2021 Premier League Darts

2021 Unibet Premier League Darts
Winner
Jonny Clayton
Runner-up
José de Sousa
Score
11–5
Dates
5 April–28 May 2021
Edition
17th
Number of players
10
Venues
1
Nine Dart Finish
Jonny Clayton José de Sousa
Premier League Darts
< 2020 | 2021 | 2022 >

The 2021 Unibet Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and the seventeenth edition of the tournament. The event was scheduled to begin on Thursday 4 February at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff and end with the play-offs at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on Thursday 27 May, but due to the continuation of the COVID-19 outbreak,[1][2] was delayed to begin with the first nine rounds taking place from 5 April behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.[3] On 22 March 2021, it was then confirmed that all the fixtures would take place in Milton Keynes, with the playoffs taking place on Friday 28 May; up to 1,000 people were allowed to attend from Monday 24 May.[4]

Glen Durrant was the reigning champion, having beaten Nathan Aspinall 11–8 in the 2020 final, but a run of seven successive defeats saw him eliminated on night seven;[5] Durrant eventually became the first player in Premier League Darts history to fail to score a single point. Rob Cross was also eliminated from the competition for a second consecutive year on the eighth night, despite earning seven points, which is the most by an eliminated player since elimination came into effect in 2013.

Two nine-dart finishes were thrown during the tournament. Jonny Clayton threw a nine-darter against José de Sousa on Night Three, and the very next day, de Sousa threw a nine-darter of his own against Nathan Aspinall. He also hit 11 maximum scores of 180 during the match, equalling the Premier League record set by Gary Anderson in 2011.[6] De Sousa threw 96 maximums during the tournament, surpassing Gary Anderson's record of 79.

For the first time, the playoffs featured four players from four nations: Michael van Gerwen from the Netherlands, Jose de Sousa from Portugal, Nathan Aspinall from England, and Jonny Clayton from Wales.

Jonny Clayton won his second individual televised major title, defeating fellow debutant José de Sousa 11–5 in the final. He became the first Welshman to win the event, the first champion to have finished fourth in the league phase, and the first person to defeat Michael van Gerwen in a Premier League semi-final.[7]

Format

The tournament format reverted to that used in 2018, with a permanent list of ten players, instead of nine players and a guest "challenger" each week, as had been used in 2019 & 2020.[2]

Phase 1: In each round, the ten players play each other in five matches. 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 two players are 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 Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, was the only venue to host the Premier League in 2021.

The announced calendar included The Brighton Centre being restored to the calendar, having last hosted the Premier League in 2017. The initial calendar also restored rounds in Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds, Berlin, Rotterdam, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and London; all of which had been scheduled for 2020 but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; with Berlin replacing London as the scheduled host of the final. Milton Keynes and Coventry, which hosted rounds in 2020 following the pandemic, were not intended to be on the 2021 calendar.[1] Due to the continuation of the pandemic, the PDC confirmed that the first nine rounds would be held over two weeks at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.[3] On 22 March 2021, it was confirmed that all the remaining dates, including the playoffs, would also be played in Milton Keynes.[4]

The first five nights took place from Monday 5 April to Friday 9 April, with the next four nights, including Judgement Night (where the bottom two players are eliminated), taking place from Monday 19 April to Thursday 22 April. The second half will again be in two parts with the first part taking place between Wednesday 5 May to Friday 7 May, and the second part to take place from Monday 24 May to Thursday 27 May, with the playoffs taking place on Friday 28 May.[3]

Prize money

The prize money for the 2021 tournament was increased from £825,000 to £855,000, due to the additional player compared to 2020.

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
10th place	£30,000
League Winner Bonus	£25,000
Total	£855,000

Players

Nine of the ten players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship on 3 January. The top four on the PDC Order of Merit are joined by six wildcards. The tenth was announced following the 2021 Masters, with the final of that event serving effectively as a play-off between Mervyn King and Jonny Clayton, with the winner qualifying.

