It's been almost four months since the last ranking event was staged way back on March 15 and while the PDC's Home Tour provided fans with a much-needed fix for their darting needs - as well as giving players some competitive practice with a title on the line - we can now finally look forward to genuine drama to return.
The Summer Series will see 128 players, including 117 PDC Tour Card holders, competing in five successive one-day Players Championship events from Wednesday July 8 to Sunday July 12 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
With a prize pot of £75,000 up for grabs each day - making a grand total of £375,000 across the five days - they'll all be relishing the prospect of hitting doubles for dough again, but the motivations for that cash will differ greatly depending on their respective ranking positions.
For the elite towards the very top of the PDC Order of Merit, it's all about resuming their pursuit of titles and top form - as well as getting used to the new pandemic-enforced playing regulations - ahead of the World Matchplay later this month but for many others below them, the burning focus will be trying to qualify for it.
The race to return to the Marshall Arena for the sport's second biggest major - rather than the iconic Winter Gardens of course - is set for a crazy and pressurised finish, with the final field of 32 confirmed by the end of Sunday's fifth and final Players Championship event.
And on top of all this, the player who tops a separate Summer Series Order of Merit will automatically qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts.
Here's all the key issues including the format, Covid-19-enforced playing regulations, latest rankings and implications for the World Matchplay spots, realistic prize money targets, odds, event winners of the season so far, a full entry list, notable absentees plus details of how to watch.
As usual the top 16 on the main Order of Merit will qualify for the World Matchplay, which takes place from July 18-26, as the seeded players and will be joined by the leading 16 on the ProTour Order of Merit, which is based on 12 months of prize money. But never before could you say that only around 20 places are pretty much secure with just one week to play!
The standings will be changing almost as frequently as a golf leaderboard and you could probably go as far down as 40th on the ProTour list to find players who still fancy an outside chance of reaching the World Matchplay. Possibly even lower.
However, before we look at the current state of play in the rankings and the feasible prize money targets players may have to try and earn a spot, it's important to mention that the two Order of Merit lists have been shaken up without a dart being thrown over the past few months.
The PDC and the PDPA decided that prize money which would naturally have lapsed between March 16 and July 8 will be removed ahead of the start of the PDC Summer Series.
This was particularly bad news for some players such as Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey and William O'Connor who enjoyed some very strong results during the corresponding time last year and have now have a stiffer task than they already did to qualify.
PRIZE MONEY TARGETS
As usual, each individual Players Championship event will have a total prize fund of £75,000 and will be broken down as follows;
This means there will be a total of £375,000 up for grabs over the five days, with the maximum per player obviously being £50,000 in the highly unlikely scenario that they win every event.
Although Michael van Gerwen will head to Milton Keynes aiming to do that, his earning from the eight Players Championship events so far this season stands at £20,000, averaging at £2,500 apiece. Should that title-less trend continue then he'll be taking home £12,500.
Nathan Aspinall (£26,000), Peter Wright (£25,750), Gerwyn Price (£23,000) and Ian White (£22,500) are actually the four highest earners across the previous eight Players Championship tournaments having scooped the £10k top prizes six times between them. If Home Tour king Aspinall manages to maintain that earning average from Wednesday to Sunday then he'd pocket a cool £16,250.
This gives you more of a realistic best case scenario that players could hope to win this week - although don't be surprised to see anyone bring in over £20,000 - and while the above examples are five of the very best players in the world, we all know most professionals down the lists are capable of brilliant purple patches.
However, go lower down the ProTour Order of Merit to the players into the thick of a desperate battle to snatch a World Matchplay spot and earnings haven't been quite so plentiful.
Kim Huybrechts is currently clinging onto the last qualification place with a 12-month earning of £18,750 but he's only won £5,000 from Players Championship events in 2020.
