The 2018 Unibet Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation – the fourteenth edition of the tournament. The event began on Thursday 1 February at the 3Arena in Dublin and ended with the play-offs at The O2 Arena in London on Thursday 17 May. This was the first year that the tournament is sponsored by Unibet.

Michael van Gerwen won his fourth Premier League title (and his third in a row, after winning in 2016 and 2017) by defeating Michael Smith 11–4 in the final.

This was also the first time that the event has had a round in Germany, when the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin hosted the 4th round on 22 February.

Storm Emma resulted in the Exeter round of the event being postponed on 1 March. This was the first time ever since the Premier League started in 2005 that a whole round in the league phase of Premier League Darts was postponed. The same extreme conditions would also go on to cause severe problems in the staging of that weekends UK Open in Minehead which resulted in the event having to be played entirely behind closed doors. In 2010, the play-offs were postponed for 24 hours after a power cut at Wembley Arena.

Format The tournament format was identical to that since 2013. During the first nine weeks (Phase 1) each player played the other nine players once. The bottom two players were then eliminated from the competition. In the next six weeks (phase 2) each player played the other seven players once. Phase 2 consisted of four weeks where five matches were played followed by two weeks where four matches were played. At the end of phase 2, the top four players contested the two semi-finals and the final in the play-off week.

Venues Dublin Cardiff Newcastle Berlin 3ArenaThursday 1 February Cardiff International ArenaThursday 8 February Newcastle ArenaThursday 15 February Mercedes-Benz ArenaThursday 22 February Exeter Leeds Nottingham Glasgow Westpoint ExeterThursday 1 March(cancelled) Leeds ArenaThursday 8 March Nottingham ArenaThursday 15 March SSE HydroThursday 22 March Belfast Liverpool Sheffield Rotterdam SSE Arena BelfastThursday 29 March Liverpool ArenaThursday 5 April (Judgement Night) Sheffield ArenaThursday 12 April Rotterdam AhoyWednesday 18 & Thursday 19 April Manchester Birmingham Aberdeen London Manchester ArenaThursday 26 April Arena BirminghamThursday 3 May AECC ArenaThursday 10 May The O2Thursday 17 May

Players The players in this year's tournament were announced following the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship final on 1 January, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards. This was the first time in the event's history in which Phil Taylor did not take part, following his decision to retire. Unlike in previous years the six wildcards were joint decisions by the PDC and Sky Sports this year. There were no PDC specific wildcards or Sky Sports specific wildcards.

The tournament was noteworthy for its high-number of debuting players. Rob Cross qualified by right due to being in the world's top four at the end of the season, with wildcards going to World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney, Champions League winner Mensur Suljović, and world number 12 Gerwyn Price. In fact, only four of the previous year's ten players (van Gerwen, Wright, Anderson and van Barneveld) were included this year.

PlayerAppearance inPremier LeagueConsecutiveStreakOrder of MeritRankPrevious best performanceQualification 6th 6 1 5th 5 2 Runner-up (2017) 1st 1 3 Debut PDC Order of Merit 8th 8 1st 1 6 Debut Wildcard 1st 1 7 Debut Wildcard 6th 1 9 Runner-up (2012) Wildcard 13th 13 12 Winner (2014) Wildcard 2nd 1 10 10th (2016) Wildcard 1st 1 13 Debut Wildcard

Prize money The prize fund remained the same as last year, £825,000.

Stage Prize money Winner £250,000 Runner-up £120,000 Semi-finalists £80,000 5th place £65,000 6th place £55,000 7th place £50,000 8th place £45,000 9th place £30,000 10th place £25,000 League Winner Bonus £25,000 Total £825,000

League stage

1 February – week 1 (Phase 1) 3Arena, Dublin

Score 103.71 5–7 Gary Anderson 82.46 5–7 Michael Smith 89.12 Daryl Gurney 93.23 6–6 100.80 7–2 Rob Cross 98.85 92.93 6–6 Gerwyn Price 93.51 Night's Average: 95.49 Highest Checkout: Simon Whitlock 160 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney 5 Night's 180s: 25

8 February – week 2 (Phase 1) Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff Score 99.15 7–4 Daryl Gurney 101.96 Rob Cross 87.74 1–7 93.14 Michael van Gerwen 101.12 5–7 Peter Wright 101.04 Gerwyn Price 92.71 3–7 Gary Anderson 99.22 100.39 7–5 Mensur Suljović 102.55 Night's Average: 97.90 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 170 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 5 Night's 180s: 28