Gerwyn Price, the world number one and reigning world champion, tested positive for COVID-19 before the start of the tournament and had to withdraw. James Wade, the highest-ranked player not in the tournament, was brought in as a replacement.[8]

Player	Appearance in Premier League	Consecutive Streak	Order of Merit Rank on 3/1/21	Previous best performance	Qualification
Gerwyn Price	4th	4	1	5th (2019, 2020)	PDC Order of Merit
Michael van Gerwen	9th	9	2	Winner (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Peter Wright	8th	8	3	Runner-up (2017)
Rob Cross	4th	4	4	Runner-up (2019)
Nathan Aspinall	2nd	2	5	Runner-up (2020)	Wildcard
Gary Anderson	10th	2[a]	8	Winner (2011, 2015)
Dimitri Van den Bergh	1st	1	10	Debut
Glen Durrant	2nd	2	13	Winner (2020)
José de Sousa	1st	1	15	Debut
Jonny Clayton	1st	1	18	Debut
James Wade	11th	1	7	Winner (2009)	Replacement

1. Anderson qualified for the 2019 Premier League Darts, but withdrew following an injury.

League stage

5 April – Night 1 (Phase 1) Score 97.62 Nathan Aspinall  7 – 3  Glen Durrant 87.99 96.53 Rob Cross  6 – 6  José de Sousa 91.66 101.20 Peter Wright  6 – 6  Jonny Clayton 105.56 98.14 James Wade  6 – 6  Gary Anderson 98.13 100.16 Michael van Gerwen  6 – 6  Dimitri Van den Bergh 99.52 Night's Average: 97.69[9] Highest Checkout:  Dimitri Van den Bergh 164 Most 180s:  Rob Cross and  James Wade 6 Night's 180s: 30

6 April – Night 2 (Phase 1) Score 99.75 Gary Anderson  7 – 5  José de Sousa 97.08 98.61 Jonny Clayton  7 – 3  Glen Durrant 88.81 103.70 Dimitri Van den Bergh  7 – 5  Nathan Aspinall 98.32 92.16 Michael van Gerwen  7 – 2  Peter Wright 88.41 88.78 James Wade  3 – 7  Rob Cross 94.34 Night's Average: 95.26[10] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 145 Most 180s:  Dimitri Van den Bergh 7 Night's 180s: 32

7 April – Night 3 (Phase 1) Score 97.87 Rob Cross  3 – 7  Michael van Gerwen 107.58 84.42 Glen Durrant  0 – 7  Dimitri Van den Bergh 93.94 100.03 Peter Wright  7 – 4  Gary Anderson 98.85 96.50 Nathan Aspinall  7 – 4  James Wade 92.50 108.48 José de Sousa  3 – 7  Jonny Clayton 105.26 Night's Average: 98.62[11] Highest Checkout:  Jonny Clayton 141 Most 180s:  Gary Anderson 6 Night's 180s: 29 Nine Dart Finish:  Jonny Clayton

8 April – Night 4 (Phase 1) Score 101.02 Dimitri Van den Bergh  6 – 6  Peter Wright 97.46 95.98 Jonny Clayton  3 – 7  Rob Cross 97.01 100.95 José de Sousa  6 – 6  Nathan Aspinall 95.82 95.79 James Wade  7 – 3  Michael van Gerwen 90.91 97.56 Gary Anderson  7 – 2  Glen Durrant 87.90 Night's Average: 96.28[12] Highest Checkout:  Dimitri Van den Bergh 160 Most 180s:  José de Sousa 11 Night's 180s: 36 Nine Dart Finish:  José de Sousa

9 April – Night 5 (Phase 1) Score 95.54 Gary Anderson  4 – 7  Jonny Clayton 99.11 100.94 Peter Wright  7 – 5  Rob Cross 95.43 99.71 Michael van Gerwen  6 – 6  Nathan Aspinall 105.38 90.83 James Wade  7 – 3  Glen Durrant 87.69 98.48 Dimitri Van den Bergh  3 – 7  José de Sousa 104.30 Night's Average: 97.69[13] Highest Checkout:  James Wade 152 Most 180s:  Jonny Clayton and  José de Sousa 6 Night's 180s: 33