Dobey, who now shockingly finds himself 16 places and £7,500 behind Huybrechts on the ProTour Order of Merit due to aforementioned circumstances of 2019 prize money in the equivalent period being removed, has only pocketed £3,750 of Players Championship money this year despite working his way up to 20 on the main Order of Merit thanks to an otherwise impressive couple of seasons.
He'll probably need to win his long-awaited maiden PDC title that his career richly deserves this week or play consistently very well across most of the days to make it. But as I explain further down, I expect him to do just that.
You can click here for the PDC's full , which is based on eight tournaments in 2020, to gage how well they've all performed on the floor environment.
PDC ORDER OF MERIT
As far as the current standings are concerned, the top 12 are guaranteed to be heading to the World Matchplay as seeds and given the gaps between them all, any positional changes are either impossible or unlikely.
The smallest gap is £10,250 between seventh-placed Daryl Gurney (£442,000) and Gary Anderson (£431,750) while there's £20k-£25k differences between Rob Cross (£538,750) in fourth and Michael Smith (£516,000), sixth-placed Aspinall (£468,250) and Gurney (£442,000) as well as 10th placed Dave Chisnall (£372,500) and Ian White (£351,750).
Adrian Lewis (£247,750), Simon Whitlock (£244,250), Krzysztof Ratajski (£242,000) and Glen Durrant (£240,000) should be safe in those last four positions but Stephen Bunting (226,250), Joe Cullen (223,000), Jonny Clayton (£218,500) and Dobey (£218,250) could feasibly usurp them if any have outstanding weeks and any of the incumbents struggle badly.
Even if Ratajski or Durrant slipped out, both would still qualify for the World Matchplay based on their healthy positions on the ProTour Order of Merit and although Adrian Lewis may be forced to sweat if he suffered the same fate, Simon Whitlock would almost certainly miss out altogether considering he's £6,000 and 14 places below Huybrechts on the ProTour Order of Merit.
PDC Order of Merit Top 20
PRO TOUR ORDER OF MERIT
As you'd expect, the majority of the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit are flying high in the one-year ProTour list although, as mentioned above, Simon Whitlock finds himself in a scenario where he'll either be seeded for the World Matchplay or not in it at all!
Of those not already guaranteed - or on course for - a World Matchplay spot via the main Order of Merit, only Joe Cullen, Brendan Dolan, Danny Noppert, Jose de Sousa and Jermaine Wattimena look nailed on to join them.
The latter is the fifth highest ranked out of those not in the main top 16 on a healthy £29,000 and while anyone below Kim Huybrechts, who currently occupies the last qualification spot at £18,750, can obviously still overtake him, I'd say say it's unfathomable that 12 manage to do so.
Jeffrey de Zwaan (£24,500), Gabriel Clemens (£24,250) and Jonny Clayton (£24,250) still have some work to do yet and everyone below them will be bracing themselves for a tense five days.
Steve Beaton (£21,500) is in danger of missing out on what would be a 20th successive World Matchplay appearance while Mervyn King, who has never missed a World Matchplay since he joined the PDC in 2007, finds himself £4,000 and nine places behind Huybrechts.
Luke Humphries (£17,500) has proved he's a man for the big occasion having reached two World Championship quarter-finals as well as becoming the first Challenger to win a match on the Premier League stage this season, but he's only managed to earn £5,000 in eight Players Championship events in 2020 and needs to put that right this week.
As mentioned earlier in this guide, the talented Dobey (£11,250) finds himself needing a massive week and potentially his maiden PDC title to climb into the qualification spots from a lowly 48th, but the form he's been showing on the online darts scene more than suggests he's ready to shoot up the rankings and get himself back on the televised arena where he performs so well.
He had a superb UK Open shortly before lockdown and it took Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen to end two decent runs in Players Championship events. He was finding his form before lockdown so it's only really a poor start to the Pro Tour season that has cost him.
Another player who I'm expecting to make an even bigger climb is Canada's Jeff Smith, who has made the long flight to take part.
The Silencer may well be languishing at 64th on the Order of Merit with £8,500 but that's all been earned in eight events since earning his maiden PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School back in January.
