Premier League

The sixteenth edition of the Premier League Darts was held from 6 February to 15 October 2020. An edition that was different than usual, due to the influence of the Coronavirus. At the end, it was debutant Glen Durrant who won his first major title at the PDC by beating fellow debutant Nathan Aspinall in the final.

The PDC had again chosen nine "regular" participants and nine "challengers". The regular participants were Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, Daryl Gurney, Michael Smith, Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall and Glen Durrant. With Van Gerwen, the Premier League had an edition with only one Dutch participant for the first time since 2012.

The first six rounds of play are played in the arenas that are initially on the program and with spectators. For example, challenger John Henderson may again make a nice appearance in Aberdeen, Fallon Sherrock is the first female player in the Premier League and she immediately takes a draw against Glen Durrant and the walk-on of William O'Connor in Dublin can also be called legendary. Luke Humphries is even the first challenger ever to take a victory: in week five he beats Gary Anderson 7-5.

After six exciting rounds of play, the Premier League is shut down for a long time due to the Corona virus. At that time, Michael van Gerwen has already suffered two defeats (against Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith) and it is the debutant Glen Durrant who surprisingly tops the rankings. "Duzza" only loses to Aspinall and has an excellent debut year. The same Aspinall also clearly shows himself in his first Premier League year, but has to swallow a defeat in week five against an unleashed Peter Wright: the world champion throws an average of 110 and thus records the highest average of the season.

After a 5.5 month hiatus, the Premier League will resume on August 25. The Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes is the setting for the remainder of the season. Behind closed doors and in a bubble, the players complete ten rounds of play in two weeks. The lack of supporters is especially felt with Michael van Gerwen: the Dutchman loses five games in Milton Keynes, including a painful 8-1 against Peter Wright. Partly because of this, "Mighty Mike" does not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since his debut in 2013.
Two Scots and two Englishmen know how to do that: Gary Anderson and Peter Wright will be joined by debutants Glen Durrant and Nathan Aspinall in the playoffs. Durrant finished the league as the leader and is the third player ever (after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen) to win the regular competition.

A special Premier League season comes to an end on October 15. The level of the four semi-finalists is very disappointing, but at the end there is someone with the Premier League cup in his hands. After Glen Durrant was just too strong for Gary Anderson (10-9) in the semifinals, he met Nathan Aspinall in the final, who managed to beat Peter Wright 10-7 in the other semifinal. The final was exciting, but Durrant's experience ultimately beats young Aspinall. With an 11-8 victory, Durrant takes one of the biggest titles at the PDC and manages to win a major tournament at the PDC for the first time since his transfer from the BDO. This makes "Duzza" the sixth player to be placed on the Premier League honor roll.