The Premier League Darts line-up for 2026

Premier League Darts 2026: Player-by-player guide to the new season featuring Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Gian van Veen

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Wed February 04, 2026 · 4d ago

Paul Nicholson assesses each of the Premier League Darts contenders ahead of the new campaign, which begins in Newcastle on Thursday night.

In his latest Sporting Life column, Nicholson predicts the finishing order of the regular season table and then gives his verdict on who will lift the trophy on Finals Night in May.

1st. Luke Littler

I think Luke Littler will expect, over the next 16 weeks, to win at least six nights because that's the record he set 12 months ago during the regular season.

This will be his number one priority during the opening months of the season and we know he's not going to be playing in every Players Championship and every European Tour event.

That doesn't mean there won't be times where even he feels a bit jaded and someone takes him out early but by and large I'd expect him to dominate for long spells and potential threaten the 50-points barrier.

Interestingly, Littler is yet to record one of the top 10 highest match averages in the Premier League's history and would need to exceed a 115.97 from Gerwyn Price to do just that.

Nobody would be surprised to see him threaten Michael van Gerwen's all-time televised record of 123.40, just like Luke Humphries did during the last campaign when managing a 118.

As much as he enjoys breaking records, it's probably unsustainable for him to keep finding new ones to set so as long as he tops the standings and lifts the trophy, he'll be more than happy.

2nd. Gerwyn Price

Gerwyn Price played some great darts in last year's Premier League and revels in playing in front of these big audiences, especially now that he doesn't get the boos of previous years.

Despite reaching the play-offs quite comfortably ahead of Michael van Gerwen, some felt his inclusion was a bit questionable due to not really contending for major titles in 2025.

But we've had enough evidence from the World Series and the World Masters that he's going to play some great darts in the Premier League and the games against Jonny Clayton and Luke Littler told us a lot about the levels he can produce.

Having Clayton in the line-up will have a positive impact on Price because they're good friends and will be spending a lot of time together over the next four months.

It's probably not a coincidence that Clayton and Price were both winning majors regularly in the era when The Ferret was last in the Premier League.

It's not just about traveling with someone you get on with, it's about being in a practice room with them and keeping your spirits up during tough patches.

A lot was made of Price's body transformation last year but he's a lot happier in that regard now and we're seeing a lot more consistency with his performances.

He's energised and I fancy him to have a very strong campaign.

3rd. Luke Humphries

Luke Humphries will be sick of the sight of Luke Littler because of what's happened in the last 12 months but this is one title that he managed to win last year that the world champion couldn't grab.

He'll feel that this is his baby and won't want to let it go.

Although Humphries would have felt the same ahead of the World Masters final, he did put up an incredible fight and his performances in Milton Keynes were a real statement of intent.

Humphries is one of the smartest - if not the smartest - player in the field and he'll program his calendar accordingly to make sure he has the best chance of defending his title.

He'll take this event one week at a time and one game at a time, and he'll know full well the key to success is peaking at just the right time at the O2.

4th. Josh Rock

Josh Rock is making his debut and I believe he's more than ready to make a big impact.

Now, the Premier League is obviously very different from any other tournament he's played in and it is very long, but one thing that's impressed me over the past year is his energy levels.

He made multiple European Tour finals in 2025 and by the end of those days, it looked like he could play another game or two. So, if he brings that kind of energy to Premier League nights, we could see him reach plenty of finals, win a few nights and challenge for a Play Off spot.

He won't be fazed by the crowd. If anything he feeds off these people. Imagine what Belfast is going to be like for him?!

I think wherever he goes, he's got this knack of engaging with the audience and I can't imagine there will be many occasions where he feels like an 'away' player.

5th. Gian van Veen

Gian van Veen has made tremendous strides over the last 18 months, culminating in winning the European Championship and then reaching the World Championship final.

Although he's proved that very little - if anything - fazes him - I think there will be a few nerves about being in the Premier League, just like any debutant would feel.

He's found a new level of consistency in his game so, it'll be interesting to see how he copes with Premier League life, because it hasn't been for everyone.

The manner in which he handled the Ally Pally crowd - especially when beating Gary Anderson over 10 sets - will stand him in good stead for these Premier League nights but the key for him will be how strong a start he makes, because if he struggles early on, there really is no hiding place.

6th. Michael van Gerwen

Michael Van Gerwen is preparing for his 14th successive Premier League season and it really could be his toughest yet.

We never quite know what we're going to get with Michael these days. He could go out and win three nights, earn a golden set of darts for a nine-darter and everything looks fabulous again.

But after his early exit at the World Masters - despite his success in Bahrain on the World Series tour - many feel this is going to be a long three to four months for him.

One of my main concerns is that he doesn't seem to be a master at managing his energy levels anymore. It looks like pressure and time are starting to take their toll on his performances and there's a lot more younger guys with greater energy levels and mental stamina.

We want to see the best version of Michael but it's just very in and out with him, and last year it was mostly out and he didn't win a single Premier League night.

It feels as if we are getting closer to a time where we might not have Michael in a Premier League so he should play this like his last and try to make a real point.

7th. Jonny Clayton

Many players kept quiet about their Premier League selection ambitions last year but Jonny Clayton made no secret about how much he wanted his spot back after a few years away.

As a former champion, who's never finished outside the play-off spaces in his previous three appearances, he'll be out to prove that he's still got what it takes to compete with the best in the business week in week out.

However, the competition is a lot tougher than when he was last involved. He was impressive during the Covid years when there was a whole bunch of editions in Milton Keynes and that's a lot easier than the constant travel around the UK and Europe that there is today.

Plus, there's no denying that the playing standard is higher, so this will be his toughest challenge to date.

We can expect lots of Welsh battles against Gerwyn Price although The Iceman got the better of him once again at the Winmau World Masters and he needs to find a way to break this awful record he has against his fellow countryman.

8th. Stephen Bunting

It seems peculiar to be having so many question marks over a player who is coming off the back of his best PDC season.

I know that his World Championship wasn't ideal but he was full of flu when he lost and I think he was also just out of battery power after a very long and active season.

This is something he's going to have to learn from in 2026. He has to manage his social media presence and how many tournaments he plays either side of these Premier League nights.

His schedule management has to be much better than in 2025 otherwise he is going to finish last.

He's also under a lot of pressure because many fans feel he's fortunate to be in the field and a lot of them will be predicting him to finish 8th, even those who love him and respect him.

It's not personal. But based on how he ended 2025 and the way this year has started, there's not much evidence to suggest he will contend for a top four spot.

That said, the season is very, very young and the sample size isn't big enough to make a compelling case. So maybe after February we'll have a much better feel of how Bunting will fare this season.

Who will win the title?

Luke Littler.

How can you possibly say anybody else right now?

Nicho: Littler is the best player in the world by a country mile at the minute, but there are people who really want to target him to take him out. They can get close in some of the matches and take a few nights off him.

But over 16 weeks they aren't going to keep him out of the top four and he'll be a massive favourite when it comes to the play-offs.