Smith made a final in his first Players Championship event, losing to Gary Anderson, while he enjoyed three other solid runs and also qualified for a debut European Tour event that subsequently got cancelled.
Everybody who follows darts knows how much he wants this - as demonstrated by the air miles he's clocking up - so be prepared for him to silence his rivals with some stunning performances.
ProTour Order of Merit Top 50
Others notable players outside the top 50 who won't have given up hope of a huge week include Darren Webster (£9,500), Max Hopp (£9,250), Harry Ward (£8,750) and Jeff Smith (£8,500).
Nathan Aspinall won the PDC Home Tour after topping the Championship Group with Gary Anderson, Jonny Clayton and Jelle Klaasen - but how much is online form going to count for once they get back into the usual face-to-face environment?
The likes of Dave Chisnall, Joe Cullen, Jeff Smith, Chris Dobey, Rob Cross, Luke Humphries and Jose de Sousa were all among those who enjoyed plenty of wins and/or high averages throughout the Home Tour, and many have continued to playing each other remotely to keep up match practice .
Michael van Gerwen, Daryl Gurney, Adrian Lewis and Mensur Suljovic were high-profile absentees from the online scene so it'll be even harder to predict how they fare, but they'll no doubt have still put in hours of practice at home away from the glare of webcams.
Gurney admits he's been hitting the practice board over the past five weeks after spending much of lockdown as a full-time father due to his partner being a key worker, while Lewis will be sporting a new trimmer look after revealing he's been on a fitness journey.
The same can be said of Michael Smith, who revealed the secrets and motivations behind his incredible weight loss in a recent interview with Sporting Life as he targets his first major later this month.
Neither Jackpot nor Bully Boy expect their improved body shapes to have an adverse impact on their balance and throwing actions. Lewis claimed he'd hit a nine-darter in practice during an and Smith told Sporting Life Darts: "I’ve been practicing every day through the change – it’s not as if I’ve lost loads of weight and now coming back to darts. Everyone thinks I’ll struggle but my body and throw have been adjusting together."
Each day's play will commence at 1200 BST, with the 128 players initially drawn across 16 playing boards for the early rounds.
The 32 seeded players for day one will be based on the ProTour Order of Merit as it stands on July 8, with the last 52 weeks of prize money included. The seedings for events two to five will be based on that day's ProTour Order of Merit, with previous days' prize money included.
Matches from the first round through to the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals being the best of 13 legs and the final being the best of 15 legs.
All 128 players will be tested for Covid-19 before entering their hotel room, where they will self-isolate until the results are due around 12 hours later. If it's a negative result they'll be able to play, if it's positive then they must leave the premises.
Competing players must adhere to social distancing rules and are not allowed to leave the venue for any reason.
Unlike in normal circumstances, each player will now be assigned specific practice boards to use and must also sit at one of the two designated tables situated by their match boards.
To keep numbers of people down in the venue, there will be no voluntary markers on the non streaming boards which means players will be forced to mark and referee matches away from the cameras.
In terms of rules of conduct during the matches, players must only approach the oche when their opponent has retrieved their darts and moved one metre away. This could affect particularly speedy players.
Once a player has finished playing their matches and are no longer required to mark other games, they must return to the players' hotel. They can not hang around to follow the progress of the tournament.
You can bet on the overall winner of each event while there's also in-play betting on the streamed matches.
Michael van Gerwen is 5/2 favourite to win the opening event, with Peter Wright 6/1 and Gerwyn Price next in the running at 8/1 ahead of Nathan Aspinall (11/1) and Gary Anderson (12/1).
You can expect similar prices at the top of the betting for every tournament but if big outsiders such as Ryan Searle (80/1), who has won an event earlier this season, strikes early then his price for subsequent days will tumble.
There are two streamed boards each day, which will see matches broadcast through and bookmakers' websites worldwide throughout the tournament.
