Schedule Night One Premier League Darts 2025: Van Gerwen battles Littler in Belfast
PDC
On Thursday, Feb. 6, the 21st edition of Premier League Darts will officially kick off at the SSE Arena in Belfast. The prestigious event, which pits eight of the world's best darters against each other, promises another season full of spectacle and drama. The opening night in Northern Ireland immediately features some delicious prospects with the absolute highlight being a showdown between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler.
This season, the Premier League again uses the mini-tournament format, with each night of play consisting of a quarterfinal, semifinal and final round. Points are distributed based on performance each night, and at the end of the 16 rounds of play, the top four players qualify for the playoffs at the end of May. At stake in Belfast is the first weekly bonus of 10,000 pounds. We take a look at all the quarterfinals and look ahead at what to expect.
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Chris Dobey v Gerwyn Price
The evening will kick off with an exciting encounter between Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price. It will be a special night for Dobey, as he won the opening night of Premier League Darts in Belfast last year. Back then, he defeated Michael van Gerwen in the final and set the tone for his debut season. This year, Dobey returns as an outsider, and he will again want to show that he belongs on this stage.
On the other side is Gerwyn Price, who initially seemed to have no interest in the Premier League but later changed his mind and gratefully accepted an invitation. 'The Iceman' had a shaky 2024 and is looking to revenge with strong performances this season. He is the favorite on paper against Dobey, but the Welshman will need to hit the doubles, something that has often been a problem in recent months.
It is the eighteenth time Price and Dobey have met on the PDC stage. 'The Iceman' leads 15-2 in the head-to-head, but the main showdown was won by Dobey. 'Hollywood' won 5-3 over his Welsh opponent at the last World Championships.
Stephen Bunting v Rob Cross
After a decade, Stephen Bunting is back in full force in the Premier League. Since then, 'The Bullet' has become one of the absolute crowd favorites and also a much better darter. The highlight was winning the Masters in 2024, while at the last World Championship he managed to reach the semifinals. This year, Bunting already showed form by winning the Bahrain Darts Masters.
Rob Cross also already has a title in his pocket. Voltage' took the overall victory at the Dutch Darts Masters in Den Bosch. For the Englishman, it is his sixth participation in the Premier League Darts. However, the last time Cross managed to reach the playoffs dates back to 2019. Last year, the former world champion achieved a creditable sixth place.
What speaks against Bunting is that he has a truly dramatic record against Cross. 'Voltage' has already won thirteen times from 'The Bullet,' while Bunting has only three wins to his name. Bunting's last win over his compatriot dates back to 2022, after which Cross has won the last seven encounters.
Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen
The match everyone is looking forward to: young sensation Luke Littler against seven-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen. As tradition dictates, we get a replay of the most recent World Championship final in the first round of play, so this year is no different.
Littler, who set the world on fire at the 2024 World Cup with his unparalleled talent and scoring ability, made his debut in the Premier League Darts last year and went on to become the youngest major winner in PDC history at the age of 17. He also went on to win the World Series Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts before Littler also became the youngest ever world champion early this year.
There were times when Michael van Gerwen dominated Premier League Darts, but those times are long gone. From 2013 through 2019, Van Gerwen won the league stage every year, while he took the title five times at the playoffs in 2013 and from 2016 through 2019. After 2019, Van Gerwen only topped rankings after the league phase in 2021, although he still captured the Premier League title in 2022 and 2023.
Meanwhile, Littler one of the few active darters with a positive record against Van Gerwen. The English teenage sensation is ahead 8-6 in the head-to-head and is currently unbeaten against the Dutchman four duels in a row.
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Humphries
The final quarterfinal is a duel between Nathan Aspinall and world number one Luke Humphries. Aspinall is a player known for his never-ending fighting spirit, a trait that has already taken 'The Asp' far in his career. Partly due to injuries, however, Aspinall had a poor 2024, although he did reach the quarterfinals at the World Darts Championship and Aspinall showed fine form at the Winmau World Masters.
That tournament was won last weekend by Humphries, who starts this Premier League edition as one of the absolute favorites. With his dominant performances over the past year and a half and his status as the world number one, he has all eyes on him. Humphries will want to do everything he can to add another title to his record. After all, the Premier League Darts is just one of the few major titles missing from the former world champion's list of honors.
