Premier League Darts champion.

Who is competing in the Premier League of Darts 2024?

(pictured from left to right)

• Peter Wright – 2020 and 2022 PDC world champion
• Rob Cross – 2018 PDC world champion
• Nathan Aspinall – 2023 World Matchplay champion
• Luke Humphries – 2024 PDC world champion
• Michael van Gerwen – 7-time Premier League champion
• Michael Smith – 2023 PDC world champion
• Gerwyn Price – 2021 PDC world champion
• Luke Littler – 2024 PDC World Championship finalist

What is the Premier League Darts prize money?

The Premier League Darts prize money has risen over the years, starting off with a £150,000 total prize pot in 2005 and reaching the £1 million mark in 2022. The £1 million prize fund is split between the eight players, with a £10,000 bonus on offer during each of the first 16 weeks of the tournament. The nightly winner will pocket the bonus each night, whilst the final league standings and the play-offs carries the majority of the prize fund...

Premier League play-offs
Winner - £275,000
Runner-up - £125,000
Semi-finalists - £85,000

Premier League final standings
5th place - £75,000
6th place - £70,000
7th place - £65,000
8th place - £60,000

The Premier League's £1 million prize pot sits only behind the PDC World Darts Championship (£2.5 million) in terms of the biggest tournament prize funds in the game. Have you ever wondered how much money the top professionals actually earn though? Find out more in our 'How Much Do Dart Players Make?' blog.

Schedule & Locations

The Premier League Darts season sees the players compete every Thursday evening in a different city before the champion is crowned in the play-offs. Here’s a look at the schedule for the 2024 Premier League Darts season…

• February 1 – Night 1 - Cardiff (Utilita Arena Cardiff) Night Winner: Michael Smith
• February 8 – Night 2 - Berlin (Mercedes-Benz Arena) Night Winner: Michael van Gerwen
• February 15 – Night 3 - Glasgow (OVO Hydro) Night Winner: Michael van Gerwen
• February 22 – Night 4 - Newcastle (Utilita Arena Newcastle) Night Winner: Michael van Gerwen
• February 29 – Night 5 - Exeter (Westpoint) Night Winner: Nathan Aspinall
• March 7 – Night 6 - Brighton (The Brighton Centre) Night Winner: Luke Humphries
• March 14 – Night 7 - Nottingham (Motorpoint Arena Nottingham) Night Winner: Luke Humphries
• March 21 – Night 8 - Dublin (3Arena) Night Winner: Luke Humphries
• March 28 – Night 9 - Belfast (SSE Arena Belfast) Night Winner: Luke Littler
• April 4 – Night 10 - Manchester (AO Arena) Night Winner: Luke Littler
• April 11 – Night 11 - Birmingham (Utilita Arena Birmingham) Night Winner: Michael van Gerwen
• April 18 – Night 12 - Rotterdam (Rotterdam Ahoy) Night Winner: Nathan Aspinall
• April 25 – Night 13 - Liverpool (M&S Bank Arena) Night Winner: Luke Littler
• May 2 – Night 14 - Aberdeen (P&J Live) Night Winner: Luke Littler
• May 9 – Night 15 - Leeds (First Direct Arena) Night Winner: Luke Humphries
• May 16 – Night 16 - Sheffield (Utilita Arena Sheffield) Night Winner: Michael Smith
• May 23 – Play-Offs - London (The O2) Winner: Luke Littler

Another year of darts excellence!

With crowds in their thousands flocking to see the world’s best darts players in action, the Premier League of Darts shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Every dart was shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, whilst the PDC’s other worldwide broadcasters include DAZN and Viaplay, and their own PDCTV service which meant darts fans all over the world could tune in and watch the action unfold.

The 2024 season provided plenty of entertainment with the race to the play-offs going right down to the wire as Michael Smith beat Nathan Aspinall in a winner-takes-all showdown in Sheffield. Smith joined Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen in the end of season play-offs when the champion was crowned at The O2, in London.

Both semi-finals finished 10-5, as Littler beat Smith 10-5 and Humphries ended van Gerwen's reign as champion to set up a repeat of the World Championship final. And it was the teenage star Littler who triumphed in the final, throwing a nine-dart leg on his way to an 11-7 win against Humphries to win his first major title at the age of just 17.

Now the Premier League is over for this year, it's time to complete your own darts setup with our full range of dartboards, darts shirts, dart flights and darts cases.

Pictures: PDC

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.