THE PROFESSIONAL Darts Corporation is delighted to announce the launch of the 2005 Premier League Darts, an exciting new event featuring seven superstars from the PDC.
Played on Thursday nights between January and May, the Premier League Darts will visit eleven venues across the country for one-night spectaculars, all of which will be screened live on Sky Sports, bringing over 45 more hours of live action to darts fans in the UK.
Phil Taylor, Colin Lloyd, Peter Manley, John Part, Roland Scholten and Wayne Mardle will all be stepping up to the oche for the event, which boasts £140,000 in prize money, with £50,000 to the winner.
The seventh and final player will be confirmed after the 2005 Ladbrokes.com World Championship, which takes place at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet between December 26 and January 3.
The format of the Premier League Darts sees each player play each other twice over the best of 12 legs, with two points for a win and one for a draw.
The top four will progress to the finals weekend, to be held at a venue to be confirmed on May 28 and 29.
Sky Sports, who already screen five separate PDC events live, will broadcast the event in its duration on Thursday nights between 7pm and 11pm.
The Premier League Darts will start in Stoke on January 20, before moving roadshow style around the country. The full schedule is as follows:
January 20 Stoke-on-Trent Kings Hall
February 3 Reading Rivermead Centre
February 17 Taunton Wellsprings Centre
March 10 Norwich Sports Village
March 31 Carlisle Sands Centre
April 21 Plymouth Pavilions
April 28 Kidderminster Glades Arena
May 5 Newcastle Federation Breweries
May 12 Doncaster Dome
May 19 Colchester Charter Hall
May 28/29 TBC (Finals Weekend)
A full press pack for the event will be distributed shortly.
For further information, please contact Matt Porter, PDC Communications Manager mailtmatthew.porter@prodarts.com.