2020 Premier League Darts
The 2020 Unibet Premier League Darts is an ongoing darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the sixteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 6 February at the P&J Live in Aberdeen and will end with the Play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 22 October, after a delay was caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
2020 Unibet Premier League Darts |
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Winner |
Runner-up |
Score |
Dates |
6 February–22 October 2020 |
Edition |
16th |
Number of players |
9 (plus 9 guests) |
Venues |
12 |
Nine Dart Finish |
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Premier League Darts |
< 2019 | 2020 | 2021 > |
Michael van Gerwen is the four-time defending champion after defeating Rob Cross 11–5 in the 2019 final.
On 12 March 2020, it was announced that the double-header due to be played in Rotterdam had been postponed due to coronavirus concerns.[1] The following day it was announced that the Rotterdam dates would be moved to September, with the culmination of the tournament taking place there instead of London.[2] On 16 March 2020 it was announced the round to be played in Newcastle would be moved to October, taking over as the tournament's final round.
The May dates were postponed on 9 April 2020, with the PDC announcing a fully rescheduled calendar, the play-offs now taking place in Sheffield.[3] Further changes were announced in July, with the cancellation of the events in Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Berlin and the double header in Rotterdam; and the reinstatement of The O2 Arena as the host of the final. Six nights were added to the calendar to be held behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.[4]
Format
The tournament format will remain the same as 2019, with the only difference being the re-branding of 'contenders' to 'challengers' for this season.[5]
Phase 1: In each round, eight of the nine players play each other in four matches and the ninth player plays one match against one of the nine challengers. Phase 1 matches have a maximum of twelve legs, allowing for the winner being first to seven or a six-six draw. At the end of Phase 1, the bottom player is eliminated from the competition.
Phase 2: In each round, the remaining eight players play each other in four matches. Phase 2 matches have a maximum of fourteen legs, allowing for the winner being first to eight or a seven-seven draw. At the end of Phase 2, the bottom four players in the league table are eliminated from the competition.
Play-off Night: The top four players in the league table contest the two knockout semi-finals with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd. The semi-finals are first to 10 legs (best of 19). The two winning semi-finalists meet in the final which is first to 11 legs (best of 21).
Venues
The only change of venues from 2019 to 2020 was the introduction of the P&J Live in Aberdeen, which hosted the opening night's action.[6]
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the rounds in Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Berlin Rotterdam, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield were cancelled, with rounds being added in Milton Keynes to make up.[4]


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P&J Live Thursday 6 February |
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Thursday 13 February |
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Thursday 20 February |
3Arena Thursday 27 February |
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Westpoint Arena Thursday 5 March |
M&S Bank Arena Thursday 12 March |
Arena Birmingham (cancelled) |
SSE Arena Belfast (cancelled) |
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First Direct Arena (cancelled) |
Mercedes Benz Arena (cancelled) |
Rotterdam Ahoy (cancelled) |
Marshall Arena Tuesday 25 August – Sunday 6 September |
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SSE Hydro (cancelled) | Manchester Arena (cancelled) | Utilita Arena (cancelled) |
Sheffield Arena (cancelled) |
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The O2 Arena Thursday 22 October | |||
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Prize money
The prize money for the 2020 tournament remained at £825,000.
Stage | Prize Money | |
---|---|---|
Winner | £250,000 | |
Runner-up | £120,000 | |
Semi-finalists (x2) | £80,000 | |
5th place | £70,000 | |
6th place | £60,000 | |
7th place | £55,000 | |
8th place | £50,000 | |
9th place | £35,000 | |
League Winner Bonus | £25,000 | |
Total | £825,000 |
Players
The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship final on 1 January. The top four on the PDC Order of Merit are joined by five wildcards.[5]
Player | Appearance in Premier League |
Consecutive Streak |
Order of Merit Rank on 1/1/20 |
Previous best performance | Qualification |
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8th | 8 | 1 | Winner (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) | PDC Order of Merit |
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7th | 7 | 2 | Runner-up (2017) | PDC Order of Merit |
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3rd | 3 | 3 | 5th (2019) | PDC Order of Merit |
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3rd | 3 | 4 | Runner-up (2019) | PDC Order of Merit |
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4th | 3 | 5 | Runner-up (2018) | Wildcard |
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9th | 1 | 6 | Winner (2011, 2015) | Wildcard |
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3rd | 3 | 7 | Semi-final (2019) | Wildcard |
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1st[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 8 | Debut | Wildcard |
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1st[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 22 | Debut | Wildcard |
The format is similar to that of 2019, with 9 main players plus 9 invited players, now referred to as 'challengers' in a re-brand from the tag of 'contenders'. The 9 main players earn league points if they win or draw against the challengers. The challengers do not earn any league points but they earn financial bonuses if they win or draw their match.[5]
Player | Venue | Order of Merit Rank on 1/1/20 |
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Aberdeen | 31 |
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Nottingham | 91 [lower-alpha 2] |
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Cardiff | 16 |
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Dublin | 37 |
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Exeter | 35 |
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Liverpool | 17 |
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Milton Keynes | 19 |
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Milton Keynes | 20 |
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Milton Keynes | 23 |
- Competed in 2019 Premier League Darts as a contender.
