Who is playing in the BetMGM Premier League in 2025? Which players missed out? 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 inception in 2005.
Luke Littler returns as the defending champion after last year's win over the world number one Luke Humphrieswith the teenage star looking to build on his historic success at the World Darts Championship Michael van Gerwen and continue the impressive start to 2025.
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Check out some of the highlights from this year's World Darts Championship, including Luke Littler's record, several Barriokes and two nine-dart darts.
Van Gerwen and Rob Cross completed four automatic qualifications with the Order of Merit, Doc Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price are published as choices – live on Sky Sports News – to complete the lineup of eight people
The matches are played 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.
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Stephen Bunting has earned one of four wildcard spots to join world champion and reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler in a star-studded field
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-offs take place at The O2 in London on Thursday 29 May.
What is the Premier League Darts format?
Every night of the Premier League – 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.
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Take a look back at some of the highlights from the 2024 Premier League season
Each match is the best of 11 games and the winner gets five points, the runner-up gets three points, and the two losing semi-finalists get two points. The top four players in the Premier League standings at the end of the 16th night 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 on the final night of the season will play the fourth-placed player, and the second-placed player will play the man in third place, with the two semi-finals being played in a best-of-19 match. .
The winner of that semi-final will face off in the final later that evening, the best of 21 matches and the first player to achieve 11 games to be crowned Premier League champions.
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Luke Littler hit nine darts during the Premier League play-off final at London's O2 Arena
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 betting market after reaching the World Darts Championship final at Alexandra Palace.
Darts' newest star won four nights in seven weeks on his way to the top of the season standings last season, adding two runners-up finishes and seven more semi-final appearances during his debut campaign.
The 11-7 victory over Humphries in a thrilling final last year included a stunning 9-dart haul, completing one of 10 PDC titles Littler has secured – including the World Series of Darts and Grand Slam of Darts – in a remarkable 2024.
What prize money is available?
The 2025 champion will win £275,000 in prize money, with £125,000 for the runner-up and £85,000 for the other two semi-finalists, while those finishing between fifth and eighth will earn between £75,000 and £0.60.
Each winner of the week will receive a Nightly Winner Bonus of £10,000, bringing the total prize pool for this year's Premier League to £1 million again.
Who missed out on a place in 2025?
Jonny Clayton and Dave Chisnall are the two highest-ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit not to occupy a place in the Premier League, ranked sixth and seventh when the line-up was confirmed, with world no.8 Damon Heta – who produced a brilliant nine-dart during the World Cup – is also not included.
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Another look at how the Alexandra Palace crowd went wild for Damon Hetta's nine darts at the World Darts Championship
Two-time world champion Peter Wright misses a place in the Premier League for the first time since 2013, doc Michael Smith – a Premier League semi-finalist in each of the past two years – failed to secure a place after a disappointing year.
Mike Decker becomes the first current 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.
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PDC chief executive Matthew Porter and Sky Sports' Mark Webster reflect on the 2025 Premier League darts line-up and urge players to step up and keep their places for next year
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 before Van Gerwen won each of the following four editions.
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Watch Michael van Gerwen win a record seventh Premier League title in style during the 2023 competition.
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 title – on his Premier League debut – in 2024.
How can I watch Premier League 2025?
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League in 2025, with every night exclusively live with World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and other top sports with SADA.