The 2026 Premier League Darts line-up has been confirmed ahead of the opening night in Newcastle on February 5.
As the four highest-ranked players on the PDC Order of Merit, Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen all secured automatic qualification for this year’s competition.
That left four remaining places to be decided by PDC invitation, with several big names in contention. Jonny Clayton, currently fifth in the rankings on £625,000, was widely expected to feature, while Gerwyn Price was also tipped for inclusion after a strong start to 2025 despite fading slightly towards the end of the year.
Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Josh Rock, James Wade, Danny Noppert, Stephen Bunting and Ryan Searle were all in the mix ahead of Monday’s announcement.
The final line-up, revealed live on Sky Sports, sees Littler, Humphries, Van Veen and Van Gerwen joined by Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price.
Bunting’s selection proved to be the most surprising call. The popular Liverpudlian, known as the “People’s Champion”, is currently ranked seventh in the world and endured a difficult 2025 Premier League campaign, failing to register a single point across the opening eight weeks.
Despite reaching the quarter-finals of both the Masters and World Matchplay last year, Bunting’s recent form — including a third-round exit at the latest World Championship — had led several pundits, among them former BDO World Championship semi-finalist Chris Mason, to predict he would miss out.
Reacting to the announcement, Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle admitted he was taken aback by the decision, describing Bunting’s inclusion as “slightly surprising”.
For fans planning to attend, the Premier League season gets underway at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on February 5, with the Finals Night scheduled for The O2 Arena in London on May 28.
2026 Premier League Darts schedule
- Night 1 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle – Thursday, February 5
- Night 2 – AFAS Dome, Antwerp – Thursday, February 12
- Night 3 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow – Thursday, February 19
- Night 4 – SSE Arena, Belfast – Thursday, February 26
- Night 5 – Utilita Arena, Cardiff – Thursday, March 5
- Night 6 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – Thursday, March 12
- Night 7 – 3Arena, Dublin – Thursday, March 19
- Night 8 – Uber Arena, Berlin – Thursday, March 26
- Night 9 – AO Arena, Manchester – Thursday, April 2
- Night 10 – Brighton Centre, Brighton – Thursday, April 9
- Night 11 – Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam – Thursday, April 16
- Night 12 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool – Thursday, April 23
- Night 13 – P&J Live, Aberdeen – Thursday, April 30
- Night 14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds – Thursday, May 7
- Night 15 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham – Thursday, May 14
- Night 16 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday, May 21
- Finals Night – The O2, London – Thursday, May 28
Luke Humphries will head into the competition looking to defend his Premier League crown.
Ahead of the announcement, PDC chief executive Matt Porter dismissed suggestions of an imminent format change, insisting the current structure remains popular with fans and broadcasters alike.
“We always say that we evaluate it and will change it at some point,” Porter told Sky Sports. “But the data shows this is the right format at the moment.
“The crowds love it, they enjoy having a winner on the night, it keeps them entertained until the final dart, and the TV figures are strong. We’ll only change it when we feel the format has run its course.”