19 April – Night 6 (Phase 1) Score 100.54 Rob Cross  5 – 7  Gary Anderson 94.82 101.91 José de Sousa  7 – 5  James Wade 104.01 101.12 Jonny Clayton  3 – 7  Dimitri Van den Bergh 102.32 84.94 Glen Durrant  3 – 7  Michael van Gerwen 87.63 105.20 Nathan Aspinall  7 – 3  Peter Wright 98.27 Night's Average: 97.89[14] Highest Checkout:  Jonny Clayton and  Dimitri Van den Bergh 121 Most 180s:  Jonny Clayton 6 Night's 180s: 30

20 April – Night 7 (Phase 1) Score 89.32 Glen Durrant  4 – 7  José de Sousa 96.09 99.95 Rob Cross  4 – 7  Dimitri Van den Bergh 101.17 95.44 Nathan Aspinall  6 – 6  Jonny Clayton 99.50 98.36 Peter Wright  4 – 7  James Wade 105.76 98.25 Michael van Gerwen  6 – 6  Gary Anderson 97.37 Night's Average: 97.92[15] Highest Checkout:  Nathan Aspinall and  Dimitri Van den Bergh 124 Most 180s:  José de Sousa ,  Dimitri Van den Bergh and  Rob Cross 5 Night's 180s: 29 Eliminated:  Glen Durrant

21 April – Night 8 (Phase 1) Score 90.52 Rob Cross  5 – 7  Nathan Aspinall 94.58 91.16 Gary Anderson  5 – 7  Dimitri Van den Bergh 87.28 104.72 Michael van Gerwen  7 – 4  José de Sousa 98.69 105.29 James Wade  7 – 2  Jonny Clayton 103.23 94.75 Peter Wright  7 – 1  Glen Durrant 79.54 Night's Average: 94.51[16] Highest Checkout:  Peter Wright 156 Most 180s:  José de Sousa and  Michael van Gerwen 7 Night's 180s: 35 Eliminated:  Rob Cross

22 April – Night 9 (Phase 1) Score 85.19 Glen Durrant  5 – 7  Rob Cross 91.36 100.25 Jonny Clayton  7 – 3  Michael van Gerwen 91.01 102.45 Nathan Aspinall  7 – 2  Gary Anderson 88.35 101.23 José de Sousa  6 – 6  Peter Wright 97.08 97.96 Dimitri Van den Bergh  6 – 6  James Wade 102.93 Night's Average: 95.58[17] Highest Checkout:  Dimitri Van den Bergh 160 Most 180s:  José de Sousa and  Peter Wright 7 Night's 180s: 36

5 May – Night 10 (Phase 2) Score 105.33 Jonny Clayton  8 – 5  James Wade 92.67 99.28 José de Sousa  8 – 3  Gary Anderson 93.62 106.78 Dimitri Van den Bergh  3 – 8  Michael van Gerwen 109.96 88.52 Peter Wright  5 – 8  Nathan Aspinall 93.81 Night's Average: 98.10[18] Highest Checkout:  Nathan Aspinall 161 Most 180s:  Jonny Clayton 6 Night's 180s: 29

6 May – Night 11 (Phase 2) Score 103.33 Nathan Aspinall  6 – 8  Dimitri Van den Bergh 102.89 97.40 James Wade  7 – 7  José de Sousa 97.56 104.63 Gary Anderson  8 – 3  Peter Wright 92.70 95.83 Michael van Gerwen  8 – 5  Jonny Clayton 93.68 Night's Average: 98.44[19] Highest Checkout:  Dimitri Van den Bergh 136 Most 180s:  José de Sousa 10 Night's 180s: 32

7 May – Night 12 (Phase 2) Score 84.30 Peter Wright  1 – 8  José de Sousa 102.90 107.44 Michael van Gerwen  8 – 3  James Wade 110.28 92.87 Jonny Clayton  8 – 6  Nathan Aspinall 91.64 104.40 Dimitri Van den Bergh  4 – 8  Gary Anderson 107.85 Night's Average: 99.52[20] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 146 Most 180s:  Gary Anderson 6 Night's 180s: 27