Looking at the mutual history between these two players, we can see that Humphries never has an easy time with Aspinall. In the mutual balance, it is 10-7 for Humphries, but it never really goes easy. Humphries won the last four matches between them, but two of them were 6-5.
Winner's bonus of £10,000
A unique aspect of the Premier League is that a separate tournament is played each week of play, with the winner receiving an additional £10,000. This means that a player who manages to win multiple weeks of play can boost his prize money considerably. Since the league lasts for 16 weeks, an additional total of £160,000 can be distributed to the winners of these nights of play.
With performances, players also earn points toward the Premier League standings. The winner of a weekly tournament receives five points, while the losing finalist takes home three points. Semi-finalists keep two points and players who lose their opening match go home scoreless.
Format
Tournament Phase
Quarterfinals/Semi-FInals/Finals: Best of 11 legs
Playoffs
Semifinals: Best of 19 legs
Final: Best of 21 legs
TV Guide
Thanks to Sky Sports, you don't have to miss a single darts moment. Every Thursday night starting at 7 p.m., the channel will bring you the matches live, including extensive analysis and interviews with the main players.
The broadcasts usually last until 11pm, allowing you to enjoy a full evening of pure entertainment and top-level darts at the highest level.
Distribution of prize money
With a total prize fund of £1,000,000, the eight contestants are competing not only for the title, but also for a substantial amount of money. All participants are guaranteed £60,000 in prize money. This eventually rises to the top prize of £275,000 for the winner.
However, players can also win a bonus each week. For every winner of a mini-tournament during the league phase, a sum of £10,000 is up for grabs.
Schedule Premier League Darts 2025
Night One - Thursday, Feb. 6.
The SSE Arena, Belfast
Quarterfinals
Chris Dobey v Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting v Rob Cross
Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Humphries
Your 2025 Premier League Darts line-up! 🤩🎯 pic.twitter.com/juKKpMsQwI
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 6, 2025
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- Beau also skipped Players Championships 7 & 8 next week, and PC 3 & 4 four weeks ago. If she next chooses to miss the Women's Series and PC 13 & 14 in mid-April then we can make a fair guess as to her reason.Scoobedybop13-03-2025
- I've commented before,Phil should let us all remember how great he was,and leave your darts in the drawer. Another humiliation will tarnish everything,you couldn't even beat old blokes who you would have beaten before the game started !!rick6712-03-2025
- I've commented before,Phil should let us all remember how great he was,and leave your darts in the drawer. Another humiliation will tarnish everything,you couldn't even beat old blokes who you would have beaten before the game started !!rick6712-03-2025
- Aspinall was a no-show: Carl Sneyd steps in from the Challenge Tour.Scoobedybop11-03-2025
- Likewise, I have always been a fan of Mervyn and with this worry on his mind, it explains why his form and ranking plummeted. It is really sad to hear this, often chatted to Mervyn and Tracey during the Lakeside days, both are lovely people. It does seem naive not acknowledging the fact it was earnings, surely there must be others in the same situation. I really hope the Kings can get through this....would a go fund me be permittedrichieburnettrocks11-03-2025
- I always like Merv,but he does he seems slightly naive with his comments. I wish you all the best, hope you can get sorted,and try and get back to a decent game,a bit of money.....and get rid of the dogs,if that's your main concern,I believe your priorities may be slightly wrongrick6710-03-2025
- What’s with the dogs element to this story, trying to pull at the heart strings? Just goes to show that being a good dart player does not equate to being that bright. Seriously, ‘I thought you didn’t have to pay tax on winnings’ , your a pro dart player and its your line of work, your not playing the lottery or placing a bet. I think it was Phil Taylor who said you should put a third to one side of all winnings into a bank account, obviously Merv was wearing his earplugs at the time.Mysstree10-03-2025
- The thing is... the folks who "humiliated" Taylor in the Seniors Events never really achieved anything in the important events - like Taylor did. Taylor had/has nothing to prove... and beating Taylor after he had retired is of zero value. Taylor in his prime would have made easy work of all of them. Cheers.MrYnyslas197107-03-2025
- Taylor was humiliated in the seniors events,so he really has nothing to lose by playing littler. I think he should put his darts away,and let us remember what a great player he wasrick6706-03-2025
- actually, since you're asking... yes. yes i do.colt06-03-2025