ANDERSON & LEWIS TO RENEW RIVALRY AS BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE KICKS OFF
GARY ANDERSON will begin his defence of the Betway Premier League title with a rematch against Adrian Lewis when the new season kicks off in Leeds on Thursday February 4, while great rivals Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld will also clash at the First Direct Arena.
Anderson retained the World Championship title with a defeat of Lewis at Alexandra Palace in London, having also overcome the Stoke ace in the 2011 Premier League final.
The pair will meet again on the opening night of the new Premier League season at Leeds' First Direct Arena in one of five tasty fixtures as the Sky Sports-televised event returns.
The opening night will also see the four other former Premier League champions clash, with six-time winner Phil Taylor up against 2014 champion Raymond van Barneveld.
World number one Michael van Gerwen, the 2013 Premier League champion and last year's beaten finalist, facing 2009 winner James Wade.
Betway Premier League debutant Michael Smith will open up the season against former World Championship finalist Peter Wright, while reigning World Grand Prix champion Robert Thornton makes his return to the tournament against 2015 semi-finalist Dave Chisnall.
The second league night, at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena on Thursday February 11, will be headlined by the high-profile clash between van Gerwen and Anderson in a repeat of the 2015 Premier League final.
Taylor will face Wade in a repeat of the 2008 and 2010 Premier League finals, while Lewis takes on Chisnall, van Barneveld plays Wright and Smith meets Thornton.
Week Three sees the Betway Premier League cross the Irish Sea to visit Dublin's 3Arena, which will include Taylor's clash with Anderson, van Gerwen meeting Lewis and the all-St Helens fixture between Chisnall and Smith.
The visit to Aberdeen in Week Four sees the all-Scottish meeting between Wright and Thornton, Anderson's contest with van Barneveld and van Gerwen up against Smith.
Another all-Scottish clash will see Anderson play Thornton at Exeter's Westpoint Arena in Week Five, while Taylor faces Lewis in a meeting of the Stoke rivals.
Taylor and Thornton will renew their rivalry on the big stage in Week Six at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena, having contested three major TV finals in recent years, while van Gerwen plays Chisnall and pupil-faces-master as Smith takes on mentor Anderson.
The tournament returns to Glasgow's SSE Hydro in Week Seven, with Anderson and Wright facing off in an all-Scottish battle as Thornton plays Wade in front of his home fans before van Gerwen and Taylor face off.
Thornton and van Gerwen will meet in a rematch of October's World Grand Prix final in Week Eight in Liverpool, which also sees Lewis meet van Barneveld and Taylor take on Wright.
Judgement Night on Week Nine will be the final round of games before the bottom two players are eliminated, which will include the all-Dutch clash between van Barneveld and van Gerwen.
Chisnall will play Wright, Thornton takes on Lewis, Smith plays Taylor and Wade meets Anderson.
Following Judgement Night, the remaining eight players will take each other on once more in the remaining six league nights before the top four players progress to compete in the Play-Offs on Thursday May 19.
Fixtures for Weeks Ten-15 will be announced following Judgement Night at www.pdc.tv.
Dutch star van Gerwen is the 11/8 pre-tournament favourite with sponsors Betway, with Anderson a 7/2 chance to retain the title and Taylor the 13/2 third favourite as he seeks to recapture the trophy in May.
2016 Betway Premier League
Week One-Nine Fixtures
Night One - February 4
First Direct Arena, Leeds
Peter Wright v Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen v James Wade
Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld
Gary Anderson v Adrian Lewis
Robert Thornton v Dave Chisnall
Tickets: 0844 248 1585 or www.eventim.co.uk
Night Two - February 11
Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
Michael Smith v Robert Thornton
Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis v Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen
James Wade v Phil Taylor
Tickets: 0844 493 6666 or www.eventim.co.uk
Night Three - February 18
3Arena, Dublin
Peter Wright v James Wade
Dave Chisnall v Michael Smith
Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld
Tickets: 0818 719 300 (Ireland), 0870 243 4455 (Northern Ireland), 00353 1 4858010 (International) or www.ticketmaster.ie
Night Four - February 25th
GE Oil & Gas Arena, Aberdeen
Adrian Lewis v James Wade
Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith
Phil Taylor v Dave Chisnall
Peter Wright v Robert Thornton
Tickets: 08444 77 9000 or www.ticketmaster.co.uk/aecc
Night Five - March 3
Westpoint Arena, Exeter
Phil Taylor v Adrian Lewis
Dave Chisnall v James Wade
Robert Thornton v Gary Anderson
Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Tickets: 08444 99 99 55 or www.ticketzone.co.uk
Night Six - March 10
Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Peter Wright v Adrian Lewis
Raymond van Barneveld v James Wade
Robert Thornton v Phil Taylor
Dave Chisnall v Michael van Gerwen
Tickets: 0843 373 3000 or www.motorpointarenanottingham.com
Night Seven - March 17
The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
James Wade v Robert Thornton
Adrian Lewis v Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
Gary Anderson v Peter Wright
Raymond van Barneveld v Dave Chisnall
Tickets: 0844 395 4000 or www.thessehydro.com
Night Eight - March 24
Echo Arena, Liverpool
James Wade v Michael Smith
Gary Anderson v Dave Chisnall
Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton
Phil Taylor v Peter Wright
Tickets: 0844 8000 400 or www.echoarena.com
Judgement Night - March 31
Motopoint Arena, Cardiff
Dave Chisnall v Peter Wright
Raymond van Barneveld v Michael van Gerwen
Robert Thornton v Adrian Lewis
Michael Smith v Phil Taylor
James Wade v Gary Anderson
Tickets: 02920 224488 or www.motorpointarenacardiff.co.uk
Fixtures for remaining League Nights to be confirmed following Judgement Night.
Night Ten - April 7
Sheffield Arena
Tickets: 0114 256 5656 or www.sheffieldarena.co.uk
Night 11 - April 14
The SSE Arena, Belfast
Tickets: 028 9073 9074 or www.ssearenabelfast.com
Night 12 - April 21
Bournemouth International Centre
Tickets: 0844 576 3000 or www.bhlivetickets.co.uk
Night 13 - April 28
The Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham
Tickets: 0844 338 8000 or www.theticketfactory.com
Night 14 - May 5
The Manchester Arena
Tickets: 0844 847 8000 or www.eventim.co.uk
Night 15 - May 12
The Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam
Tickets: 0900 300 1250 (Netherlands), 0031 88 123 24 25 (International) or www.ticketmaster.nl
Play-Offs - May 19
The O2, London
Tickets: 0844 856 0202 or www.axs.com
Where tickets have sold out through a venue's box office, tickets may also be available through www.viagogo.co.uk or www.viagogo.nl. Viagogo is the official ticket exchange of the Betway Premier League.
Latest Betway Tournament Odds
11/8 Michael van Gerwen
7/2 Gary Anderson
13/2 Phil Taylor
12/1 Adrian Lewis
18/1 Peter Wright
20/1 James Wade
22/1 Dave Chisnall
25/1 Michael Smith, Raymond van Barneveld
50/1 Robert Thornton
Odds courtesy of www.betway.com and subject to fluctuation.