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THE destinations for the 2007 Holsten Premier League Darts have been confirmed, with the
tournament making the leap to arena-style venues across the UK next year.
Following the success of the first two Premier League Darts events, won by Phil
Taylor, the PDC have expanded the competition in 2007. Along with the inclusion of eight players and a massive £265,000 prize fund, the tournament will
be played in larger venues – mainly arenas – in England, Scotland and Wales.
The event will be played over 14 league nights before the top four progress to the finals night at the Brighton Centre on Bank Holiday Monday, 28 May.
The 2007 Holsten Premier League will begin at the venue which hosted this year’s
finals, the Plymouth Pavilions.
New venues include the Alexandra Palace, the former home of the iconic News of the World competition, along with nationally-recognized arenas in Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield, Glasgow, Cardiff and Birmingham.
The event will also return to Wolverhampton, Aberdeen, Reading, Bournemouth and
Blackburn, and be staged in March at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool – famous as the host venue for the Stan James World Matchplay.
“This tournament has captured the imagination of the British sporting public over
the past two years,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“At every venue we visited in 2006, we sold out of tickets, which is a great advert for the popularity of the sport. The success of the event has led to unprecedented competition among our players for places in the tournament, and also to great levels of interest from fans. By moving to arena-type venues, we hope to be able to satisfy the demands of people who want to come to see the greatest darts players in the world in action.”
The tournament will once again be screened live in its entirety by Sky Sports in
the UK, Sport1 in Holland and DSF in Germany, with footage also being screened around the world.
The top six players in the PDC World Rankings after the SkyBet World Grand Prix qualify by right for the tournament alongside one Wildcard selection, with the final player to be announced in early January after the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
Tickets went on sale on Wednesday, November 1, for more information see
www.planetdarts.tv.
2007 Holsten Premier League Darts Schedule
Date Venue Contact Details
Feb 1 Plymouth Pavilions 0845 156 1460
www.plymouthpaviliions.com
Feb 8 Wolverhampton Civic 0870 320 7000
www.wolvescivic.co.uk
Feb 15 Nottingham Arena 0870 121 0123
www.nottingham-arena.com
Feb 22 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 0870 707 8000
www.metroradioarena.co.uk
Mar 1 Sheffield Hallam Arena 0114 256 5656
www.hallamfmarena.co.uk
Mar 8 Aberdeen ECC 0870 272 6600
www.secxtra.com
Mar 15 Winter Gardens, Blackpool 01253 292 029
www.blackpoollive.com
Mar 22 Glasgow SECC 0870 040 4000
www.secxtra.com
Mar 29 Rivermead Centre, Reading 0118 960 6060
www.readingarts.com
Apr 5 Bournemouth ICC 0870 111 3000
www.bic.co.uk
Apr 12 Cardiff International Arena 02920 22 44 88
www.livenation.co.uk
Apr 19 King George’s Hall, Blackburn 01254 582 582
www.kinggeorgeshall.com
Apr 26 Alexandra Palace, London 0870 272 7374
www.secxtra.com
May 3 Birmingham NIA 0870 909 4144
www.necgroup.co.uk/boxoffice
May 28 Play-Offs - Brighton Centre 0870 900 9100
www.brightoncentre.co.uk
* Note: If calling from the US, drop the first zero in the phone number
and use 011 44 prefix.
Terms and Conditions of Ticket Sales
The PDC reserves the right of admission.
Customers are respectfully requested to behave in an orderly manner at all times.
Drunkeness will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be asked to leave the premises. Please do not shout out whilst the players are throwing.
Session times are subject to change and the PDC will make every effort to give as
much notice as possible should this be unavoidable. Please check with the Box Office for any changes.
Ticket holders are requested to take their seats at least 15 minutes prior to the
start of the event. The PDC reserves the right to fill any seat after this time. The Broadcast may contain strobe lighting and smoke effects. Any person
who may be adversely affected by such effects should take notice and take appropriate action. No football colours will be allowed into the venue.
No tickets are to be re-sold at a greater price than the face value on the
ticket. Any persons attempting to do so will have those tickets made void.
All spectators are reminded that the writing of any message deemed offensive or inflammatory on 180 cards or similar will lead to perpetrators being asked to leave the premises.
Barneveld Confirmed 1st Wildcard
RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD will join the top six players in the PDC World Rankings in
the 2007 Holsten Premier League after being confirmed as the first Wildcard selection. The 39-year-old Dutch superstar made a great impression in this
year's Premier League, finishing the league phase with just one defeat. He also hit the first nine-dart leg in the Premier League, achieving the feat in
front of 3,000 fans at Bournemouth against Peter Manley.
The Dutchman went on to win the Budweiser UK Open in June and then reached the
final of the PartyPoker.net Las Vegas Desert Classic, and he has also won three PDC Pro Tour events.
Van Barneveld joins defending champion Phil Taylor, Colin Lloyd, Peter Manley,
Roland Scholten and Premier League debutants Dennis Priestley and Terry Jenkins in taking part in next year’s tournament.
“Raymond decided to take on the best players in the world in February and has
been a phenomenal success,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
“We always say that if you have the ability, you get your rewards, and he is already in sixth place in the provisional Order of Merit, which comes into force in January. That is a superb achievement and testament to Raymond’s skill. Ray also hit a live nine-dart leg during the 2006 Holsten Premier League, and his success in reaching the semi-finals with just one defeat in the league stage was bettered only by Phil Taylor. It will be mouth-watering to see them resume that rivalry next year.”
Priestley has risen up to third place in the PDC World Rankings this year to earn
himself a spot in the Premier League.
Jenkins, meanwhile, confirmed his place in the last tournament before the cut-off date by reaching the final of the SkyBet World Grand Prix. That run, despite a loss to Taylor in the Dublin showpiece, saw him sneak past Wayne Mardle into sixth place in the rankings.
“Terry has proven himself one of the top players with his performances on the
circuit and this will be just reward for him,” added Hearn. “He will undoubtedly benefit from playing week-in, week-out in the Holsten Premier
League. I would also like to congratulate Dennis Priestley on earning his place. Two years ago he set a target to climb back up the rankings and he has
achieved that in some style. He is a legend of the game who is still performing superbly after 20 years as a professional.”
Meanwhile, there was a phenomenal response for tickets to the tournament when
they went on sale on Wednesday, November 1st, after the PDC’s decision to move to larger arenas across the UK.
The Wolverhampton Civic sold out of all tickets within three hours, with all other venues reporting great demand on the opening day.
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