The 2020 Unibet Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the sixteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 6 February at the P&J Live in Aberdeen and ended with the Play-offs at the Coventry Arena in Coventry on Thursday 15 October, after a delay was caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Michael van Gerwen was the four-time defending champion after defeating Rob Cross 11–5 in the 2019 final. However, he was eliminated from the competition in week 16, after an 8–2 defeat to Daryl Gurney, and a poor run of form saw him slip out of the playoffs, for the first time in his career.
Glen Durrant, who was making his debut in the tournament, finished the regular season in 1st place (becoming only the third player to do so at the time, after van Gerwen and Phil Taylor) to set up a semi-final meeting between Gary Anderson. Durrant claimed a narrow 10–9 victory (including surviving 4 match darts from Anderson), before eventually winning the competition, by beating fellow debutant Nathan Aspinall 11–8 in the final to claim his first televised PDC title.
This was also the first time in Premier League Darts history that the four players that qualified for the finals had not appeared in the finals of the previous year's edition (the four players being van Gerwen, Gurney, Cross and James Wade).
On 12 March 2020, it was announced that the double-header due to be played in Rotterdam had been postponed due to coronavirus concerns. The following day it was announced that the Rotterdam dates would be moved to September, with the culmination of the tournament taking place there instead of London. On 16 March 2020. it was announced the round to be played in Newcastle would be moved to October, taking over as the tournament's final round.
The May dates were postponed on 9 April 2020, with the PDC announcing a fully rescheduled calendar, the play-offs now taking place in Sheffield. Further changes were announced in July and August, with the cancellation of the events in Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Berlin, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, and the double header in Rotterdam; and the reinstatement of The O2 Arena as the host of the final. Ten nights were added to the calendar to be held behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. The play-offs were subsequently moved to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry and also played behind closed doors.
Format The tournament format remained the same as 2019, with the only difference being the re-branding of 'contenders' to 'challengers' for the season.
Phase 1: In each round, eight of the nine players play each other in four matches and the ninth player plays one match against one of the nine challengers. Phase 1 matches have a maximum of twelve legs, allowing for the winner being first to seven or a six-six draw. At the end of Phase 1, the bottom player is eliminated from the competition.
Phase 2: In each round, the remaining eight players play each other in four matches. Phase 2 matches have a maximum of fourteen legs, allowing for the winner being first to eight or a seven-seven draw. At the end of Phase 2, the bottom four players in the league table are eliminated from the competition.
Play-off Night: The top four players in the league table contest the two knockout semi-finals with 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd. The semi-finals are first to 10 legs (best of 19). The two winning semi-finalists meet in the final which is first to 11 legs (best of 21).
Venues The only change of venues from 2019 to 2020 was the introduction of the P&J Live in Aberdeen, which hosted the opening night's action.
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the rounds in Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Berlin, Rotterdam, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield were cancelled, with rounds being added in Milton Keynes to make up.
Aberdeen Nottingham Cardiff Dublin P&J LiveThursday 6 February Nottingham ArenaThursday 13 February Cardiff International ArenaThursday 20 February 3ArenaThursday 27 February Exeter Liverpool Birmingham Belfast Westpoint ExeterThursday 5 March Liverpool ArenaThursday 12 March Arena Birmingham(cancelled) SSE Arena Belfast(cancelled) Leeds Berlin Rotterdam Milton Keynes Leeds Arena(cancelled) Mercedes-Benz Arena(cancelled) Rotterdam Ahoy(cancelled) Arena MK Tuesday 25 August – Saturday 5 September Glasgow Manchester Newcastle Sheffield OVO Hydro (cancelled) Manchester Arena (cancelled) Newcastle Arena (cancelled) Sheffield Arena (cancelled) London Coventry The O2 Arena(cancelled) Coventry ArenaThursday 15 October
Prize money The prize money for the 2020 tournament remained at £825,000.