24 May – Night 13 (Phase 2) Score 101.24 Jonny Clayton  8 – 1  Gary Anderson 104.48 100.19 José de Sousa  8 – 6  Dimitri Van den Bergh 95.08 96.90 Nathan Aspinall  8 – 3  Michael van Gerwen 96.74 96.29 James Wade  4 – 8  Peter Wright 98.68 Night's Average: 98.39[21] Highest Checkout:  Jonny Clayton 124 Most 180s:  Peter Wright 5 Night's 180s: 25

25 May – Night 14 (Phase 2) Score 101.85 James Wade  7 – 7  Nathan Aspinall 97.89 91.80 Jonny Clayton  5 – 8  José de Sousa 96.90 95.08 Gary Anderson  4 – 8  Michael van Gerwen 98.02 102.82 Peter Wright  8 – 5  Dimitri Van den Bergh 106.97 Night's Average: 98.78[22] Highest Checkout:  Gary Anderson 138 Most 180s:  Dimitri Van den Bergh 8 Night's 180s: 27

26 May – Night 15 (Phase 2) Score 95.29 Jonny Clayton  5 – 8  Peter Wright 98.09 100.20 James Wade  7 – 7  Dimitri Van den Bergh 101.08 97.65 Gary Anderson  7 – 7  Nathan Aspinall 94.35 100.80 José de Sousa  6 – 8  Michael van Gerwen 98.62 Night's Average: 98.22[23] Highest Checkout:  Peter Wright 161 Most 180s:  José de Sousa 6 Night's 180s: 27

27 May – Night 16 (Phase 2) Score 100.52 Gary Anderson  6 – 8  James Wade 99.51 92.03 Nathan Aspinall  3 – 8  José de Sousa 103.25 94.79 Peter Wright  6 – 8  Michael van Gerwen 100.20 100.55 Dimitri Van den Bergh  6 – 8  Jonny Clayton 103.92 Night's Average: 99.40[24] Highest Checkout:  Nathan Aspinall 152 Most 180s:  James Wade 7 Night's 180s: 27

Play-offs – 28 May

Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes

	Score
Semi-finals (best of 19 legs)
101.97 Michael van Gerwen	8 – 10	Jonny Clayton 103.25
98.29 José de Sousa	10 – 9	Nathan Aspinall 95.93
Final (best of 21 legs)
100.18 Jonny Clayton	11 – 5	José de Sousa 100.52
Night's Total Average: 100.02
Highest Checkout:  Michael van Gerwen 140
Most 180s (in one match):  José de Sousa 8
Night's 180s: 31

Table and streaks

Table

After the first nine rounds in phase 1, the bottom two players in the table are 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.

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.

Pos	Name	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	LF	LA	LD	LWAT	100+	140+	180s	A	HC	C%
1	Michael van Gerwen	16	10	3	3	23	103	79	+24	36	208	92	39	98.68	148	41.53%
2	José de Sousa	16	8	4	4	20	104	84	+20	39	167	102	81	100.08	149	42.80%
3	Nathan Aspinall	16	7	5	4	19	103	88	+15	40	158	120	59	97.58	161	43.10%
4	Jonny Clayton (C)	16	8	2	6	18	95	88	+7	34	213	129	50	99.64	151	38.46%
5	Dimitri Van den Bergh	16	6	4	6	16	95	95	0	34	158	122	72	100.2	164	41.48%
6	James Wade	16	5	5	6	15	93	96	−3	31	241	129	44	98.89	152	48.95%
7	Peter Wright	16	6	3	7	15	87	95	−8	31	196	124	47	96.03	156	42.03%
8	Gary Anderson	16	5	3	8	13	85	98	−13	23	185	110	58	97.84	156	38.29%
9	Rob Cross	9	3	1	5	7	49	52	−3	17	209	90	29	95.78	118	40.00%
10	Glen Durrant	9	0	0	9	0	24	63	−39	7	160	52	6	86.36	121	37.50%