- Not a PDC Tour Card holder following the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship
League stage
Players in italics are "Challengers", and only play on that night.
6 February – Night 1 (Phase 1)
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13 February – Night 2 (Phase 1)
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20 February – Night 3 (Phase 1)
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27 February – Night 4 (Phase 1)
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5 March – Night 5 (Phase 1)
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12 March – Night 6 (Phase 1)
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25 August – Night 7 (Phase 1)
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26 August – Night 8 (Phase 1)
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27 August – Night 9 (Phase 1) (Judgement Night)
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28 August – Night 10 (Phase 2)
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29 August – Night 11 (Phase 2)
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30 August – Night 12 (Phase 2)
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17 September – Night 13 (Phase 2)
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24 September – Night 14 (Phase 2)
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1 October – Night 15 (Phase 2)
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15 October – Night 16 (Phase 2)
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- Please note these are not calculated properly and are not indicative of actual averages for each night.
Play-offs – 22 October
Score | ||
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Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) | ||
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Final (best of 21 legs) | ||
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Night's Total Average: | ||
Highest Checkout: ![]() | ||
Most 180s: ![]() | ||
Night's 180s: |
Table and streaks
Table
After the first nine rounds in phase 1, the bottom player in the table is eliminated. In phase 2, the eight remaining players play in a single match on each of the seven nights. The top four players then compete in the knockout semi-finals and final on the playoff night.
The nine challengers are not ranked in the table, but the main nine players can earn league points for a win or draw in the games against them.
Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average.
# | Name | Pts | Matches | Legs | Scoring | |||||||||||
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Pld | W | D | L | LF | LA | +/- | LWAT | 100+ | 140+ | 180s | A | HC | C% | |||
1 | ![]() | 9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 15 | 82 | 54 | 6 | 95.57 | 144 | 43.68 |
2 | ![]() | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 12 | 85 | 44 | 18 | 101.69 | 144 | 51.39 |
3 | ![]() | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 11 | 76 | 40 | 17 | 96.71 | 167 | 39.53 |
4 | ![]() | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 11 | 69 | 42 | 20 | 97.82 | 170 | 41.67 |
5 | ![]() | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 10 | 70 | 49 | 22 | 97.13 | 157 | 43.42 |
6 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 35 | 36 | −1 | 10 | 87 | 50 | 20 | 94.50 | 122 | 36.08 |
7 | ![]() | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 9 | 82 | 31 | 16 | 96.86 | 157 | 41.25 |
8 | ![]() | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 14 | 76 | 46 | 17 | 94.17 | 128 | 41.18 |
9 | ![]() | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 9 | 72 | 51 | 13 | 93.22 | 144 | 38.36 |
(Q) = Qualified For The Playoffs (E) = Eliminated From Playoff Contention
Streaks
Player | Phase 1, Nights 1 to 9 | Phase 2, Nights 10 to 16 | Play-offs | |||||||||||||||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | SF | F | |||
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W | D | W | L | W | W | ||||||||||||||
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W | W | L | W | L | W | ||||||||||||||
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L | D | W | W | W | L | ||||||||||||||
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W | L | W | W | L | D | ||||||||||||||
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L | D | W | L | W | W | ||||||||||||||
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W | D | L | W | L | D | ||||||||||||||
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D | D | D | W | L | L | ||||||||||||||
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D | W | L | L | D | D | ||||||||||||||
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L | L | D | L | D | L | ||||||||||||||
Challengers | L | D | L | L | W | D | N/A |
Legend: | W | Win | D | Draw | L | Loss | — | Eliminated |
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Positions by Week
Player | Phase 1, Nights 1 to 9 | Phase 2, Nights 10 to 16 | |||||||||||||||
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||
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1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
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4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||
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9 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||
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2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||
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8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | |||||||||||
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3 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||
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6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | |||||||||||
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5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |||||||||||
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7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
References
- https://www.pdc.tv/news/2020/03/12/rotterdam-double-header-postponed
- https://www.pdc.tv/news/2020/03/13/rotterdam-double-header-moved-september
- https://www.pdc.tv/news/2020/04/09/unibet-premier-leagues-may-dates-moved
- Phillips, Josh. "Revised 2020 Unibet Premier League schedule confirmed". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- Phillips, Josh. "2020 Premier League to feature 'Challengers'". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- http://www.pdc.tv/news/2019/09/09/2020-unibet-premier-league-dates-confirmed
External links
- PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website
- PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website, Tournaments