15 February – week 3 (Phase 1) Newcastle Arena, Newcastle Score 91.15 2–7 Michael Smith 94.80 Daryl Gurney 95.97 6–6 Gerwyn Price 93.22 Peter Wright 102.32 4–7 Rob Cross 98.46 Gary Anderson 110.79 3–7 Michael van Gerwen 110.62 Simon Whitlock 94.34 7–4 93.29 Night's Average: 98.50 Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 170 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 7 Night's 180s: 32

22 February – Week 4 (Phase 1) Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin Score Michael Smith 87.32 7–3 Simon Whitlock 85.60 Gerwyn Price 90.87 3–7 Mensur Suljović 106.20 103.42 7–2 Daryl Gurney 96.90 Rob Cross 96.46 7–3 88.60 Peter Wright 104.65 6–6 Gary Anderson 105.25 Night's Average: 96.53 Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 150 Most 180s: Gary Anderson & Michael Smith 5 Night's 180s: 31

1 March – Initial Week 5 Cancelled Westpoint Exeter, Exeter

The scheduled 5th week was cancelled due to Storm Emma. The matches, which were scheduled to be played that day, were instead played in Week 9 in Liverpool, with that week's games now being Judgement Night. In order to complete the schedule within the timescale, two rounds of Phase 2 were played on Wednesday 18 April and Thursday 19 April (Week 11) in the Rotterdam Ahoy complex.

8 March – Week 5 (Phase 1) First Direct Arena, Leeds Score 100.17 7–4 Simon Whitlock 92.28 Gerwyn Price 89.01 5–7 91.65 Peter Wright 91.54 1–7 Mensur Suljović 103.01 Gary Anderson 99.54 6–6 Daryl Gurney 94.62 Rob Cross 96.22 7–5 Michael Smith 92.61 Night's Average: 95.07 Highest Checkout: Rob Cross & Raymond van Barneveld 121 Most 180s: Rob Cross 5 Night's 180s: 24

15 March – Week 6 (Phase 1) Nottingham Arena, Nottingham Score 95.02 7–1 Peter Wright 82.91 Simon Whitlock 96.38 6–6 Daryl Gurney 99.11 Mensur Suljović 94.65 2–7 Rob Cross 106.49 Gerwyn Price 92.64 3–7 104.80 92.48 6–6 Gary Anderson 93.67 Night's Average: 96.15 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 152 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney & Raymond van Barneveld 4 Night's 180s: 22

22 March – Week 7 (Phase 1) SSE Hydro, Glasgow Score Daryl Gurney 98.63 7–3 Mensur Suljović 96.26 101.56 7–2 Michael Smith 92.41 Gary Anderson 102.68 7–4 Simon Whitlock 104.13 Peter Wright 88.18 1–7 99.76 Rob Cross 102.57 7–1 Gerwyn Price 92.42 Night's Average: 97.86 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 148 Most 180s: Gary Anderson 6 Night's 180s: 22

29 March – Week 8 (Phase 1) SSE Arena, Belfast Score 97.94 5–7 Michael Smith 93.84 7–2 Gerwyn Price 87.44 96.82 2–7 Daryl Gurney 98.53 7–5 Rob Cross 100.16 Simon Whitlock 98.20 6–6 Peter Wright 98.64 Night's Average: 97.29 Highest Checkout: Michael Smith 160 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney 9 Night's 180s: 36

5 April – Week 9 (Phase 1 – Judgement Night) Liverpool Arena, Liverpool

The night was overshadowed by the sudden death of 5 time World Champion Eric Bristow, who suffered a heart attack outside the venue. His death was announced during the Gurney v Wright match. The crowd paid tribute to Bristow at the end of the night's play. Score Simon Whitlock 81.94 7–3 Gerwyn Price 76.94 96.58 0–7 Michael Smith 103.15 Gary Anderson 95.09 5–7 Rob Cross 92.30 Mensur Suljović 95.39 4–7 106.34 Daryl Gurney 98.67 6–6 Peter Wright 99.78 Night's Average: 94.62 Highest Checkout: Simon Whitlock 164 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 10 Night's 180s: 36

