The PDC has announced its “most radical change” to the Darts Premier League by now comprising it of 16 mini-events.
Rather than the usual head-to-head format, which has been the staple of the tournament since its inception in 2005, players will now play a round-robin event on each night of its tour round the United Kingdom.
The winner of each event will be awarded five points, with three going to the runner-up and two to the losing semi-finalists, to help comprise the overall table.
The field, which has been reduced to eight players for 2022, will play each other twice in quarter-final ties across the 14 weeks. The top four will then advance to the play-offs.
Aberdeen takes its place on the schedule on April 21, which is night 10 of the season. The season starts on February 3 in Cardiff and the play-offs will be held in Newcastle on May 26.
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
Introducing the new format for the 2022 @CazooUK Premier League… The biggest shake up in the tournament's history!
8️⃣ Players
1️⃣ Winner each night
🗓 17 weeks
🏆 One champion➡️ https://t.co/ZMuQNjsU8b pic.twitter.com/PTyp5DTJr1
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 14, 2022
PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: “The Cazoo Premier League has grown beyond recognition since first being introduced 17 years ago, but the time was right to introduce this ground-breaking new format,” said PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter.
“Our new format means that every match matters. Every night throughout the season has its own champion and will provide even greater value for fans attending and watching around the world, with seven games playing through to a conclusion to find a winner in each venue.
“There is also the wider race to be involved in the Play-Offs and to challenge for the overall Premier League title and a share of the massive £1 million prize money.
“We’ve already seen great interest across the UK and Europe from fans looking forward to attending the Cazoo Premier League live once again, and this year they’ll be experiencing more top-class darts than ever before in this event.”
Welshman Jonny Clayton is the reigning champion and is certain to be involved, as are 2022 world champion Peter Wright, world number one Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen.
The full field is yet to be confirmed, although UK Open champion James Wade, Michael Smith, Jose De Sousa, Gary Anderson, Dimitri van den Bergh and Rob Cross should all be in contention for selection.
