Horizon Premier League

Horizon Premier League

Current season, competition or edition: Error creating thumbnail: [[2025 Horizon Premier League Darts]]
Sport	Darts
Founded	2008
First season	2008
Organising body	Horizon Premier League Committee
No. of teams	10
Countries	Australia, England, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium
Most recent champion(s)	Michael van Gerwen (NED) (2024)
Most titles	Alex Brow (AUS) (7 titles)
Qualification	Top four retained from previous season; six places decided by Premier League Qualifiers
Tournament format	Legs

Horizon Premier League Darts is a professional invitational and qualification-based darts competition first staged in 2008. The competition became known for its long-form league structure, touring nightly format, and a championship play-off night at the end of each season.

The league was originally built around an eight-player invitational model before expanding into a ten-player competition in 2020. From 2021, the competition introduced a formal qualification system in which the previous season's top four players retained automatic places while the remaining six players were required to qualify through a televised event.

The competition has been defined by the dominance of Alex Brow, who won seven titles across the first seventeen seasons. Brow's early three-title dynasty was later challenged by Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwan, Luke Humphries, and Gian van Veen.

Format

Original eight-player era

From 2008 to 2019, the competition used an eight-player league system. Players competed across sixteen league nights, with the top four qualifying for Finals Night. Semi-finals and the Grand Final were played at The O2 Arena in London.

Ten-player expansion

In 2020, the league expanded to ten players. The season increased to eighteen league nights, and the play-off field expanded from four players to six. The top two players in the league phase received byes directly into the semi-finals, while players ranked third to sixth contested quarter-finals.

Qualification era

From 2021 onward, the league introduced a new qualification system. The top four finishers from the previous season were automatically retained. The remaining six positions were decided through the Premier League Qualifiers.

This system was introduced to stop the league from recycling the same field every season and to create a direct pathway for new players. The system immediately produced new storylines, including the arrivals of Danny Noppert (NED), Gian van Veen (NED), Martin Schindler (GER), and Template:Country data BEL.

Season history

Foundation and Alex Brow dynasty, 2008—2010

The first three seasons established Alex Brow as the face of the competition. Brow won the first two finals against Luke Littler before defeating Michael van Gerwen in the 2010 final. By the end of the third season, Brow had become the league's first true dynasty player.

The first challengers, 2011—2014

Michael van Gerwen ended Brow's opening run by winning the 2011 final. Littler then claimed back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, becoming the first player other than Brow to look capable of building a long-term dynasty. In 2014, Luke Humphries became the fourth champion in league history after defeating Littler in the final.

Brow's second reign, 2015—2016

Brow returned to the top in 2015, defeating van Gerwen 11—4 in one of the most dominant finals in competition history. In 2016, he won a fifth title by defeating Chris Dobey 11—7. Dobey's run to the final became one of the major breakthrough stories of the period.

Littler and van Gerwen close the gap, 2017—2019

Littler won the 2017 and 2018 titles, defeating van Gerwen in consecutive finals. In 2019, van Gerwen reclaimed the trophy by beating Brow 11—8, ending a long wait for his second title and confirming that the league had moved into a true multi-champion era.

Expanded-format era, 2020—2021

The ten-player format began in 2020. Brow won the first expanded season by defeating van Gerwen 11—8. The following season, Brow again defeated van Gerwen, this time 11—9, to claim his seventh title and strengthen his position as the competition's most decorated player.

Injuries, Gian van Veen and the changing order, 2022—2024

In 2022, Littler defeated van Gerwen 11—9 to win his fifth title and move closer to Brow's all-time record. In 2023, Gian van Veen completed one of the greatest stories in league history by beating Littler 11—9 in the final, one season after finally earning his place through qualification. In 2024, van Gerwen defeated Littler 11—10 in one of the highest-quality finals ever staged.

Season 18 and Alex Brow's withdrawal

Ahead of the 2025 season, Alex Brow announced that he would miss the league for the first time because of his ongoing throwing wrist and shoulder injuries. Ryan Joyce was named as his replacement. The announcement triggered the most heated off-stage controversy in league history after Gian van Veen criticised the idea that the league still belonged to Brow. Van Veen was later fined and ordered to apologise by the league.

