The ten best darts players in the world will be packing up their ‘arrers’ and heading to Sheffield’s Utilita Arena in May 2024 for the next edition of Premier League Darts.
The Steel City has been hosting the Premier League for more than a decade now, but in 2024 the competition will be at its fiercest when the action heads to Yorkshire: Sheffield will play host to the final round of the league phase.
That means it will be all or nothing for some of the players as they bid to reach the semi-finals in London the following week, so fans of the tungsten titans are sure to be on the edge of their seats as the drama unfolds.
Winter Warmer
For darts fans, it gets no better than the World Championship, which gets underway in December and runs over the Christmas and New Year period.
Those who bet on darts online will already be sinking their teeth into the likes of Luke Humphries (7/2), Michael van Gerwen (9/2) and Gerwyn Price (5/1).
There will be some fantastic nicknames on show at the Alexandra Palace too, from Jonny ‘The Ferret’ Clayton to Andrew ‘Goldfinger’ Gilding – you can use a darts name generator to find out the moniker that goes perfectly with your name and personality type if you want to play along at home.
Not the start to 2023 that I wanted 🎯 Frustrated with my finishing but only myself to blame. A huge Thank you to everyone for the support in this tournament and the entire year 👏🏴 Time for a little break and some family time before the new season❤️ The Ferret will be back 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/Ivjm0YFP0C
— Jonny Clayton (@JonnyClay9) January 1, 2023
Funny nicknames help to get the 3,000-strong crowd at the Alexandra Palace on their side, who can then roar home the new world champion come January – although it’s doubtful the winner will share their epic £500,000 prize money with the audience, no matter how loud they cheer.
The world of darts shuts down for a few weeks in January, before returning with The Masters at the end of that month and then the ultra-competitive Premier League, which will get up and running on February 1 in Cardiff in 2024.
Sheffield Steel
Sheffield Arena has become the home of big-time darts in Yorkshire.
It hosted Night 15 of the Premier League earlier this year, witnessing some extraordinary darts including a 111.33 average from Gerwyn Price. But the Welshman could not halt the world champion, Michael Smith, in the final.
There must be something about Sheffield that suits Price – he won the final when the Steel City hosted Night 14 in 2022, while in 2019 it was Michael van Gerwen, who would go on to lift the trophy, that prevailed in the city with a whopping 110.85 average.
🏴 SENSATIONAL IN SHEFFIELD! ❄️
Gerwyn Price wins a Premier League night for the first time since Week Three and The Iceman is the sharpest shooter in Sheffield!
He defeats Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in a fantastic final to clinch five pivotal points!#CazooPL pic.twitter.com/2dHAboEaFi
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) May 12, 2022
The 2017 edition was memorable for a number of reasons – not least because it played host to Phil Taylor’s final ever Premier League appearance in Sheffield; the 16-time world champion putting on a clinic to defeat Van Gerwen 7-3. All told, five of the eight players averaged 100 or more in an extraordinary night of darts.
In 2016, Van Gerwen served up an average of 117.95 in his 7-5 defeat of Robert Thornton – a treat for the fans at the Sheffield Arena and a thrill for those watching on from home, given that was one of the highest televised averages in history at that time.
A walk down memory lane confirms that some of the greatest players ever to throw a dart have appeared on the Sheffield stage. From James Wade, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson to other world champions from yesteryear, such as Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis and John Part, the Steel City and tungsten are comfortable bedfellows.
So who will add their name to the list of stellar Sheffield performances in 2024?