Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen will renew rivalries on the opening night of the 2020 Unibet Premier League season in Aberdeen on Thursday February 6, with fixtures for the opening nine nights now confirmed.
Wright claimed World Championship glory on New Year’s Day at Alexandra Palace as he defeated Van Gerwen 7-3 to claim the Sid Waddell Trophy and take the Dutchman’s mantle as World Champion.
Van Gerwen, though, will be aiming for revenge as he opens his challenge to win an unprecedented fifth successive Premier League title in their meeting at the new P&J Live in Aberdeen.
The opening night will also see Scottish hero Gary Anderson make his Premier League return against Daryl Gurney, while newcomer Glen Durrant plays Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price takes on Rob Cross.
Local hero John Henderson will be the Challenger in Aberdeen, and he will face UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall in the opening night’s other fixture, with over 8,000 fans set to pack the venue.
Fallon Sherrock, who created history as the first female to taste victory at the World Championship in December, will appear as a Challenger on Night Two in Nottingham, taking on three-time BDO Champion Durrant.
The night also features a rematch of the 2019 UK Open final as Aspinall plays Cross, while Scottish World Cup champions Wright and Anderson face off and Van Gerwen plays Gurney.
Top Welshman Price will take on Gurney on Night Three as the Premier League visits Cardiff, where Welsh number two Jonny Clayton appears as a Challenger against Smith, while Van Gerwen plays Aspinall in a repeat of their recent World Championship semi-final.
Night Four in Dublin sees Ireland’s World Cup finalist William O’Connor compete as a Challenger against Van Gerwen, as Price and Wright meet in a rematch of their thrilling clashes in the 2019 Grand Slam of Darts final and recent World Championship semi-finals.
World Youth Champion Luke Humphries’ appearance as a Challenger in Exeter will see him take on Anderson, while Van Gerwen and Smith meet in a repeat of the 2018 Premier League and 2019 World Championship finals.
The meeting between Van Gerwen and Price will headline the visit to Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on Night Six, where Merseyside’s Stephen Bunting returns to the Premier League to take on Cross.
Chris Dobey takes to the stage in Newcastle on Night Seven, with the local hero set to face Gurney on a night which also sees Middlesbrough’s Durrant take on World Champion Wright and Van Gerwen’s clash with Cross.
The first phase of the Premier League season then concludes with a double-header at Rotterdam Ahoy on March 25-26, which includes Judgement Night as the ninth-placed player in the league table is eliminated.
Night Eight sees Van Gerwen taking on Durrant, while rising Dutch star Jeffrey de Zwaan will take on Wright.
The fixtures on Judgement Night include Van Gerwen resuming his rivalry with Anderson on the Premier League stage and Price facing Dutch Challenger Jermaine Wattimena.
Following Judgement Night, the remaining eight players meet once more in the remaining seven league nights in Belfast, Sheffield, Manchester, Berlin, Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds.
The top four players then progress to face off for the title, and a £250,000 top prize, in the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on Thursday May 21.
Tickets for the 2020 Unibet Premier League are available from venue box offices listed below.
The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, on PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.
2020 Unibet Premier League
Night One, Thursday February 6 – Aberdeen
P&J Live
Michael Smith v Glen Durrant
Gary Anderson v Daryl Gurney
Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall v John Henderson
Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk
Night Two, Thursday February 13 – Nottingham
Motorpoint Arena
Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith
Gary Anderson v Peter Wright
Glen Durrant v Fallon Sherrock
Daryl Gurney v Michael van Gerwen
Tickets: motorpointarenanottingham.com
Night Three, Thursday February 20 – Cardiff
Motorpoint Arena
Peter Wright v Rob Cross
Jonny Clayton v Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price
Glen Durrant v Gary Anderson
Tickets: motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk
Night Four, Thursday February 27 – Dublin
3Arena
Glen Durrant v Nathan Aspinall
Rob Cross v Gary Anderson
Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith
William O’Connor v Michael van Gerwen
Gerwyn Price v Peter Wright
Tickets: ticketmaster.ie
Night Five, Thursday March 5 – Exeter
Westpoint Exeter
Rob Cross v Daryl Gurney
Gerwyn Price v Glen Durrant
Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright
Gary Anderson v Luke Humphries
Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen
Tickets: ticketzone.co.uk
Night Six, Thursday March 12 – Liverpool
M&S Bank Arena
Michael Smith v Peter Wright
Daryl Gurney v Glen Durrant
Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen
Rob Cross v Stephen Bunting
Gary Anderson v Nathan Aspinall
Tickets: mandsbankarena.com
Night Seven, Thursday March 19 – Newcastle
Utilita Arena
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
Nathan Aspinall v Gerwyn Price
Chris Dobey v Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright v Glen Durrant
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk
Night Eight, Wednesday March 25 – Rotterdam
Rotterdam Ahoy
Gary Anderson v Gerwyn Price
Nathan Aspinall v Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith v Rob Cross
Michael van Gerwen v Glen Durrant
Peter Wright v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Tier tickets: ticketmaster.nl
Table tickets: ticketmaster.nl
Judgement Night, Thursday March 26 – Rotterdam
Rotterdam Ahoy
Glen Durrant v Rob Cross
Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith
Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
Jermaine Wattimena v Gerwyn Price
Tier tickets: ticketmaster.nl
Table tickets: ticketmaster.nl
Night Ten, Thursday April 2 – Belfast
The SSE Arena
Tickets: ticketmaster.ie
Night 11, Thursday April 9 – Sheffield
The FlyDSA Arena
Tickets: flydsaarena.co.uk
Night 12, Thursday April 16 – Manchester
The Manchester Arena
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk
Night 13, Thursday April 23 – Berlin
Mercedes-Benz Arena
Tickets: mercedes-benz-arena-berlin.de
Night 14, Thursday April 30 – Birmingham
Arena Birmingham
Tickets: theticketfactory.com
Night 15, Thursday May 7 – Glasgow
The SSE Hydro
Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk
Night 16, Thursday May 14 – Leeds
First Direct Arena
Tickets: firstdirectarena.com
Play-Offs, Thursday May 21 – London
The O2
Tickets: theo2.co.uk
Format
League matches in the first nine nights will be the best of 12 legs; first to seven, or a six-all draw.
League matches in the second phase of the season will be the best of 14 legs; first to eight, or a seven-all draw.