Finals

Year	Season	Champion	Score	Runner-up	League phase winner
2008	Season 1	Alex Brow (AUS)	11—8	Luke Littler (ENG)	Alex Brow (AUS)
2009	Season 2	Alex Brow (AUS) (2)	11—9	Luke Littler (ENG)
2010	Season 3	Alex Brow (AUS) (3)	11—10	Michael van Gerwen (NED)
2011	Season 4	Michael van Gerwen (NED)	11—10	Alex Brow (AUS)
2012	Season 5	Luke Littler (ENG)	11—10	Alex Brow (AUS)	Luke Littler (ENG)
2013	Season 6	Luke Littler (ENG) (2)	11—10	Alex Brow (AUS)	Alex Brow (AUS)
2014	Season 7	Luke Humphries (ENG)	11—10	Luke Littler (ENG)	Luke Littler (ENG)
2015	Season 8	Alex Brow (AUS) (4)	11—4	Michael van Gerwen (NED)
2016	Season 9	Alex Brow (AUS) (5)	11—7	Chris Dobey (ENG)	Alex Brow (AUS)
2017	Season 10	Luke Littler (ENG) (3)	11—9	Michael van Gerwen (NED)	Luke Littler (ENG)
2018	Season 11	Luke Littler (ENG) (4)	11—10	Michael van Gerwen (NED)
2019	Season 12	Michael van Gerwen (NED) (2)	11—8	Alex Brow (AUS)	Cameron Menzies (SCO)
2020	Season 13	Alex Brow (AUS) (6)	11—8	Michael van Gerwen (NED)	Michael van Gerwen (NED)
2021	Season 14	Alex Brow (AUS) (7)	11—9	Michael van Gerwen (NED)
2022	Season 15	Luke Littler (ENG) (5)	11—9	Michael van Gerwen (NED)	Luke Littler (ENG)
2023	Season 16	Gian van Veen (NED)	11—9	Luke Littler (ENG)
2024	Season 17	Michael van Gerwen (NED) (3)	11—10	Luke Littler (ENG)	Michael van Gerwen (NED)
2025	Season 18	To be decided	—	To be decided	To be decided

Champions

Rank	Player	Titles	Runner-up	Finals	First title	Most recent title
1	Alex Brow (AUS)	7	5	12	2008	2021
2	Luke Littler (ENG)	5	6	11	2012	2022
3	Michael van Gerwen (NED)	3	7	10	2011	2024
4	Luke Humphries (ENG)	1	1	2	2014	2014
4	Gian van Veen (NED)	1	0	1	2023	2023
6	Chris Dobey (ENG)	0	1	1	—	—

Records and statistics

Major records

Record	Holder	Mark	Details
Most titles	Alex Brow (AUS)	7	Won across Seasons 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 13 and 14.
Most consecutive titles	Alex Brow (AUS)	3	Seasons 1 to 3.
Most finals	Alex Brow (AUS)	12	Brow reached finals across three separate eras.
Most titles by a non-Australian player	Luke Littler (ENG)	5	Littler became the closest challenger to Brow's record.
First Dutch champion	Michael van Gerwen (NED)	2011	Defeated Alex Brow 11—10 in Season 4.
First debutant league-phase winner	Cameron Menzies (SCO)	2019	Topped the Season 12 league table.
First debutant champion	Gian van Veen (NED)	2023	Defeated Luke Littler in the Season 16 final.
Largest Grand Final win	Alex Brow (AUS)	11—4	Defeated Michael van Gerwen in the Season 8 final.
Highest recorded exhibition average	Alex Brow (AUS)	122.44	Recorded in the post-injury exhibition against Gian van Veen.

Champions by country

Country	Players	Total titles	First title	Most recent title
Template:Country data Australia	1	7	2008	2021
Template:Country data England	2	6	2012	2022
Netherlands	2	4	2011	2024

Appearances

Since the tournament made its debut in 2008, Alex Brow was the only player to appear in every edition of the Horizon Premier League until the 2025 season, when he withdrew before the campaign due to ongoing wrist and shoulder injuries. Brow's run covered the first seventeen seasons and included seven titles, twelve finals, and the longest continuous presence in competition history.

The competition originally used an eight-player invitational format. From the 2020 season, the tournament expanded to ten players and introduced a top-six play-off structure. From 2021, the top four finishers from the previous season automatically retained their places, while the remaining six positions were decided through the Premier League Qualifiers. This change created a direct route into the competition for new and returning players.

