What time is Luke Littler playing in Premier League Darts debut?

Everything you need to know about the Premier League

Luke Littler will make his Premier League debut after a fairytale six weeks (PA Media)

Luke Littler’s magical darting fairytale continues as he gets set to make his Premier League darts debut when the eight-man series gets underway in Cardiff on Thursday evening.

Littler took the darts, and sporting, world by storm with his incredible run to the World Darts Championship final as a 16-year-old over the festive period – making front and back-page headlines before narrowly losing a thrilling final to Luke Humphries.

Since then, the teenager has won the Bahrain Masters while hitting his first professional nine-dart finish en route and narrowly lost out to Michael van Gerwen in the Dutch Masters final this past weekend. Now he turns his attention to one of darts’ most popular events – the 17-week long Premier League.

Eight of the best players in the world – including Littler, Humphries, Van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price – go head to head in a mini-tournament in a different city every Thursday evening before crowning an overall champion in London in May.

Here’s everything you need to know:

What is the Premier League darts?

One of the sport’s most popular events, the Premier League darts sees eight of the world’s best players invited to compete in a mini tournament every Thursday evening, with each leg taking place in a different city around the UK and western Europe.

Every match is best-of-11 legs and each result contributes to an overall league table, with the winner getting five points, the runner-up three points and the two losing semi-finalists two points. The top four players after 16 rounds heading to the Premier League play-offs at the O2 Arena in London on 23 May, where an overall champion will be crowned.

Who is playing in the Premier League?

Eight players are invited to take part in the Premier League – the top four players on the Order of Merit after the World Championship and four further players chosen as wildcards by the PDC, darts’ governing body.

Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall qualified automatically, with the PDC then giving wildcards to Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Peter Wright and Rob Cross.

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are two of the eight stars competing in the Premier League (EPA)

When does it start?

The 2024 edition of the Premier League starts at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff on Thursday, 1 February with play getting underway at 7pm. Night Two takes place in Berlin a week later with an event every seven days after that.

How can I watch the Premier League darts?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch every night of Premier League action on Sky Sports. Night One is on Thursday, 1 February live from the Utilita Arena, Cardiff on Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm GMT. Subscribers can stream the action via Sky Go.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

What is the schedule?

• February 1: Premier League, Night One - Cardiff (Utilita Arena)
• February 8: Premier League, Night Two - Berlin (Mercedes-Benz Arena)
• February 15: Premier League, Night Three - Glasgow (OVO Hydra)
• February 22: Premier League, Night Four - Newcastle (Utilita Arena)
• February 29: Premier League, Night Five - Exeter (Westpoint)
• March 7: Premier League, Night Six - Brighton (The Brighton Centre)
• March 14: Premier League, Night Seven - Nottingham (Motorpoint Arena)
• March 21: Premier League, Night Eight - Dublin (3Arena)
• March 28: Premier League, Night Nine - Belfast (The SSE Arena)
• April 4: Premier League, Night 10 - Manchester (AO Arena)
• April 11: Premier League, Night 11 - Birmingham (Utilita Arena)
• April 18: Premier League, Night 12 - Rotterdam (Rotterdam Ahoy)
• April 25: Premier League, Night 13 - Liverpool (M&S Bank Arena)
• May 2: Premier League, Night 14 - Aberdeen (P&J Live)
• May 9: Premier League, Night 15 - Leeds (First Direct Arena)
• May 16: Premier League, Night 16 - Sheffield (Utilita Arena)
• May 23: Premier League Play-Offs - London (The O2)

What are the fixtures?

Each mini-tournament sees four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final played. The quarter-finals for each night have already been decided.

Night One, Thursday February 1 - Utility Arena, Cardiff

Quarter-Finals and estimated start times:

• Peter Wright v Rob Cross - 7:10pm
• Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall - 7:40pm
• Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith - 8:10pm
• Luke Littler v Luke Humphries - 8:40pm

Night Two, Thursday February 8 - Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin

Quarter-Finals:

• Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
• Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
• Luke Littler v Rob Cross
• Luke Humphries v Peter Wright

Night Three, Thursday February 15 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Quarter-Finals:

• Rob Cross v Michael Smith
• Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
• Nathan Aspinall v Luke Humphries
• Gerwyn Price v Luke Littler

Night Four, Thursday February 22 - Utilita Arena, Newcastle

Quarter-Finals:

• Michael Smith v Nathan Aspinall
• Rob Cross v Luke Humphries
• Peter Wright v Luke Littler
• Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen

Night Five,Thursday February 29 - Westpoint Exeter

Quarter-Finals:

• Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen
• Nathan Aspinall v Peter Wright
• Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross
• Luke Littler v Michael Smith

Night Six,Thursday March 7 - Brighton Centre

Quarter-Finals:

• Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price
• Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
• Nathan Aspinall v Luke Littler
• Michael Smith v Peter Wright

Night Seven,Thursday March 14 - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Quarter-Finals:

• Peter Wright v Gerwyn Price
• Luke Humphries v Michael Smith
• Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler
• Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall

Night 8,Thursday March 21 - 3Arena, Dublin

Quarter-Finals:

• Fixtures confirmed following Night Seven

Night Nine,Thursday March 28 - The SSE Arena, Belfast

Quarter-Finals:

• Luke Humphries v Luke Littler
• Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen
• Nathan Aspinall v Gerwyn Price
• Rob Cross v Peter Wright

Night 10,Thursday April 4 - AO Arena, Manchester

Quarter-Finals:

• Nathan Aspinall v Rob Cross
• Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen
• Michael Smith v Luke Humphries
• Gerwyn Price v Peter Wright

Night 11,Thursday April 11 - Utilita Arena, Birmingham

Quarter-Finals:

• Peter Wright v Luke Humphries
• Rob Cross v Luke Littler
• Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith
• Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall

Night 12,Thursday April 18 - Rotterdam Ahoy

Quarter-Finals:

• Michael Smith v Luke Littler
• Rob Cross v Gerwyn Price
• Peter Wright v Nathan Aspinall
• Michael van Gerwen v Luke Humphries

Night 13,Thursday April 25 - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool

Quarter-Finals:

• Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price
• Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
• Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
• Michael Smith v Rob Cross

Night 14,Thursday May 2 - P&J Live, Aberdeen

Quarter-Finals:

• Peter Wright v Michael Smith
• Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
• Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
• Gerwyn Price v Luke Humphries

Night 15,Thursday May 9 - First Direct Arena, Leeds

Quarter-Finals:

• Michael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price
• Luke Littler v Peter Wright
• Luke Humphries v Rob Cross
• Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith

Night 16,Thursday May 16 - Utilita Arena, Sheffield

Quarter-Finals:

• Fixtures confirmed following Night 15

Premier League play-offs,Thursday May 23 - The O2, London

• Semi-finals to be determined by finishing league position