Announcements

THERE are so far no St Helens darters among the Unibet Premier League line-up for 2021, although one place will be be decided after the Masters at the end of this month.

Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jose de Sousa will make their debuts, with St Helens Michael Smith and Daryl Gurney so far missing from last year's line-up.

Smith suffered an early exit in the recent World Championships and that could be costly for him as he slips to ninth in the World rankings.

The tenth-place will hang tantalisingly for him and fellow St Helens darter Dave Chisnall who has climbed to sixth in the rankings after a semi-final finish in the World Championships.

The Premier League will revert to a ten-player format this year, with the bottom two players following Judgement Night after nine games being eliminated from the event.

A further seven league nights would then take place ahead of the season-ending Play-Offs, featuring the top four players competing in the semi-finals and final.

Reigning champion Glen Durrant headlines the nine competitors confirmed by the PDC following Sunday's World Championship final, as the Middlesbrough ace looks to repeat the glory of his debut season in 2020.

Last year's World Matchplay winner Van den Bergh and Grand Slam of Darts champion De Sousa are both included for their first Premier League seasons, although the young Belgian made a Contender appearance in 2019.

Five-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen and two-time winner Gary Anderson will be aiming to regain the trophy in 2021, while Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall are also included in the field.

Due to current restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the 2021 Premier League season is now expected to begin around Easter, with details of any rearranged dates to be confirmed in due course.

The tournament had been set to commence in February in Cardiff, with further league nights planned in Dublin, Newcastle, Rotterdam, Exeter, Belfast, Nottingham and Manchester before Judgement Night in Brighton on April 1.

Fans who had tickets for any event which will be moved will be contacted by the Box Office where they purchased the tickets.

2021 Unibet Premier League

Competitors

Michael van Gerwen

Peter Wright

Gerwyn Price

Rob Cross

Gary Anderson

Glen Durrant

Nathan Aspinall

Dimitri Van den Bergh

Jose de Sousa

Final player to be confirmed following The Masters