Updated to match(es) played on 25 May 2021. Source: Match reports from the results section
(C) Champion

Streaks

Player	Phase 1, Nights 1 to 9										Phase 2, Nights 10 to 16								Play-offs
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		10	11	12	13	14	15	16		SF	F
Michael van Gerwen	D	W	W	L	D	W	D	W	L		W	W	W	L	W	W	W		L	—
José de Sousa	D	L	L	D	W	W	W	L	D		W	D	W	W	W	L	W		W	L
Nathan Aspinall	W	L	W	D	D	W	D	W	W		W	L	L	W	D	D	L		L	—
Jonny Clayton	D	W	W	L	W	L	D	L	W		W	L	W	W	L	L	W		W	W
Dimitri Van den Bergh	D	W	W	D	L	W	W	W	D		L	W	L	L	L	D	L		—
James Wade	D	L	L	W	W	L	W	W	D		L	D	L	L	D	D	W
Peter Wright	D	L	W	D	W	L	L	W	D		L	L	L	W	W	W	L
Gary Anderson	D	W	L	W	L	W	D	L	L		L	W	W	L	L	D	L
Rob Cross	D	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	W		Eliminated
Glen Durrant	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L

Legend:	W	Win	D	Draw	L	Loss	—	Eliminated

Positions by Week

Player	Phase 1, Nights 1 to 9										Phase 2, Nights 10 to 16
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Michael van Gerwen	4	1	2	3	4	3	3	2	3		2	2	1	2	1	1	1
José de Sousa	9	7	8	9	9	6	5	6	6		5	4	4	3	3	3	2
Nathan Aspinall	1	6	4	2	3	2	2	3	1		1	1	2	1	2	2	3
Jonny Clayton	2	2	3	4	1	4	4	8	5		4	5	5	4	4	4	4
Dimitri Van den Bergh	5	4	1	1	2	1	1	1	2		3	3	3	5	5	5	5
James Wade	6	8	9	8	7	9	7	4	4		6	6	7	7	7	7	6
Peter Wright	3	9	7	7	5	7	8	7	7		7	8	8	8	6	6	7
Gary Anderson	7	5	6	6	8	5	6	5	8		8	7	6	6	8	8	8
Rob Cross	8	3	5	5	6	8	9	9	9		Eliminated
Glen Durrant	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

References

1. Phillips, Josh. "Fresh look revealed for 2021 Premier League with schedule confirmed". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
2. Allen, Dave. "Unibet Premier League reverts to ten players in 2021". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
3. Allen, Dave. "2021 Unibet Premier League update + 2022 dates confirmed". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
4. Allen, Dave. "2021 Unibet Premier League To Conclude In Milton Keynes In May". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
5. "Premier League Darts 2021: Reigning Champion Glen Durrant eliminated". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
6. Phillips, Josh (8 April 2021). "De Sousa hits nine-darter & equals 180s record on Night Four". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
7. Banks, Jamie (28 April 2021). "Clayton caps amazing debut season with Unibet Premier League glory". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
8. Allen, Dave. "Price replaced by Wade for 2021 Unibet Premier League". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
9. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts Night 1". DartConnect. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
10. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts Night 2". DartConnect. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
11. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts Night 3". DartConnect. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
12. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts Night 4". DartConnect. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
13. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 5". DartConnect. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
14. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 6". DartConnect. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
15. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 7". DartConnect. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
16. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 8". DartConnect. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
17. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 9". DartConnect. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
18. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 10". DartConnect. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
19. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 11". DartConnect. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
20. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 12". DartConnect. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
21. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 13". DartConnect. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
22. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 14". DartConnect. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
23. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 15". DartConnect. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
24. "2021 PDC Premier League Darts: Night 16". DartConnect. Retrieved 27 May 2021.

External links

• PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website
• PDC Professional Darts Corporation, official website, Tournaments