The huge number of matches Luke Littler may have to play in Premier League Darts as gruelling format explained

Luke Littler will make his Premier League debut on Thursday evening - and may be throwing a lot of darts over the next 17 weeks.

The 17-year-old earned his spot in the eight-player competition as a result of becoming the youngest ever player to reach the final of the World Championship.

He is joined in the tournament by Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall, who are the top four in the Order of Merit, as well as Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross and Peter Wright.

Since that announcement, Littler lifted his first senior PDC title at the Bahrain Darts Masters earlier in January, before reaching the final of the Dutch Masters. 'The Nuke' faced Van Gerwen on both occasions.

Both events gave him some practice in playing several matches across one night - and he'll need to draw on that throughout the Premier League campaign.

That is because, each week, the eight players all compete in a mini tournament, consisting of four quarter-final ties, two semi-final ties and a weekly final.

The winner of each event will earn five points, with the runner-up earning three points and the two semi-finalists taking home two points.

After the conclusion of the regular season, which consists of 16 weeks, the four highest-placed players will progress to Finals Night, which consists of two semi-finals and the Grand Final.

As a result, therefore, Littler and his seven Premier League rivals could play an astonishing maximum of 50 matches if they reach the final on each night, including on Finals Night.

The 17-year-old has spoken previously about balancing his workload in his debut senior PDC season, with the weekend Pro Tour events beginning next month.

After the conclusion of the World Championship final, which he lost 7-4 to Humphries, Littler explained (quotes via The Guardian): "As soon as I came off the stage last night [post-final], my manager pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to do it.

"I just said to my mum and dad, let's do it. It might not ever happen again. Just like I've come runner-up here, that may never happen again.

"I've got to take every opportunity I get. It's going to be unbelievable. I've played at Alexandra Palace and Minehead but this will be an incredible experience.

"My parents told me it's going to be tough, and I'm never going to be home, but let's get on the road and enjoy it.

"I'll probably have to take a break from a few Pro Tours, see how the first few weeks go, but I knew what was coming as soon as we said yeah to the Premier League."