THE 2011 Premier League Darts will feature the top four players from the PDC Order of Merit plus four Wildcard selections.
The tournament, won this year in historic fashion as Phil Taylor hit two nine-dart finishes to wrestle the title from reigning champion James Wade at the Wembley Arena, features eight stars battling over almost four months across the UK.
The leading four players in the league table following the 14 league nights held in arenas around the UK on successive Thursdays will then compete in the play-offs for the title.
A change to the selection criteria means that now the top four players from the PDC Order of Merit, following the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, will automatically qualify for the 2011 Premier League Darts.
They will be joined by two PDC Wildcards and two Sky Sports Wildcards, who will be announced during January 2011.
"The Premier League Darts has become one of the major sporting attractions in the UK over the past six years but we recognise the need to keep the event fresh and exciting for fans and our broadcasters, Sky Sports," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"Fans around the country have shown a great desire to see the world's best players as well as the best characters that darts has to offer, and this new selection process will guarantee that."
While world number one Phil Taylor's status at the top of the Order of Merit is effectively secure following his incredible run of success in the past two years, the battle for the other places will be fierce in the second half of 2010.
The current top four sees Taylor trailed by Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and Mervyn King, with Terry Jenkins in fifth and Adrian Lewis jumping above Ronnie Baxter into sixth following the Rileys Darts Zones UK Open.
A provisional top four - looking at the Order of Merit from January 4 2011, with prize money being defending over the next six months removed - would see Taylor joined by Jenkins, Simon Whitlock and van Barneveld for automatic selection, with Wade, King, Lewis and Baxter close behind going into the final six months of this year.
However, with prizes of £100,000 on offer for the winners of the StanJames.com World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, as well as £200,000 to the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, £100,000 to the runner-up and £50,000 for the semi-finalists, the positions could well change before the cut-off in January.