World champion and world No 1 Gerwyn Price will face Gary Anderson four months on from lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy in north London; watch every night of action from Milton Keynes on Sky Sports from Monday April 5
Thursday 11 March 2021 14:07, UK
It will be rivalries renewed when the delayed 2021 Premier League Darts gets under way as Glen Durrant and Nathan Aspinall clash on an opening night that will also feature a repeat of the World Championship final.
Gerwyn Price claimed his first world title with victory over Gary Anderson at Alexandra Palace, and with the pair both in the 10-man field for this year's Premier League, they will meet again on Monday April 5.
After Price's victory over Anderson, the PDC confirmed that the traditional 17-night roadshow would be pushed back to Easter rather than its usual February date and last month it was confirmed that the tournament will begin behind closed doors due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The first nine nights will take place without a crowd at the Marshall Arena - including Judgement Night where the bottom two players in the league will be relegated - with the PDC, who has already announced the schedule for 2022's Premier League, hopeful of confirming the final eight nights in the coming weeks.
While a repeat of the Ally Pally showpiece has become tradition, this year's tournament will also see a repeat of last year's Premier League final between Durrant and Aspinall who were both making their full-time debuts in the competition after 2019 saw them feature as 'Contenders'.
Duzza took the title at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, beating the Asp 11-8 after a 10-9 victory over Anderson earlier in the evening and they will raise the curtain on this year's event.
There are no invited players this year with the tournament reverting to its 2018 format of 10 players competing to avoid elimination and make the play-offs but three players will be featuring for the first time, hopeful of emulating Durrant.
World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will kick off his campaign against five-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen, who last season failed to make the final four for the first time.
Masters winner Jonny Clayton will take on Peter Wright before meeting his World Cup-winning Wales team-mate Price on Night Eight, while the Grand Slam of Darts champion Jose De Sousa - the only player with no Premier League experience - starts against Rob Cross.
Last year's Premier League began with six nights on the road - including the last full crowd in attendance at a darts night on March 12 in Liverpool. After resuming in Milton Keynes for 10 nights across August and September, the Play-Offs took place in Coventry in October.
Night One - Monday April 5
Nathan Aspinall vs Glen Durrant
Rob Cross vs Jose de Sousa
Peter Wright vs Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price vs Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Night Two - Tuesday April 6
Gary Anderson vs Jose de Sousa
Jonny Clayton vs Glen Durrant
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Nathan Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen vs Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price vs Rob Cross
Night Three - Wednesday April 7
Rob Cross vs Michael van Gerwen
Glen Durrant vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Peter Wright vs Gary Anderson
Nathan Aspinall vs Gerwyn Price
Jose de Sousa vs Jonny Clayton
Night Four - Thursday April 8
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Peter Wright
Jonny Clayton vs Rob Cross
Jose de Sousa vs Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price vs Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson vs Glen Durrant
Night Five - Friday April 9
Gary Anderson vs Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright vs Rob Cross
Michael van Gerwen vs Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price vs Glen Durrant
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Jose de Sousa
Night Six - Monday April 19
Rob Cross vs Gary Anderson
Jose de Sousa vs Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Glen Durrant vs Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall vs Peter Wright
Night Seven - Tuesday April 20
Glen Durrant vs Jose de Sousa
Rob Cross vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Nathan Aspinall vs Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright vs Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen vs Gary Anderson
Night Eight - Wednesday April 21
Rob Cross vs Nathan Aspinall
Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Michael van Gerwen vs Jose de Sousa
Gerwyn Price vs Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright vs Glen Durrant
Judgement Night - Thursday April 22
Jonny Clayton vs Michael van Gerwen
Glen Durrant vs Rob Cross
Jose de Sousa vs Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall vs Gary Anderson
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Gerwyn Price
Watch live coverage of the 2021 Premier League on Sky Sports - the action gets under way on Monday April 5 with five consecutive nights of action from the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
