Rob Cross secures place in 2020 Unibet Premier League

The 2018 world champion from St Leonards will join eight other elite players in the Premier League, which will take the form of a 16-week tour of arenas across Europe from February 6-May 21.

The other competitors are world number one Michael van Gerwen, new world champion Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney, Nathan Aspinall and Glen Durrant.

They will be joined by nine Challengers, including new sensation Fallon Sherrock, in each of the first nine weeks of the competition.

Cross reached the final of the Premier League last year and will be eager to recapture that sort of form following his disappointing second round exit at the William Hill World Darts Championship last month.

That meant the World Matchplay and European Championship winner dropped to his lowest position in the rankings since before his fairytale World Championship triumph two years ago.

The top four players in the rankings were automatic selections for the Premier League and the other five participants were invited players.

Cross, meanwhile, will face fellow former world champion Adrian Lewis in round one of the Ladbrokes Masters - the first televised event of the 2020 campaign.

The eighth staging of the Masters - featuring the top 16 players on the order of merit - will take place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes from January 31-February 2.