The line-up for this year’s Premier League Darts has been announced, with reigning champion Luke Littler the early favourite to defend his title.
The 17-year-old claimed the grand prize on his debut last year and has since added to his tally by winning the World Darts Championship.
Littler is one of four players who have automatically qualified for the Premier League due to being in the top four on the Order of Merit. The other three players are Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross.
They are joined by four wildcard picks to make up the eight-person field. Stephen Bunting has been given the nod after his run to the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace, while Gerwyn Price also makes the list.
Chris Dobey, another World Darts Championship semi-finalist, and Nathan Aspinall are the final two names on the list. It means a number of high-profile players, including two former world champions, have missed the cut.
Michael Smith has been snubbed following his early exit at Alexandra Palace, where he was knocked out by Kevin Doets in the opening round. It saw him plummet down the world rankings, having won just two events in 2024.
Peter Wright, who finished bottom of the Premier League table last year, is another absentee despite reaching the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship.
Other selected names to have been omitted from the line-up include Dave Chisnall, Gary Anderson and Damon Heta, who hit a nine-darter during his match against Luke Woodhouse.
Speaking last week, PDC chief executive Matt Porter teased that it would be an ‘interesting’ announcement and conceded that some people would be left disappointed.
“We have to look for the star quality and people who can perform on the big stage,” he said. “It’s going to be an interesting announcement.
“We’re certainly not going to please everybody but we feel we have to make the decisions that are right for the millions who will watch on TV and the 150,000 who will join us in the big arenas.
“Whatever decision we make, so long as people are talking about it, we’ve made the right decision.”
Premier League matches will take place every Thursday night between February and May, with events staged in different venues in the UK and throughout Europe.
The series will get underway in Belfast on February 6, with the final event of the regular season being held in Sheffield on May 22. The play-offs will take place at the O2 Arena in London the following week to determine the eventual champion.
