The Premier League is the biggest darts event of the year after the World Cup. But only eight players are allowed to participate. With Gabriel Clemens, a German could also hope to take part, but others were now selected.
The professional dart organization PDC has waited until the last possible date with the announcement. Four weeks after the World Cup final, it is now clear which eight players will take part in the Premier League this year. It wasn't enough for the top German player Gabriel Clemens. The giant league of darts continues to take place without German participation. This can be explained for sporting reasons despite the furious entry into the World Cup semi-finals. And yet one or the other nomination raises questions.
After the World Cup, the Premier League is the most important tournament of the darts year, at least from a financial point of view. In total, the PDC is paying out the equivalent of more than 1.1 million euros in prize money to the eight participants. For 17 consecutive weeks, the darts stars have been guests in a large arena on Thursdays. Even the big ranked tournaments can't keep up with the size of the venues. For comparison: In Berlin, more than 10,000 spectators will be there on a single evening, at the World Cup only around 3,000 fans are allowed per session. The Premier League is therefore the most important money machine of the year for the PDC next to the World Cup. With the road show through Europe, the organization fills its coffers in order to be able to increase the prize money year after year and market the sport even more.
Against this background, a nomination by Gabriel Clemens would have been understandable. The "German Giant" is only in 19th place in the world rankings based on the prize money earned over the past two years, despite the World Cup semi-finals. But the German market has recently developed into the second most important sales market for the PDC after Great Britain, also thanks to Clemens' success. Ticket sales for tournaments in Germany have skyrocketed thanks to the success of the 39-year-old, and the TV channel Sport1 recorded record ratings for its World Cup broadcasts. But that alone has not flushed Clemens into the elite league.
Instead, the top four in the world rankings are there. Michael Smith, the newly crowned world champion and the new number one in the world. Peter Wright wants to forget his early World Cup exit. In the first smaller tournaments after the world championship, things went much better for "Snakebite". Premier League title holder is Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman is aiming for title number seven. Gerwyn Price has a surprisingly poor record in the elite league. The "Iceman" never got past fifth place. After his curious earmuff appearance in the lost quarter-finals of the World Cup against Clemens, Price has a lot to make up for this year.
The other four starting places will be awarded as "wildcards" by the PDC in consultation with the broadcasting TV station "Sky Sports". Not only sporting reasons are decisive here, otherwise you could simply select the players in places five to eight in the world rankings. Important factors in addition to playing strength are the entertainment factor, marketability and nationality also plays a role. For example, it was unthinkable that the PDC selected three or even four more Englishmen besides Michael Smith.
2021 Champion Jonny Clayton is there for the third time in a row. The Welshman has impressed with his impressive consistency since his breakthrough in 2021 and has become an integral part of the world class. Even if the really big tournament victories have not materialized in the past 12 months, his nomination is not surprising. Clayton was too good on the 16 match days of the Premier League last year. The 48-year-old snatched up four tournament wins before being eliminated by Joe Cullen in the semifinals in Berlin.
The player selection was also complicated because there was a sensational winner in the last tournament before the Premier League this weekend. With the Englishman Chris Dobey (number 21 in the world) a player who had not previously won a major tournament won for the third year in a row. Unlike in previous years, the PDC had not expressly declared the Masters to be the last chance for the Premier League qualification, but the Dobey nomination is no longer a surprise. Otherwise, the eight players could have been announced immediately after the World Cup.
To the chagrin of his compatriots Joe Cullen (Premier League finalist last year), surprise European champion Ross Smith and, above all, world number five Luke Humphries, Dobey slipped into the field. Rob Cross, number six in the world, is likely to have maneuvered himself out of the way with his statements over the past few weeks. The 2018 world champion had indicated several times that he actually had no desire for the Premier League.
Nathan Aspinall is the third Englishman in the field. The 31-year-old reached two big finals last year. Added to this is his great popularity with the English fans. He plays with a lot of passion, his walk-on to "Mr. Brightside" by the "Killers" doesn't hurt him either. In addition, he often knows how to surpass himself, especially in big games. It was the same at the Worlds when he was knocked out by Josh Rock in round three. The game was so spectacular that even the early end couldn't bury Aspinall's Premier League hopes.
The nomination of Dimitri Van den Bergh is much more surprising. Like Aspinall, the Belgian is very well received by the audience, dancing every time he goes on stage. However, apart from the World Cup semifinals, van den Bergh has not caused a stir recently. In addition, the magic around the 28-year-old Belgian often fades a bit when the game starts. He's one of the slowest players of all, his throwing rhythm the opposite of spectacle.
And yet Van den Bergh is likely to be the one who outdid Gabriel Clemens in the end. The Belgian market may be smaller, but it is also becoming increasingly popular. In addition, Van den Bergh has been one of the extended world leaders for a long time. Gabriel Clemens will first have to prove that he can make the leap to the front. The outstanding World Cup was a first step, but not enough for the Premier League.
After several major and minor changes, this time the organizers did not change the format of the tournament series compared to the last edition. Eight players compete on 16 Thursdays from February 2nd to May 18th at 16 different locations. A tournament is played every week from the quarter finals to the final. Those who reach the semi-finals receive two points, the defeated finalist three and the winner of the evening five points. In addition, the winner of the day can look forward to the equivalent of 11,000 euros in prize money.
After 16 matchdays the settlement will be settled. The four players with the best points qualify for the playoffs, which will be held in London on May 25 this year. Here, on one evening, the semi-finals and final decide who can call themselves the Premier League winners. The winner collects a good 310,000 euros in prize money, there is only more in darts for the world championship title. The runner-up wins almost 140,000 euros, even the last-placed after 16 weeks still gets 70,000 euros in prize money.
It starts for the elite circle on Thursday in the Northern Irish capital of Belfast. Then Cardiff, Glasgow, Dublin and several stations in England are on the program. On March 30th, the Premier League will also be in Berlin (Mercedes-Benz-Arena), and the game will also be played in Rotterdam on April 20th.
