Rotterdam to host Premier League Darts night in 2016
Saturday 15 August 2015 07:30, UK
The Betway Premier League will break new ground in 2016 with the tournament’s first visit to the Netherlands, with the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam set to join the UK and Ireland’s biggest venues in hosting the sport’s widest-reaching event.
The £700,000 Betway Premier League, shown live on Sky Sports, sees an initial 10-player field competing across four months at 16 arena venues to contest for the prestigious title, which was won by Gary Anderson in May 2015.
The opening nine Thursday nights see the players face each other once in the league phase, with the bottom two players from the league table following Judgment Night - to be held in Cardiff on Thursday April 31 - being eliminated.
The remaining eight players face each other once more over the remaining six league nights, before the top four then progress to the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on Thursday May 19.
Following the huge success of this year’s opening night at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, the venue will also kick off the 2016 Betway Premier League on Thursday February 4.
Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, the 3Arena in Dublin and Aberdeen’s GE Oil & Gas Arena will host further league nights during February before the visit to the Westpoint Arena in Exeter on March 3 precedes the UK Open TV Finals that weekend in Minehead.
Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena, The SSE Hydro in Glasgow and Liverpool’s Echo Arena will then stage league nights before Judgment Night on March 31 in Cardiff sees the field reduced to eight players.
April sees league nights at the Sheffield Arena, The SSE Arena in Belfast, the Bournemouth International Centre and at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham before the action heads to the Manchester Arena on May 5.
The final league night will then see the Betway Premier League visit the Netherlands - home to former champions Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld - for the first time on Thursday May 12 at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam.
The top four players will then progress to the Play-Offs at The O2 in London on Thursday May 19, where the semi-finals and final will see the tournament’s champion crowned.
“We’re delighted to be able to take the Betway Premier League to the Netherlands for the first time next year and we’re confident that the Ahoy Arena will host a capacity crowd for the visit of darts’ greatest players.” said PDC chairman Barry Hearn.
The 2016 Betway Premier League will feature the top four players from the PDC Order of Merit following the completion of the 2015-2016 World Championship, with a further six players being invited to compete in the event.