Stage Prize money Winner £250,000 Runner-up £120,000 Semi-finalists (x2) £80,000 5th place £70,000 6th place £60,000 7th place £55,000 8th place £50,000 9th place £35,000 League Winner Bonus £25,000 Total £825,000
Players The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship final on 1 January. The top four on the PDC Order of Merit are joined by five wildcards. PlayerAppearance inPremier LeagueConsecutiveStreakOrder of MeritRank on 1/1/20Previous best performanceQualification 8th 8 1 7th 7 2 Runner-up (2017) 3rd 3 3 5th (2019) 3rd 3 4 Runner-up (2019) PDC Order of Merit 4th 3 5 Runner-up (2018) Wildcard 9th 1 6 Winner (2011, 2015) Wildcard 3rd 3 7 Semi-final (2019) Wildcard 1st 1 8 Debut Wildcard 1st 1 22 Debut Wildcard
The format is similar to that of 2019, with 9 main players plus 9 invited players, now referred to as 'challengers' in a re-brand from the tag of 'contenders'. The 9 main players earn league points if they win or draw against the challengers. The challengers do not earn any league points but they earn financial bonuses if they win or draw their match.
PlayerVenueOrder of MeritRank on 1/1/20 Aberdeen 31 Nottingham 91 Cardiff 16 Dublin 37 Exeter 35 Liverpool 17 Milton Keynes 19 Milton Keynes 20 Milton Keynes 23
League stage Players in italics are "Challengers", and only play on that night.
6 February – Night 1 (Phase 1) P&J Live, Aberdeen Score 95.41 3 – 7 94.71 7 – 5 7 – 5 89.19 7 – 3 95.86 6 – 6 Night's Average: 94.62 Highest Checkout: Nathan Aspinall 170 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright 4 Night's 180s: 25
13 February – Night 2 (Phase 1) Nottingham Arena, Nottingham
Score 94.71 7 – 5 98.11 6 – 6 95.58 6 – 6 92.21 6 – 6 Daryl Gurney 93.92 1 – 7 105.05 Night's Average: 94.81 Highest Checkout: Michael Smith 140 Most 180s: Peter Wright 6 Night's 180s: 27
20 February – Night 3 (Phase 1) Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
Score 101.95 7 – 5 97.44 1 – 7 97.61 5 – 7 97.46 6 – 6 97.24 7 – 4 Night's Average: 97.64 Highest Checkout: Michael Smith 167 Most 180s: Four players 3 Night's 180s: 21
27 February – Night 4 (Phase 1) 3Arena, Dublin
Score Glen Durrant 92.81 5 – 7 Nathan Aspinall 93.82 Rob Cross 91.36 5 – 7 Gary Anderson 97.77 Daryl Gurney 85.98 5 – 7 Michael Smith 88.19 4 – 7 Gerwyn Price 98.75 7 – 1 Peter Wright 83.59 Night's Average: 92.62 Highest Checkout: Glen Durrant 144 Most 180s: Gary Anderson and Daryl Gurney 4 Night's 180s: 22 Nine-dart finish: Michael Smith
5 March – Night 5 (Phase 1) Westpoint Exeter, Exeter
Score Rob Cross 98.55 6 – 6 Daryl Gurney 94.88 Gerwyn Price 96.68 3 – 7 Glen Durrant 100.76 3 – 7 Peter Wright 110.00 Gary Anderson 87.76 5 – 7 Luke Humphries 88.67 Michael Smith 95.42 7 – 4 Night's Average: 96.50 Highest Checkout: Michael Smith 134 Most 180s: Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson 4 Night's 180s: 26
12 March – Night 6 (Phase 1) Liverpool Arena, Liverpool
Score Michael Smith 94.00 4 – 7 Peter Wright 100.78 Daryl Gurney 95.43 5 – 7 Glen Durrant 95.39 Gerwyn Price 98.07 5 – 7 106.27 Rob Cross 90.14 6 – 6 Stephen Bunting 91.25 94.27 6 – 6 Nathan Aspinall 107.64 Night's Average: 97.07 Highest Checkout: Gerwyn Price 157 Most 180s: Nathan Aspinall 8 Night's 180s: 37
25 August – Night 7 (Phase 1) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score 107.02 3 – 7 103.37 7 – 2 Nathan Aspinall 97.82 7 – 4 Gerwyn Price 96.33 Chris Dobey 79.01 2 – 7 Daryl Gurney 86.88 Peter Wright 99.43 6 – 6 102.43 Night's Average: 97.02 Highest Checkout: 170 Most 180s: 7 Night's 180s: 25
