World Championship Final Rematch for Price as Premier League Returns
World Champion Gerwyn Price will face Gary Anderson in the opening night of the 2021 Unibet Premier League as the first phase fixtures have been announced.
Elsewhere debutant Jonny Clayton will face Peter Wright in his opening match of the tournament, with reigning champion Glen Durrant beginning his defence again Nathan Aspinall.
The 2021 Unibet Premier League will begin on Monday April 5 with a repeat of last year's final between Glen Durrant and Nathan Aspinall and feature the rematch of the World Championship final between Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson.
The opening nine nights of the 2021 Premier League season will be staged in Milton Keynes from April 5-9 and April 19-22, with the ten players facing each other once in the first half of the season.
The bottom two players will be eliminated following Judgement Night on April 22, with details of the second half of the season - featuring seven further league nights and the Play-Offs, comprising the top four players - to be made in due course.
The 2021 season will begin with a high-profile night of action on Easter Monday, opening with a repeat of the 2020 decider between reigning champion Durrant and Aspinall.
World Champion Price will face two-time Premier League winner Anderson as they meet on the big stage for the first time since the Welshman took victory at Alexandra Palace on January 3.
Five-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen opens up against Dimitri Van den Bergh, the World Matchplay champion who is competing in his debut season.
Former Premier League finalists Peter Wright and Rob Cross come up against debutants Jonny Clayton and Jose de Sousa respectively as the 2021 Masters and 2020 Grand Slam of Darts winners begin their Premier League journeys.
Van Gerwen and Wright face off in the headline tie on Night Two, while former World Cup team-mates Wright and Anderson meet on Night Three.
The world's top two players clash on Night Four as Price takes on Van Gerwen, and Night Five sees the World Champion take on the Premier League champion when Price plays Durrant.
The event will resume on Monday April 19, with ties including the meeting of the only two players in this year's event to have previously topped the league table, as Durrant meets Van Gerwen.
Night Seven sees Wright take on Price before Night Eight includes a repeat of the 2020 World Matchplay final between Van den Bergh and Anderson and the all-Welsh meeting between Price and Clayton.
Judgement Night sees the players competing in their ninth league match before the bottom two are eliminated - with ties including Price against Van den Bergh, Aspinall playing Anderson, De Sousa facing Wright, Durrant taking on Cross and Clayton's clash with Van Gerwen.
The Unibet Premier League will begin at 1900 BST on each night, with worldwide coverage through the PDC's broadcast partners including Sky Sports, RTL7, DAZN and for PDCTV Subscribers outside of the UK, Ireland & Netherlands via video.pdc.tv.
2021 Unibet Premier League
Night One - Monday April 5
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 April 6
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 April 7
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 April 8
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 April 9
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 April 19
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 April 20
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 April 21
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 April 22
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
Format
The opening nine nights will see the ten players face each other once in the round-robin phase. Games will be the best of 12 legs - first to seven, or a six-all draw. Players receive two points for a win and one point for a draw.