Premier League Darts 2025: Schedule, venues, players, format as Luke Littler returns as defending champion

Who is playing in the BetMGM Premier League in 2025? Which players missed out? What is the format and how much can players earn? All you need to know and key questions ahead of the new season, live on Sky Sports...

What is the Premier League and who is playing in it?

The Premier League sees the world's best dart players go head-to-head 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 defending champion after last year's victory over world No 1 Luke Humphries, with the teenage star looking to build on his historic World Darts Championship success over Michael van Gerwen and continue an impressive start to 2025.

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Van Gerwen and Rob Cross rounded off the four automatic qualifiers via the Order of Merit, while Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price were announced as picks - live on Sky Sports News - to complete the eight-man line-up

Where and when does Premier League Darts take place?

Matches take place every Thursday night from February 6 to May 29 and are played in different venues around the United Kingdom, 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.

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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 season-ending Play-Offs take place at The O2 in London on Thursday May 29.

What is the Premier League Darts format?

Each Premier League night - since 2022 - has become a mini tournament where the eight players compete in four quarter-finals, with each of the players meeting once across the first seven weeks and then again from weeks nine to 15.

The winners progress to the semi-finals with the last four winners reaching the final, where the winner of the night will be declared.

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Every match is best-of-11 legs and the winner gets five points, the runner-up three points and the two losing semi-finalists two points. The top four players on the Premier League table at the end of Night 16 in Sheffield will advance to the Play-Offs and Finals Night in London on May 29.

How do the Play-Offs work?

The player top of the table going into the final night of the season will play the fourth-placed player and the second-placed player takes on the man in third place, with the two semi-finals played over a best-of-19 legs.

The winner of those semi-finals will go head-to-head in the final later that evening, which is best-of-21 legs, with the first player to reach 11 legs then crowned Premier League champion.

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Can anyone stop Luke Littler winning again?

Littler is the pre-tournament favourite to successfully defend his title ahead of Humphries, with Van Gerwen the next in the betting markets after reaching the World Darts Championship final at the Alexandra Palace.

Darts' newest star won four nights in a seven-week stretch on his way to topping the season-long standings last season, adding two runner-up finishes and reaching the semi-finals on seven other occasions during his debut campaign.

Victory over Humphries 11-7 in a thrilling final last year included a stunning nine-darter, with the success one of 10 PDC titles Littler secured - including the World Series of Darts and Grand Slam of Darts - in a remarkable 2024.

What is the prize money available?

The 2025 champion will win £275,000 in prize money, with £125,000 going to the runner-up and £85,000 to the other two players to reach the semi-finals, while those finishing between fifth and eighth earning between £75,000 and £60,000.

Each winner of a week will receive a Nightly Winner Bonus of £10,000, with the total prize money for this year's Premier League once again sitting at £1 million.

Who missed out on a spot in 2025?

Jonny Clayton and Dave Chisnall are the two highest-ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit not to hold a Premier League place, ranked sixth and seventh respectively when the line-up was confirmed, with world No 8 Damon Heta - who posted a brilliant nine-darter during the World Championship - also not involved.

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Two-time world champion Peter Wright misses out on a Premier League spot for the first time since 2013, while Michael Smith - a Premier League semi-finalist in each of the past 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 Premier League place, with compatriot Dimitri Van den Bergh also not included in 2025 despite winning the UK Open last season.

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Who has 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" during that period.

Van Gerwen claimed the first of his record seven Premier League titles in 2013 and compatriot Raymond van Barneveld came out on top a year later, with Anderson claiming victory in 2015 ahead of Van Gerwen winning each of the next four editions.

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Glen Durrant and Clayton were the Premier League champions in 2020 and 2021 respectively, 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 home of the Premier League in 2025, with every night exclusive live along with the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.