12 April – week 10 (Phase 2) Sheffield Arena, Sheffield Score 94.16 3–7 Daryl Gurney 102.76 Gary Anderson 104.26 7–2 Peter Wright 96.22 Simon Whitlock 89.58 1–7 102.37 Michael Smith 96.34 5–7 Rob Cross 106.26 86.78 2–7 Peter Wright95.16 Night's Average: 97.39 Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 158 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney 5 Night's 180s: 25

18 April – week 11A (Double Header, Phase 2)

Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam Score Michael Smith 96.00 2–7 Gary Anderson 109.91 Rob Cross 96.09 7–4 Daryl Gurney 91.71 101.44 7–3 Simon Whitlock 89.49 Peter Wright 99.08 7–5 106.87 Rob Cross 98.22 3–7 Gary Anderson 99.87 Night's Average: 99.82 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 148 Most 180s: Gary Anderson & Rob Cross 7 Night's 180s: 27

19 April – week 11B (Double Header, Phase 2) Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam Score Simon Whitlock 90.58 1–7 Michael Smith 97.46 Daryl Gurney 93.00 3–7 Gary Anderson 109.73 Rob Cross 96.44 6–6 Peter Wright 92.22 103.73 5–7 95.21 Daryl Gurney 99.20 7–1 Simon Whitlock 85.28 Night's Average: 96.29 Highest Checkout: Gary Anderson 170 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney 7 Night's 180s: 32

26 April – week 12 (Phase 2) Manchester Arena, Manchester Score Peter Wright 97.86 1–7 Michael Smith 104.86 Daryl Gurney 100.16 6–6 104.96 Simon Whitlock 96.78 7–5 Gary Anderson 94.45 94.02 6–6 Rob Cross 94.55 Michael Smith 96.28 1–7 94.76 Night's Average: 97.87 Highest Checkout: Daryl Gurney 156 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 7 Night's 180s: 30

3 May – week 13 (Phase 2) Arena Birmingham, Birmingham Score Peter Wright 93.05 7–4 Simon Whitlock 90.68 Rob Cross 101.71 2–7 Michael van Gerwen 111.57 Daryl Gurney 98.82 6–6 Michael Smith 99.36 96.64 3–7 100.11 Night's Average: 98.99 Highest Checkout: Daryl Gurney 167 Most 180s: Daryl Gurney 6 Night's 180s: 17

10 May – week 14 (Phase 2) AECC Arena, Aberdeen Score Michael Smith 93.45 6–6 97.28 Simon Whitlock 88.38 6–6 Rob Cross89.86 Peter Wright 98.11 6–6 Daryl Gurney88.05 100.41 5–7 Gary Anderson 98.28 Night's Average: 94.15 Highest Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 126 Most 180s: Rob Cross 5 Night's 180s: 28

Play-offs – 17 May

The O2 Arena, London Score Semi-finals (best of 19 legs) 10–6 10–6 Final (best of 21 legs) 11–4 Night's Total Average: 100.32 Highest Checkout: Michael van Gerwen 128 Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen 16 Night's 180s: 40

Table and streaks

Table After the first nine weeks (phase 1), the bottom two in the table are eliminated. In the next six weeks (phase 2) the eight remaining players each play a further seven matches. The top four players then compete in the playoffs.

Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan=2 style="width:10px;" abbr="Position"|# ! rowspan=2 width=200 |Name ! colspan=5 | Matches ! colspan=4 | Legs ! colspan=6 | Scoring

! style="width:20px;" abbr="Played"|Pld ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Won"|W ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Drawn"|D ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Lost"|L ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points|Pts ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs for"|LF ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs against"|LA ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Leg difference"|+/- ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Legs won against throw"|LWAT ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Tons"|100+ ! style="width:20px;" abbr="140 Plus"|140+ ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Maximums"|180s ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Average"|A ! style="width:20px;" abbr="High checkout"|HC ! style="width:20px;" abbr="Checkout percentage"|C%

|- style="background:#ccffcc;" !1 |align=left| W || 16 || 11 || 1 || 4 ||23|| 103 || 60 || +43 || 38 || 192 || 128 || 56 || 103.56 || 170 || 45.37% |- style="background:#ccffcc;" !2 |align=left| RU || 16 || 9 || 2 || 5 ||20|| 90 || 66 || +24 || 37 || 157 || 119 || 41 || 95.21 || 160 || 42.45% |- style="background:#ccffcc;" !3 |align=left| || 16 || 8 || 3 || 5 ||19|| 95 || 80 || +15 || 33 || 205 || 114 || 57 || 99.11 || 170 || 42.04% |- style="background:#ccffcc;" !4