Sport Industry Group

Whyte & Mackay to sponsor Premier League Darts- 5 Nov 2007 18:40:00

Whisky brand Whyte & Mackay has signed up as the new title sponsor of the Professional Darts Corporation's Premier League Darts competition.

The whisky brand has signed a three-year contract to sponsor the league which starts its 2008 season in Whyte & Mackay's home city of Glasgow on 31st January.

Holsten, the beer brand, had sponsored the League for the past two years.

The Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts will feature the eight best darts players in the world, and boasts a £340,000 prize fund, with £100,000 to the winner - the joint highest prize in darts.

The confirmed players so far are the top six money earners from the PDC's Order of Merit, with two wildcards to be announced following the conclusion of the World Championship on 1 January.

Phil 'The Power' Taylor has won all three previous Premier League Darts.

The Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts will run for 14 consecutive Thursday evenings across the UK, from Aberdeen in the North to Plymouth in the South, with stop-offs in major cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Belfast, as well as, for the first time, Wembley Arena in London.

Players will play each other twice in the group stage, with the top four progressing to the play-offs, to be held in Cardiff on 26th May.

Each tournament will be screened live by Sky Sports in both standard and high definition.