Gerwyn Price will go head-to-head with Gary Anderson on the opening night of this year’s Unibet Premier League in a rematch of their 2021 PDC World Championship final clash.
Price beat Anderson 7-3 in January’s world final to become world champion for the first time, and the victory also saw him elevated to the top of the world rankings at the same time. He now faces a repeat of his showdown with Anderson on Night 1 of the 2021 Premier League in Milton Keynes.
There will also be a repeat of last year’s Premier League final on the same evening as champion Glen Durrant faces off against Nathan Aspinall. Durrant, who finished top of the table after the two phases of league play, went on to beat Aspinall 11-8 in the best-of-21-leg final at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena in October.
However, Aspinall will be looking to repeat his two league phase wins over Durrant in last year’s competition when the pair meet on opening night at the Marshall Arena.
The entire first phase of the competition will be played behind closed doors at the same venue due to Covid-19, with nine rounds of play being condensed into a three-week period between 5 and 22 April. Following the Judgement Night fixtures on Night 9, the bottom two players in the 10-man competition will be eliminated, with the remaining seven rounds being thrashed out between the top eight players.
Five-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen faces Dimitri van den Bergh on opening night, while former finalist Peter Wright takes on debutant Jonny Clayton. Fellow new boy Jose de Sousa also comes up against a previous finalist in Rob Cross.
Each night of action will begin at 7pm, with Sky Sports screening the entire tournament in the UK, alongside coverage on PDCTV.
Phase 1 Fixtures:
Night One - Monday 5 April
Nathan Aspinall v Glen Durrant
Rob Cross v Jose de Sousa
Peter Wright v Jonny Clayton
Gerwyn Price v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Dimitri van den Bergh
Night Two - Tuesday 6 April
Gary Anderson v Jose de Sousa
Jonny Clayton v Glen Durrant
Dimitri van den Bergh v Nathan Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
Night Three - Wednesday 7 April
Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
Glen Durrant v Dimitri van den Bergh
Peter Wright v Gary Anderson
Nathan Aspinall v Gerwyn Price
Jose de Sousa v Jonny Clayton
Night Four - Thursday 8 April
Dimitri van den Bergh v Peter Wright
Jonny Clayton v Rob Cross
Jose de Sousa v Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen
Gary Anderson v Glen Durrant
Night Five - Friday 9 April
Gary Anderson v Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright v Rob Cross
Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
Gerwyn Price v Glen Durrant
Dimitri van den Bergh v Jose de Sousa
Night Six - Monday 19 April
Rob Cross v Gary Anderson
Jose de Sousa v Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton v Dimitri van den Bergh
Glen Durrant v Michael van Gerwen
Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright
Night Seven - Tuesday 20 April
Glen Durrant v Jose de Sousa
Rob Cross v Dimitri van den Bergh
Nathan Aspinall v Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright v Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
Night Eight - Wednesday 21 April
Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall
Gary Anderson v Dimitri van den Bergh
Michael van Gerwen v Jose de Sousa
Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright v Glen Durrant
Judgement Night - Thursday 22 April
Jonny Clayton v Michael van Gerwen
Glen Durrant v Rob Cross
Jose de Sousa v Peter Wright
Nathan Aspinall v Gary Anderson
Dimitri van den Bergh v Gerwyn Price