In 2023, Gian van Veen became the first player to win the competition after previously being removed from a confirmed line-up before throwing a dart. In 2025, Brow's withdrawal marked the first season in which the league was played without its most successful player.

Premier League players and performance

Player	#	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Alex Brow (AUS)	17	W	W	W	RU	RU	RU	SF	W	W	SF	SF	RU	W	W	6	SF	7	WD
Luke Littler (ENG)	17	RU	RU	SF	SF	W	W	RU	SF	SF	W	W	SF	SF	6	W	RU	RU	5
Michael van Gerwan (NED)	18	SF	SF	RU	W	SF	SF	SF	RU	SF	RU	RU	W	RU	RU	RU	SF	W	5
Luke Humphries (ENG)	18	SF	4	SF	SF	SF	SF	W	SF	5	5	SF	5	SF	SF	5	5	SF	4
Chris Dobey (ENG)	13	×		5	×	5	5	5	5	RU	SF	SF	6	7	5	7	7	8	7
Gerwyn Price (WAL)	8	5	5	6	6	6	6	×	×	6	7	×
Stephen Bunting (ENG)	7	6	6	6	6	6	×						8	9	×	×	10	×
Rob Cross (ENG)	9	7	7	×	×	×	6	6	6	7	6	×
Nathan Aspinall (ENG)	6	8	8	×	8	×	×	8	×								10	×	10
Beau Greaves (ENG)	3	×				7	×			8	×		8	×
Damon Heta (AUS)	4	×					7	×	7	×		7	7	×
Josh Rock (NIR)	8	×			7	×		7	×		6	9	8	9	×	9	9	×	9
Cameron Menzies (SCO)	6	×											SF	5	7	10	×
Luke Woodhouse (ENG)	1	×											8	×
Ryan Joyce (ENG)	5	×												6	8	8	9	×	10
Connor Scutt (ENG)	2	×												10	10	×
Danny Noppert (NED)	5	×													SF	SF	6	5	6
Gian Van Veen (NED)	4	×														SF	W	SF	3
Martin Schindler (GER)	3	×															8	6	6

Table Legend
W	Won in playoffs	RU	Runner-up	SF	Lost in the semi-finals	#	Final position, not winner or runner-up
WD	Withdrew before tournament	×	Did not play

Notes

• The number column counts seasons in which the player was part of the announced or final playing field. Alex Brow's 2025 withdrawal is included because he qualified and was announced before withdrawing.

• From 2020 onward, fifth and sixth place could still represent a Finals Night appearance because of the expanded six-player play-off format.

• From 2021 onward, the top four from the previous season automatically qualified, while the remaining six places were decided through the Premier League Qualifiers.

• Alex Brow withdrew before the 2025 season due to ongoing throwing wrist and shoulder injuries. Ryan Joyce replaced him in the final field.

Controversies

Gian van Veen removal before Season 13

Gian van Veen was initially announced for Season 13 before being removed by the league CEO and replaced by Stephen Bunting. The decision was heavily criticised by fans and later became a major part of van Veen's story when he qualified properly for Season 15.

Season 18 Alex Brow withdrawal

Brow withdrew from Season 18 on medical advice due to the risk of permanent injury to his throwing wrist and shoulder. It was the first season in league history not to include him.

Van Veen comments and fine

Following Brow's withdrawal, Gian van Veen questioned whether the league still belonged to Brow. The comments caused a major backlash. League CEO David Archer later fined van Veen £25,000 and ordered a public apology, stating that players should not use another player's injury rehabilitation period as an opportunity to attack them.

Post-injury exhibition match

Date	Match	Result	Average	Notes
2025	Alex Brow vs Gian van Veen	Alex Brow won 15—2	122.44	Brow hit a nine-dart finish, 21 maximums and produced the highest recorded average in a Premier League-associated match.

The exhibition was promoted as a one-off return match after the public dispute between Brow and van Veen. It became one of the most-watched darts exhibitions in league history and immediately changed public discussion about Brow's recovery.

All-time title count

Player	Titles
Alex Brow (AUS)	7
Luke Littler (ENG)	5
Michael van Gerwen (NED)	3
Gian van Veen (NED)	1
Luke Humphries (ENG)	1

See also

• Darts
• Premier League Darts
• Alex Brow
• Luke Littler
• Michael van Gerwen
• Gian van Veen