Thursday nights were made for Premier League Darts. The 2020 tournament gets underway on February 6th and will run until Finals night on May 21st.
2019 winner Michael van Gerwen is a popular pick in darts betting odds at 10/11 but punters may wish to look elsewhere for value ahead of the competition.
This is one of the most popular tournaments on the darts calendar and fans will be tuning in weekly to watch the best players in the world compete over the 16-week regular season.
As always, we should see lots of drama and famous Premier League Darts moments over the course of the 2020 tournament.
Without further ado, it is time to take a look at the 2020 Premier League competition. We’ll cover everything from players involved and Premier League Darts betting odds to the arenas and venues involved.
So what are you waiting for, scroll down now and get involved ahead of Thursday’s opening night.
Premier League Darts 2020: Betting Odds
- Michael van Gerwen – 10/11
- Peter Wright – 9/2
- Gerwyn Price – 6/1
- Gary Anderson – 8/1
- Rob Cross – 12/1
- Nathan Aspinall – 14/1
- Michael Smith – 14/1
- Glen Durrant – 28/1
- Daryl Gurney – 28/1
2020 Premier League Darts: Challengers
Organisers have confirmed that the Premier League will follow a Challengers format in 2020 – with nine different players competing at various venues for the first nine weeks.
You can find a list of the Premier League Darts challengers below:
- John Henderson (Night One)
- Fallon Sherrock (Night Two)
- Jonny Clayton (Night Three)
- William O’Connor (Night Four)
- Luke Humphries (Night Five)
- Stephen Bunting (Night Six)
- Chris Dobey (Night Seven)
- Jeffrey de Zwaan (Night Eight)
- Jermaine Wattimena (Night Nine)
Venues: Premier League Darts 2020
- Night One – P&J Live, Aberdeen
- Night Two – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
- Night Three – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
- Night Four – Motorpoint Arena, Dublin
- Night Five – Westpoint Arena, Exeter
- Night Six – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
- Night Seven – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
- Night Eight – Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam
- Night Nine – Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam
- Night 10 – SSE Arena, Belfast
- Night 11 – FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
- Night 12 – Manchester Arena, Manchester
- Night 13 – Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
- Night 14 – Arena Birmingham, Birmingham
- Night 15 – SSE Hydro, Glasgow
- Night 16 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
- Finals Night – O2 Arena, London
Premier League Darts: History
Phil Taylor is the most successful player in Premier League Darts history with six titles, though Michael van Gerwen can equal that tally in 2020. Should the Dutchman emerge victorious, he will become the first player to win five Premier League titles in a row.
Van Gerwen has the highest average in Premier League history, recording a sensational 123.40 against Michael Smith in 2016. To this day, it remains the highest average in ANY professional televised competition.
Two-time Premier League Darts champion Gary Anderson holds the record for most 180s in a single game with 11 against Simon Whitlock in 2011. Fans may expect that record to fall in 2020 and darts betting odds will probably suggest a high-scoring year.
We’ve had eight nine-dart finishes in the Premier League since its formation in 2005, with Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis combining for seven of those. The only other player to hit a nine-dart finish in this tournament is Simon Whitlock.
Premier League Darts: Finals & Winners
2005 - Phil Taylor 16-4 Colin Lloyd
2006 - Phil Taylor 16-6 Roland Scholten
2007 - Phil Taylor 16-8 Terry Jenkins
2008 - Phil Taylor 16-8 James Wade
2009 - James Wade 13-8 Mervyn King
2010 - Phil Taylor 10-8 James Wade
2011 - Gary Anderson 10-4 Adrian Lewis
2012 - Phil Taylor 10-7 Simon Whitlock
2013 - Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Phil Taylor
2014 - Raymond van Barneveld 10-6 Michael van Gerwen
2015 - Gary Anderson 11-7 Michael van Gerwen
2016 - Michael van Gerwen 11-3 Phil Taylor
2017 - Michael van Gerwen 11-10 Peter Wright
2018 - Michael van Gerwen 11-4 Michael Smith
2019 - Michael van Gerwen 11-5 Rob Cross
Premier League Darts 2020: Players To Watch
Michael Van Gerwen is one of the best darts players of all-time and he deserves his place at the head of the darts betting odds for 2020 – most fans will expect the Dutchman to challenge for Premier League Darts supremacy this year.
At 10/11 in the betting, he is rather short though and punters looking for value may wish to look elsewhere.
9/2 for Peter Wright looks reasonable considering his efforts at the PDC World Championship a couple of months ago.
The newly crowned world champion continued his fine start to 2020 as he added the Masters title to his trophy cabinet last weekend – you’d be hard pressed to find a player in better form than Snakebite.
At the prices, it is worth taking a chance on Michael Smith. Bully Boy had a solid chance in the Masters final but crumbled under pressure; he is on the verge of a major scalp soon though.
If the stars align, the Premier League Darts could be Smith’s time to shine and that 14/1 could be one of the darts betting picks of the year.
In terms of the Challengers, Fallon Sherrock will attract lots of attention ahead of her Night Two appearance in Nottingham.
Sherrock was one of the stars of the World Championship this year and her impact on the big stage will hopefully inspire more women to get involved in darts in the coming years.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Lawrence Lustig / AP Photo*
