Crowd favourite Wayne Mardle has been handed the Sky Sports Wildcard entry for the upcoming 2008 Premier League Darts.
Hawaii 501 included as final member of Premier League eight.
Crowd favourite Wayne Mardle has been handed the
Sky Sports Wildcard entry for the upcoming 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts.
'Hawaii 501' Mardle did not qualify automatically for the new season of the ever-expanding Premier League, but his status as one of the most popular throwers on the circuit has helped him gain a wildcard entry.
Mardle did compete in the opening two years of the Premier League, but loss of form saw him miss out on the 2007 event, which saw even bigger venues and crowds in excess of 5,000 turning up.
34-year-old Mardle has enjoyed something of a return to form though, capturing two Players Championship titles and culminating in a thrilling and emotional quarter-final victory over Phil Taylor at the PDC World Darts Championship in December.
Although Mardle was then beaten by Kirk Shepherd in the semi-finals at the Alexandra Palace, his form has been good enough to get him into the Premier League, where his showmanship is sure to be a hit with the ever-swelling crowds.
Delighted
"I'm absolutely over the moon," said Mardle. "It's a massive tournament for any professional player to be involved in.
"It's brilliant wherever we go and in many ways it's like being in a major final every week - it's huge.
"In the first two years my form wasn't there and I didn't do myself justice, but I'm raring to go."
Mardle is the eighth and final member of the Premier League line-up - joining Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Terry Jenkins, Peter Manley, Adrian Lewis and World Champion John Part for the £340,000 event.
"Wayne is a massive crowd favourite and his inclusion as the
Sky Sports Wildcard will give an added flavour to the 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts," said PDC chairman Barry Hearn.
"His game has continued to mature in the past couple of years and his win over Phil Taylor in the World Championship showed that he is now matching his personality with high-quality performance.
"I'm sure he will challenge strongly in the Premier League, and I'm sure a first appearance in the play-offs will be his initial goal."
Popularity
The event kicks off on January 31 in Glasgow and every dart of the 14 league nights will be screened live on
Sky Sports.
As always, the top four in the table will progress to the play-offs, this time being held in Cardiff, with the eventual winner pocketing £100,000 - the joint biggest prize in darts alongside the World Championship.
All eight stars are darting greats, but again the focus will be on Phil 'The Power' Taylor and his two meetings with five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.
The Dutchman and the 13-time world champion from Stoke clash at the Nottingham Arena on March 6 and the Liverpool Echo Arena on April 10.
