How to watch 2026 Premier League Darts

Jonathan Victoria • 05 Feb 2026 Guides

Potentially the most exciting campaign in the league’s history…

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After a thrilling World Championship contest, attention turned to the next major contest on the calendar, which has finally come around - Premier League Darts.

17 nights of darts action every Thursday starting from tonight, with eight of the very best from the PDC Pro Tour competing for the coveted prize.

With the start of the new campaign just hours away, find out how to watch the 2026 Premier League Darts, plus more information on the competition.

How to watch 2026 Premier League Darts

Sky Sports are the official and exclusive rights holders to all major PDC events in the UK and Ireland, which of course includes the Premier League, as well as the World Championship, World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts.

PDC Darts on Sky Sports

Sky Sports has held the exclusive rights to major PDC events since 1993 and will continue to do so until at least 2030, which is when their renewed contract period expires - although don’t expect them to drop the coverage with the popularity that is coming back to the sport.

The deal sees extensive coverage throughout the year, with over 60 days of live action annually.

If you are not a Sky customer already, check out our Sky Sports deals on Digital TV, where there are plenty of packages that include the Sky Sports pack with Sky TV, making your life much easier.

For existing customers with Sky TV but without Sky Sports, you can add it to your existing package, either on a rolling 30-day or 18-month contract.

2026 Premier League Darts: Format

No changes in the format to this year’s competition following the overhaul from the 2022 edition.

It remains an eight-player contest, with 16 nights of contests played every Thursday. Every player is guaranteed to meet each other once in the quarter-finals throughout the first seven weeks, then once again in week 9-15, with weeks eight and 16 being drawn based on the league standings at that point.

Each night starts with the quarter-finals, with the four winners of those matches going on to the semi-finals. From there, the two winners will proceed to play in that nights final.

The players earn points depending on how far the make it each night. The points are dished out as followed:

• Two points for a semi-final finish
• Three points for a runners-up finish
• Five points for a nights final win

Following the league phase, the top four points scorers will go through to the play-off semi-finals, with first playing fourth and second playing third. The winners of the play-off semi-finals will get the chance to compete in the Premier League final.

Matches are played in leg format, with the number of legs required to win increasing as the tournament progresses:

• League stage - Best of 11 legs
• Play-off semi-finals - Best of 19 legs
• Premier League final - Best of 21 legs

2026 Premier League Darts: Prize Money

The prize winnings on PDC events have been steadily increasing in the past few years thanks to the sports’ rise in popularity.

This year sees the biggest prize fund in history - £1.25million, up from £1million last year. This includes £350,000 going to the champion as well as a £10,000 bonus for each night's winner during the league phase.

2026 Premier League Darts: Players

Automatic qualifiers

• Luke Littler (World ranking - 1)
• Luke Humphries (World ranking - 2)
• Gian van Veen (debutant, World ranking - 3)
• Michael van Gerwen (World ranking - 4)

Wildcard picks

• Jonny Clayton (World ranking - 5)
• Stephen Bunting (World ranking - 7)
• Josh Rock (debutant, World ranking - 9)
• Gerwyn Price (World ranking - 12)

This year’s competition sees three changes made to the field compared to last season. Rob Cross, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall failed to gain automatic qualification and were not chosen as one of the wildcards.

The last four finals have featured one of either Littler, Humphries or Van Gerwen, with the last two editions being contested between the world number one and two, with them each having won one.

As one of the sport's most accomplished and greatest players of all time, Van Gerwen is always a threat for the title. He has a record seven Premier League titles, his last coming in 2023.

Two young debutants will get their chance to shine once again after impressing at the World Championship, in particular Van Veen, who made it all the way to the final in a stellar run that included beating Humphries in the quarter-finals.

While the field is made up of some of the PDC’s strongest players, many questions were asked as to the inclusion of a few names - Bunting and Price were singled out due to their less-than-stellar performances in the World Championship; Bunting being sent home in the third round while Price, the 2021 champion, crashed out in round two in straight sets.

2026 Premier League Darts: Schedule

The 2026 Premier League starts tonight on Thursday 5th February. The league phase will conclude on Thursday 21st May.

Finals night will then be the following Thursday, 28th May.

Premier League Darts: History

The PDC Premier League Darts was launched in 2005 by the Professional Darts Corporation as a televised elite league showcasing some of the sport’s biggest stars. 

Initially featuring seven players in a league-only format, it expanded over time to include play-offs, more competitors, and weekly arena nights across the UK and Europe. 

The competition helped modernise darts, boosting mainstream appeal through crowd-focused venues, walk-on music, and prime-time TV coverage on Sky Sports. 

Multiple-time champions such as Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, and Gary Anderson have defined different eras. 

Today, the Premier League is one of darts’ most prestigious and commercially successful annual tournaments.

Premier League Darts: Past 10 winners

• 2025 - Luke Humphries
• 2024 - Luke Littler
• 2023 - Michael van Gerwen
• 2022 - Michael van Gerwen
• 2021 - Jonny Clayton
• 2020 - Glen Durrant
• 2019 - Michael van Gerwen
• 2018 - Michael van Gerwen
• 2017 - Michael van Gerwen
• 2016 - Michael van Gerwen

Premier League Darts: Record

Most appearances: 14 - Raymond van Barneveld

Most matches played: 211 - Raymond van Barneveld

Most finals: 9 - Michael van Gerwen

Most championships: 7 - Michael van Gerwen

Most 180s by one player in a match: 11 - Gary Anderson (2011) & Jose de Sousa (2021)

Most 100+ averages in a season: 18 - Michael van Gerwen (2017, first player to average over 100 in every match of a season)

Highest match average: 123.40 - Michael van Gerwen (2016)

Highest tournament average: 107.49 - Michael van Gerwen (2016)

Most points in a single season: 45 - Luke Littler (2025)