The tournament was played in a round-robin format over a number of weeks, normally from mid-September to early-December, around the other World Snooker events in various locations.

The top four players after the leagues phase advanced to the semi-finals and a final was held to determine the winner.

[1] In 2005 Betfred took over the sponsorship of the tournament and introduced a 25-second shot clock[1] and the matches in the league phase were shortened to six frames.

[1] The event was dominated by Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan, who between them won 20 of the 27 titles in the competition's history.

O'Sullivan was the tournament's most successful player, winning ten titles in total, including five consecutively between 2005 and 2008.

From 2008 Matchroom Sports started to hold a qualifying event, called Championship League.

This is determined by the timing official, and the clock normally starts when the balls have come to rest from the previous shot or after a potted colour is respotted.

Each player is allowed five time outs per match where the clock is stopped and they may have as long as they require to take their shot.

[5] The winner of the Premier League Snooker competition collected £50,000, while the runner-up would receive £25,000.

[7] [1][8] From 1987 to 2004, the Betfred Premier League matches were recorded and shown as-live, initially by ITV until the early 1990s when Sky Sports took over coverage.