The first nine nights of the 2021 Premier League will be held behind closed doors in Milton Keynes from April 5-9 and April 19-22 live on Sky Sports, with PDC chairman Barry Hearn saying they are hoping to facilitate live crowds for the second half of the competition later in the year
Thursday 11 March 2021 08:23, UK
The PDC has announced the first nine nights of the 2021 Unibet Premier League season, which will be held behind closed doors in Milton Keynes in April live on Sky Sports.
The tournament, which traditionally visits different arenas around the UK and Europe every Thursday night, takes on a different format due to coronavirus restrictions.
The first half of the season will see the 10 players face off against one another across nine nights from April 5-9 and April 19-22 at the Marshall Arena, before the bottom two players in the league table are eliminated following Judgement Night.
A further seven league nights will then be held as the remaining eight players bid to claim spots in the Play-Offs, which will see the semi-finals and final held to determine the 2021 champion, with a decision regarding dates and venues to be made in due course.
The PDC also confirmed the dates and venues for the 2022 Premier League season, which is set to revert to the normal format.
The season will begin at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff on Thursday, February 3, with Judgement Night held at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Thursday, March 31 and the Play-Offs held in Newcastle for the first time at the Utilita Arena on Thursday, May 26.
"With ongoing restrictions in the UK and Europe meaning that starting the 2021 Unibet Premier League season with crowds in April will not be possible, our 10 superstars of our sport will begin the tournament behind closed doors," said PDC chairman Barry Hearn.
"The Unibet Premier League holds a special place in the hearts of darts fans across Europe and we'll continue to work with our venue partners to be able to stage the second half of the season with live crowds if possible.
"With the start of the 2021 Unibet Premier League in sight, we're still working hard with our sponsors Unibet and host broadcast partner Sky Sports to create a memorable, if unique, season."
We'll continue to work with our venue partners to be able to stage the second half of the season with live crowds if possible.
Glen Durrant will be looking to defend this title, after he defeated Nathan Aspinall in the 2020 showpiece.
Former Premier League champions Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson are joined by world champion Gerwyn Price, World Matchplay winner Dimitri Van den Bergh, Grand Slam champion José de Sousa, Masters champion Jonny Clayton, reigning European champion Peter Wright and former Premier League finalists Aspinall and Rob Cross as the other competitors in 2021.
Monday, April 5-Friday April 9 - Nights One-Five
Monday, April 19-Thursday April 22 - Night Six-Judgement Night
TBC - Nights 10-16 & Play-Offs
Thursday February 3 - Night One, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Thursday February 10 - Night Two, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Thursday February 17 - Night Three, SSE Arena, Belfast
Thursday February 24 - Night Four, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
Thursday March 3 - Night Five, Westpoint Exeter
Thursday March 10 - Night Six, The Brighton Centre
Thursday March 17 - Night Seven, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Thursday March 24 - Night Eight, Rotterdam Ahoy
Thursday March 31 - Judgement Night, Utilita Arena Birmingham
Thursday April 7 - Night Ten, First Direct Arena, Leeds
Thursday April 14 - Night 11, AO Arena, Manchester
Thursday April 21 - Night 12, P&J Live, Aberdeen
Thursday April 28 - Night 13, 3Arena, Dublin
Thursday May 5 - Night 14, The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
Thursday May 12 - Night 15, FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
Thursday May 19 - Night 16, The O2, London
Thursday May 26 - Play-Offs, Utilita Arena Newcastle
Watch full coverage of every night of the Premier League on Sky Sports, and stick with us through the year as we bring you the latest darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts.