26 August – Night 8 (Phase 1) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score 95.53 1 – 7 103.01 5 – 7 96.57 7 – 3 Rob Cross 93.61 3 – 7 Glen Durrant 104.43 Peter Wright 102.26 7 – 1 Night's Average: 98.38 Highest Checkout: Glen Durrant 167 Most 180s: Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith 5 Night's 180s: 25
27 August – Night 9 (Phase 1) (Judgement Night) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score Nathan Aspinall 102.96 7 – 5 Michael Smith 102.06 95.21 4 – 7 81.24 0 – 7 99.21 7 – 4 Daryl Gurney 91.90 106.02 7 – 4 Rob Cross 103.97 Night's Average: 98.91 Highest Checkout: Glen Durrant 167 Most 180s: Michael Smith 6 Night's 180s: 23 Eliminated: Rob Cross
28 August – Night 10 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes Score 98.56 8 – 4 Gerwyn Price 93.46 101.54 5 – 8 Gary Anderson 101.19 96.09 6 – 8 95.33 Michael Smith 94.02 8 – 3 Daryl Gurney 88.13 Night's Average: 96.11 Highest Checkout: Gerwyn Price 140 Most 180s: Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith 5 Night's 180s: 29
29 August – Night 11 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes Score 94.93 8 – 6 93.74 6 – 8 95.80 7 – 7 4 – 8 Gerwyn Price 95.81 Night's Average: 96.92 Highest Checkout: Daryl Gurney 164 Most 180s: Peter Wright 9 Night's 180s: 29 Nine-dart finish: Peter Wright
30 August – Night 12 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score 98.18 6 – 8 107.37 6 – 8 Gerwyn Price 106.83 8 – 5 8 – 3 Daryl Gurney 97.72 Night's Average: 101.96 Highest Checkout: Michael Smith 145 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 6 Night's 180s: 36
2 September – Night 13 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score 99.31 7 – 7 Michael Smith 99.14 6 – 8 Gary Anderson 100.78 8 – 1 6 – 8 Nathan Aspinall 99.35 Night's Average: 98.37 Highest Checkout: Daryl Gurney 150 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 7 Night's 180s: 35
3 September – Night 14 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score Gerwyn Price 99.21 7 – 7 Daryl Gurney 97.21 102.25 8 – 2 Michael Smith 89.67 103.11 8 – 5 96.19 7 – 7 Night's Average: 98.19 Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 154 Most 180s: Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall 5 Night's 180s: 28
4 September – Night 15 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score 91.15 5 – 8 89.11 6 – 8 Peter Wright 94.80 100.33 6 – 8 102.50 7 – 7 Gerwyn Price 103.76 Night's Average: 97.87 Highest Checkout: Gerwyn Price 164 Most 180s: Michael Smith 9 Night's 180s: 39
5 September – Night 16 (Phase 2) Arena MK, Milton Keynes
Score 8 – 3 2 – 8 Daryl Gurney 91.04 8 – 5 8 – 2 Glen Durrant 100.15 Night's Average: 95.69 Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall 170 Most 180s: Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Michael Smith 3 Night's 180s: 16
Play-offs – 15 October Coventry Arena, Coventry Score Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) 10 – 9 7 – 10 Final (best of 21 legs) Glen Durrant 91.84 11 – 8 Nathan Aspinall 92.15 Night's Total Average: 91.01 Highest Checkout: Nathan Aspinall 141 Most 180s: Nathan Aspinall 13 Night's 180s: 26
Table and streaks Table After the first nine rounds in phase 1, the bottom player in the table is eliminated. In phase 2, the eight remaining players play in a single match on each of the seven nights. The top four players then compete in the knockout semi-finals and final on the playoff night.
The nine challengers are not ranked in the table, but the main nine players can earn league points for a win or draw in the games against them.
Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average.