Gerwyn Price has sparked fresh debate over the Premier League Darts format by proposing a radical overhaul that includes a Royal Rumble-style match, where a mystery challenger appears each week. The Welshman, who will play at The O2 in two weeks' time in the play-offs, shared his ideas on Facebook, drawing inspiration from an exhibition in Leicester known as Armageddon, where Nathan Aspinall faced a mystery opponent who turned out to be Price himself.
Price's proposed format would see a return to the old 10-player system, with each player playing one game per night. After nine weeks, the bottom two would drop out, and the remaining eight would enter a quarter-final knockout format down to a winner. The twist, he says, would be a Royal Rumble-style game added on each Premier League night, featuring 16 players in total. The winner of the Royal Rumble would stay on for the next week, and nobody would know who the surprise challenger would be each week.
“My thoughts on what I think would be a good idea for a new Premier League format. Back to the old format of 10 players all playing one game per night,” Price wrote. “After 9 weeks, the bottom two drop out like in previous years and go into the format of the last few years. 8 players into a 1/4 final and play down to a winner. The twist and added excitement would be a Royal Rumble-style game added on each Premier League night, 16 players in total for this, and play each Premier League night in between Premier League games 2 or 3, the winner stays on for the next week, and nobody knows who the surprise challenger will be each week.”
The Royal Rumble winner after the full 16 weeks would receive a belt, prize money, and a spot in the following year's Premier League. The challengers would be drawn from the top eight of the one-year Order of Merit and the eight highest-ranked players on the one-year Order of Merit outside the Premier League selected players. “Walk-ons for the Royal Rumble players would be a bit like this in the video. So 26 of the world's best all being involved,” Price added.
The current Premier League format has faced criticism for repetitive match-ups, with fans often seeing the same players face off repeatedly, especially when top names like Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Price also compete in World Series events. Price's proposal aims to reduce the number of games between the big names while adding an element of surprise. The PDC has previously defended the current format, with Chief Executive Matt Porter stating that it is done because fans want to see a winner, though tickets sell out months in advance.
