Premier League Darts 2022: Who is taking part, how the new format works and prize money

After much speculation and anticipation the Professional Darts Corporation finally revealed the line-up for the 2022 Premier League earlier this month.

The competition has moved away from the traditional format which saw players play a traditional fixture list to earn league table points.

Now there is a prize of £10,000 up fro grabs every single week in a knock-out style bracket where overall league table points are still up for grabs.

Week one saw World Champions Peter “Snakebite” Wright claim the prize and maximum points as he beat reigning Premier League champion Jonny Clayton in Cardiff.

So far, the new format is proving a hit in the world of darts and reaction has been largely positive.

Here is everything you need to know about the new format, the competitors and the prize-money up for grabs ahead of Round 2 this week:

Premier League of Darts 2022: How does it work and why is it different?

The Premier League has always been one of the highlights of the PDC calendar and is second only to the World Championships in the eyes of many.

Previously, the competition would tour the UK and Europe on a weekly basis as 10 of the best players in the world faced each other at least once.

Since 2013, the intended format was for each of the players to face the other nine once in the opening nine weeks before the bottom two in the table were eliminated.

Over the next six weeks, the remaining eight players would face each other once and the top four players at the end of those fixtures would face off in the semi-finals with the two winners meeting in the final.

After a two years disrupted by Covid-19, the PDC opted to finally shake up the Premier League format and went in an entirely new direction.

Only eight players are taking part, instead of 10, and will compete in a knockout style bracket every week.

Each match is contested as a best of 11 legs and the players are guaranteed to meet each other once throughout the first seven weeks and once in the quarterfinals (weeks nine to 15).

Players receive two points per semi-final finish, three points per runner-up finish, and five points per final win on each night.

At the end of week 15, the top four players in the league table will advance to the overall semi-finals.

2022 Premier League of Darts prize money

There is a £1 million total prize pot which will be split between the eight competitors.

The winner will receive £275,000 in prize money while the runner-up takes home £125,000 and the two beaten semi-finalists get £85,000 each.

Fifth place in the final league table receives £75,000, sixth place gets £70,000, seventh takes home £65,000 and eighth will receive £60,000.

There is also a weekly prize of £10,000 available for the player who wins the eight man bracket that night.

Who is taking part in the 2022 Premier League of Darts?

The eight players taking part are:

• Gerwyn Price
• Peter Wright
• Michael van Gerwen
• James Wade
• Michael Smith
• Gary Anderson
• Jonny Clayton
• Joe Cullen

Week one saw Peter Wright beat Jonny Clayton 6-1 in the final in Cardiff after Clayton had beaten James Wade in his semi and Wright has toppled fellow Scot Gary Anderson.

Premier League of Darts 2022 Week 2 fixtures

The Premier League of darts heads to Liverpool in Week two where Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen will open the night.

The winner of that match will face either Jonny Clayton or Michael Smith in the first semi-final.

Clayton and Smith played out arguably the match of the tournament at the 2022 World Championships so the Merseyside crowd could be in for a treat when they face off again.

The second half of the bracket sees and all-English affair as James Wade takes on Joe Cullen before Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson go head-to-head to face the winner of that match.

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