Players Championship Finals On ITV4

THE Players Championship Finals is to be televised on ITV4 and will now be played from December 8-11 2011 at the Doncaster Dome.

The fourth staging of the event had originally been planned to be held on the first weekend of December, with the tournament coming forward in the calendar to be played closer to the end of the 2011 Players Championships.

However, ITV4 will now follow up their successful screening of the PartyPoker.net European Championship in July by broadcasting the £250,000 event live from Thursday December 8-Sunday December 11.

"We are delighted that ITV4 have chosen to extend their coverage of our events at the Players Championship Finals," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

"July's European Championship was a brilliant event, featuring many exciting games, including Adrian Lewis' sensational nine-darter in a thrilling semi-final with Raymond van Barneveld, and it culminated in a memorable final which was won by Phil Taylor.

"With the 32 form players from the PDC ProTour this year playing in Doncaster, the Players Championship Finals promises to be another superb tournament."
ITV4 have previously screened the Players Championship Finals in 2009 and 2010, as well as the Grand Slam of Darts from 2007-2010, and they also broadcast UEFA Europa League football, Indian Premier League cricket, the Tour De France cycling event and rugby union's World Cup, Aviva Premiership and Heineken Cup.

The Players Championship Finals will feature the leading 32 players from the final 2011 Players Championship Order of Merit, which is comprised of prize money won in the 31 one-day events held during the course of the year.

The first round will be split across Thursday December 8 and Friday December 9, with eight matches being played on each evening.

The second round will be played in two sessions on Saturday December 10, with the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final following on Sunday evening.