Before the coronavirus brought the season to a halt, there had been 10 ranked events, including the UK Open, eight Players Championship tournament and one European Tour event - the Belgian Darts Championship. The other two were the invitational Masters and the Premier League, which is obviously still to complete. Here are a list of winners and if you click on each you get a report of each event.
The Masters (PDC Major)
Premier League Darts (PDC Major)
Players Championship 1 (ProTour)
Players Championship 2 (ProTour)
Players Championship 3 (ProTour)
Players Championship 4 (ProTour)
Players Championship 5 (ProTour)
Players Championship 6 (ProTour)
Belgian Darts Championship (European Tour)
UK Open Finals (PDC Major)
Players Championship 7 (ProTour)
Players Championship 8 (ProTour)
117 Tour Card Holders
Gary Anderson
Lisa Ashton
Nathan Aspinall
Martin Atkins (Wigan)
Scott Baker
Michael Barnard
Barrie Bates
Steve Beaton
Aaron Beeney
Gary Blades
William Borland
Andy Boulton
Bradley Brooks
Keegan Brown
Steve Brown
Christian Bunse
Stephen Bunting
Gavin Carlin
Dave Chisnall
Matt Clark
Jonny Clayton
Gabriel Clemens
Robert Collins
Rob Cross
Joe Cullen
Mike De Decker
Jose De Sousa
Jeffrey De Zwaan
Jan Dekker
Matthew Dennant
Nathan Derry
Chris Dobey
Brendan Dolan
Glen Durrant
Matthew Edgar
Ricky Evans
Ted Evetts
Andrew Gilding
Adrian Gray
Daryl Gurney
Andy Hamilton
John Henderson
Max Hopp
James Hubbard
Jamie Hughes
Luke Humphries
Adam Hunt
Kim Huybrechts
Peter Jacques
Wayne Jones
Ryan Joyce
Krzysztof Kciuk
Nick Kenny
Mervyn King
Jelle Klaasen
Martijn Kleermaker
Arjan Konterman
Boris Krcmar
Maik Kuivenhoven
Darius Labanauskas
Harald Leitinger
Steve Lennon
Kai Fan Leung
Adrian Lewis
Jamie Lewis
Eddie Lovely
Jason Lowe
Mickey Mansell
Mark McGeeney
Ryan Meikle
Cameron Menzies
Ron Meulenkamp
Scott Mitchell
Joe Murnan
Ryan Murray
Geert Nentjes
Danny Noppert
Richard North
William O'Connor
David Pallett
Josh Payne
Darren Penhall
Devon Petersen
Justin Pipe
Gerwyn Price
Nathan Rafferty
Krzysztof Ratajski
Madars Razma
Reece Robinson
Rowby-John Rodriguez
Callan Rydz
Martin Schindler
Ryan Searle
Karel Sedlacek
Kirk Shepherd
Jeff Smith
Michael Smith
Ross Smith
Simon Stevenson
Mensur Suljovic
Alan Tabern
Ciaran Teehan
Derk Telnekes
Robert Thornton
Graham Usher
Benito van de Pas
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Vincent Van der Meer
Vincent van der Voort
Jitse Van der Wal
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Mike van Duivenbode
Michael van Gerwen
James Wade
Scott Waites
Harry Ward
Jermaine Wattimena
Darren Webster
Steve West
Ian White
Conan Whitehead
Simon Whitlock
Carl Wilkinson
James Wilson
Luke Woodhouse
Jonathan Worsley
Peter Wright
Niels Zonneveld
Tour Card holders who aren't taking part are:
Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta
Daniel Larsson
Jesus Noguera
John Michael
Kyle Anderson
Marko Kantele
Steffen Siepmann
Toni Alcinas
Wesley Harms
Yordi Meeuwisse
Entries from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit
Scott Mitchell
Robert Collins
Matthew Dennant
Jitse van der Wal
Andrew Gilding
Nathan Rafferty
Arjan Konterman
Cameron Menzies
James Hubbard
Eddie Lovely
Graham Usher
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