Premier League Darts: Matt Porter backs ‘solid’ format but hints at ‘fresh concepts’ as Ross Smith enters the conversation | Darts News

The current Premier League Darts format is “solid” but “fresh concepts” are coming soon, says PDC chief executive Matt Porter.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, Porter touched on whether changes are coming to the Premier League, and also whether Ross Smith may be included and Michael van Gerwen may miss out on the tournament in 2027.

Premier League Darts, broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports, has undergone several format changes since its launch in 2005. The most recent revamp, introduced in 2022, saw the competition reduced to eight players, with a nightly winner crowned at each weekly event.

Under the current format, each of the 16 regular league nights features a mini-tournament, consisting of quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final, giving players the chance to collect valuable points and secure a nightly victory.

Each nightly winner is awarded five points, while the runner-up collects three. The two losing semi-finalists receive two points apiece, with the four players beaten in the quarter-finals earning no points.

The previous format, last used in 2021, featured 10 players competing in a round-robin league. Each player contested one best-of-12-leg match per night, with the bottom two in the standings eliminated following the ninth week of action, famously known as ‘Judgement Night’.

The remaining eight players then continued in the round-robin format for a further seven weeks, before the top four progressed to the play-offs – a stage of the competition that remains unchanged under the current format.

“I think the format is solid,” Porter said. “I think the fact you see the top players playing each other every week is strong.

“It’s great for the live crowds in the arenas. It keeps them engaged. It keeps fans on TV engaged until the end.

“Previously, when there’d been just more generic league stage matches, you’d see a fall off in attendance and you’d see people leaving the arenas as the evening went on, and that’s not something we want.

“But we’re very conscious of the need to keep it fresh. The Premier League format has evolved a number of times over its 20-odd year history, and it will continue to do so.

“So we’ve got a couple of little concepts that we’re looking at and things we’ll introduce at the right time.

“We’ll never keep everybody happy, but as long as they’re talking about it, that’s all we can ask for.”

‘Smith now one of the best players in the world’

Speaking recently, Smith said he believes he ‘definitely’ deserves a Premier League debut on current form, having secured a second TV major title of the season at the Machineseeker European Championship.

Smith joined Van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Rob Cross and Peter Wright as a multiple winner of the European Championship, following his 2022 success by defeating Martin Schindler 11-8 in the final in Dortmund on Sunday.

The Englishman’s latest triumph adds to his World Series Finals victory in September and sees him rise to a career-high sixth in the PDC Order of Merit. He has also enjoyed an impressive season on the European Tour and Players Championship circuit, claiming two titles in each competition.

For the Premier League, the top four players in the PDC Order of Merit following the conclusion of the World Darts Championship will automatically qualify, with four additional wildcard selections completing the eight-player line-up for the 16-week regular season

“Ross [Smith] has had a magnificent year,” Porter said.

“He won the European Championship a few years ago, but perhaps at the time didn’t then back that up by getting into the latter stages of tournaments on a regular basis.

“He’s proven now that he can do that. He’s proven he can live with and beat the best players in the world.

“And he now is one of the best players in the world. So I don’t think it would be a surprise for many people if Ross were to be included.”

‘MVG’s record speaks for itself’

Van Gerwen, a seven-time Premier League champion (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023), has endured one of the most challenging seasons of his career.

The 37-year-old has progressed beyond the opening round in just one of his last five tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals of Players Championship 30 before suffering defeat to Scott Williams.

That loss further underlined Van Gerwen’s struggles this season, having suffered first-round exits at four European Tour events: the European Darts Trophy, German Darts Grand Prix, Flanders Darts Trophy and Swiss Darts Trophy. It is his highest number of opening-round defeats in a single season since the European Tour began in 2012.

Van Gerwen also lost in the first round at the World Grand Prix and European Championship this year, losing in the second round of the World Matchplay.

On rumours Van Gerwen could miss out on the Premier League, Porter said: “I think Michael’s career record speaks for itself.

“He’s had a difficult year, but, you know, he’s committed to the tour.

“He’s stuck by what he wants to do, and I think he’ll come again.”

Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3) live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.