On Monday, the PDC confirmed the eight players who would feature in the BetMGM Premier League.
Four people were already guaranteed their places for being in the current top four in the rankings.
The following players were recent back-to-back world champion Luke Littler, last year’s Premier League winner Luke Humphries, last year’s World Series Finals winner and multiple-time Premier League Champion Michael van Gerwen, and World Championship finalist Gian van Veen who is set to make his debut in the tournament.
The question for fans was who were going to be the other four contenders to compete in the 16-week competition that would be picked by the PDC.
Jonny Clayton was one of the names as The Ferret made it far in many of the major tournaments in 2025, while also sitting as the #3 world ranked darts player.
Fellow Welshman, Gerwyn Price, was also picked as he always brings a lot of character in a darts match, while also hitting two nine-darters in the Premier League last year.
Josh Rock was a name fans expected to appear in this year’s Premier League after his efforts in multiple competitions and contesting against the best in the business, not forgetting his World Cup of Darts title triumph for Northern Ireland alongside teammate Daryl Gurney.
Finally, Stephen Bunting made the list for his efforts in the first half of 2025, as well as being the self-proclaimed people’s champion. However, the choice did receive some backlash due to his overall performance of last year and finishing last in the 2025 Premier League group stage.
Social media had a lot say for those who missed out on a place in the Premier League, for instance, Nathan Aspinall wasn’t picked despite his efforts throughout 2025 and reached the semi-finals of the competition last year.
Danny Noppert was robbed off a chance from different fan perspectives after reaching multiple semi-finals in ranked televised events.
Some people believed Gary Anderson or Ryan Searle had a strong opportunity after reaching the World Championship semi-final, but it appeared that the PDC were not convinced to pick Searle, while Anderson stated in a press conference he didn’t want to feature in the Premier League as he didn’t fancy the travelling involved.
James Wade was another name supported by fans in terms of who harshly missed out as the Englishman did reach the finals of the World Matchplay and UK Open in 2025. The 42-year-old shared his frustrations on social media for not being picked but hopes to continue his quest in returning to the Premier League.
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