Back to 10 players? A Royal Rumble?! - Should Premier League format change?

PDC chief executive Matt Porter says "watch this space" regarding Premier League format change as top players call for return to 10 competitors; Gerwyn Price also wants a 'Royal Rumble' element to provide "added excitement"; Premier League has run nightly mini-tournaments since 2022

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>That was PDC chief executive Matt Porter's eye-catching answer when asked whether tweaks could be made to the Premier League Darts format.

>Porter wants to ensure the competition, which runs weekly from February until the end of May each year and was won in dramatic style by Luke Littler on Thursday night, does not become "repetitive" or "boring".

>The current system, established in 2022, sees a mini-tournament on each of the 16 regular nights of the season, featuring quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.

>Each nightly winner earns five points, with the runner-up taking three, the two beaten semi-finalists two and the four losing quarter-finalists leaving pointless.

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>The previous set-up, last used in 2021, involved 10 players, all playing one, best-of-12-leg match a night in a round-robin style before the bottom two in the table after the ninth week of competition, dubbed 'Judgement Night', were eliminated.

>The round-robin then continued for the remaining eight players across a further seven weeks, with the top four advancing to a play-off format that remains to this day.

>So, amid talk of changes, what do some of the top players want?

>World No 1 and two-time Premier League champion Luke Littler, speaking to SportsBoom.co.uk:

>"I'd like to see a change. I'd like to play in a Premier League where it's just one game a night. Get an extra two players in, get a 'Judgement Night' back in as well.

>"That's what I grew up watching. It was very interesting to see two Premier League players go [out] with your 10th and ninth and then the other eight can battle it out.

>"If it's not working, change it, but if it's working for the PDC, then just keep it in place."

>World No 2 and 2025 Premier League champion Luke Humphries:

>"I still enjoy the format of what it is now but there are so many players that could be in it that are not. Do you need to stop these great players not being in it?

>"I know [the PDC] like it elite, really tight with eight, but if you have 10 players I feel it might be easier to stop arguments of who should be in. I wouldn't go past 10 because I feel if you take it to 12 then maybe it's not as elite as it should be.

>"It's not just us as players but the fans want change and we need them on our side. Hopefully they will be rewarded with something that they want as well.

>"As players, we just want what the fans want: for them to have good entertainment."

>World No 7 and 2023 Premier League runner-up Gerwyn Price, writing on Facebook:

>"Back to the old format of 10 players all playing one game per night. After nine weeks the bottom two drop out like in previous years and we go into the format of the last few years. Eight players into a quarter-final and play down to a winner."

>Price also suggested a further tweak to the tournament, inspired by World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) annual Royal Rumble event, in which 30 wrestlers enter the ring at timed intervals with the one left standing earning a title shot at WrestleMania.

>The Iceman's idea for a darts version would see a 'Royal Rumble' clash take place between the second and third match on each Premier League night, starting with two random players - outside of the 10 Premier League competitors - on night one.

>The winner would advance to the following week and only learn their opponent when their entrance music blared out, as is the case in WWE's Royal Rumble.

>Expanding on a "twist" that would bring "added excitement", Price said: "Nobody knows who the surprise challenger will be each week. The Royal Rumble winner after the full 16 weeks gets a belt, prize money and a space in the following year's Premier League."

>Price explained that his 16 challengers would be the top eight from the one-year PDC Order of Merit and the eight-highest ranked players outside of the Premier League qualifiers. "So, 26 of the world's best all being involved," added the Welshman.

>Whether Porter and his PDC colleagues go for that remains to be seen, but it does appear that some Premier League change could be in the offing.

>"People look at it through different eyes," said Porter.

>"If you come to an arena once, you see it once. You want to see a winner on the night. You want to see that drama until the very last dart thrown."

>"If you watch it every week on TV, some people want to see the best players playing each other every week. Others want to see a little bit of variety.

>"You're never going to pick something that pleases everyone, but we always look at what we can do, so watch this space."

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