Stephen Bunting and Josh Lock are included in the 2026 Premier League Darts line-up, with Nathan Aspinall absent.
The top four finishers on the PDC Order of Merit were granted automatic qualification, with World Champions Luke Littler and Luke Humphries and World Championship finalists Jan van Veen and Michael van Gerwen guaranteed spots.
Bunting, Lock, Gerwyn Price and Johnny Clayton were selected as wildcard candidates.
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Highlights of the Premier League darts final between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries at the O2 Arena in London
That means there are three changes to the 2025 line-up, with Lock joining ‘The Asp’ and Chris Dobie and Rob Cross also sidelined for the past 12 months.
Aspinall advanced to the final night of the 2025 tournament, but as he is currently ranked 14th in the world, he missed out this time.
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Watch Luke Humphries’ winning dart against Luke Littler at the O2 in the 2025 Premier League Darts Final.
The 2025 Premier League will be a tough battle for Bunting. After losing their opening eight games, they won on the ninth night in Berlin, but will return to the Premier League for the second year in a row.
Bunting won two World Series and one on the Euro Tour in the first half of 2025, but struggled in the majors in the second half.
But the 40-year-old agrees with that and will be hoping to improve on last season, when they finished bottom of the Premier League.
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Matt Edgar and Paul Nicholson discuss Stephen Bunting’s arrival in the Premier League in 2026 on Love The Darts
The lock makes his Premier League debut after a strong year for the Northern Irishman, making him the second debutant alongside Van Veen to be selected after his return to form in 2025.
He reached the semi-finals of the British Open and World Matchplay before losing badly to Justin Hood at Alexandra Palace.
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Josh Locke and Callan Riz attempt nine darters in consecutive legs at Alexandra Palace
Despite suffering a shocking second-round exit at the World Championship, Gerwyn Price made his eighth appearance in the Premier League.
Although Price did not play in the 2025 televised ranking final, he generally performed well and reached the play-offs in last year’s Premier League.
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Johnny Clayton checks out 145 then 135 on the bull as he pressures Adam Lipscomb
Meanwhile, Creighton will return for the first time since 2023.
The world No. 5 reached the semi-finals of the British Open, World Match Play and World Grand Prix last year, as well as the quarter-finals of the World Championship.
Mardle: Bunting will be relieved | Knoppert was very unlucky.
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Wayne Mardle reveals he believes he is lucky to be included in the Premier League Darts 2026 line-up and unlucky to miss out
Wayne Mardle of Sky Sports Darts line-up:
“I’m a little surprised by Stephen Bunting. He had a good enough year, but not as good as some, in my opinion.
“He might consider himself a bit lucky. He played well in the Premier League last year but the results weren’t good. Especially in the first eight weeks he didn’t win any games.”
“You can’t argue with any of them in terms of their ability or potential, but I think Bunting is someone who can breathe a big sigh of relief.
“Danny Knoppert was really unlucky. He reached the semi-finals of four majors.
“Nathan Aspinall was squeamish, but Noppert feels. What does he have to do? He won the British Open a few years ago. He’s gotten better and better since then. Maybe he has to get to the final or win, but Stephen hasn’t done that this year.”
“I thought it would be more of a disadvantage to him than an advantage given his performance last year, but he has a huge following!”
Wade: Missing Premier League ‘hurt’
James Wade expressed his disappointment that participants in the 2026 competition were not selected.
The 2009 Premier League champions wrote to X: “Hard work pays off… really? It’s disappointing but I’m proud of how hard we worked this year chasing one goal to get back to the Premier League.”
“Losing hurts, but it’s part of the journey. I believe in my performance in the big moments, the two major finals and the two quarterfinals, and I continue to support the process. I’m going to get back to work now. In 2026, I’ll be ready.”
How does the Premier League work?
Matches will be held every Thursday night from February to May and will take place at various venues across Europe, including the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, with this year’s new venue being Antwerp, Belgium.
Since 2022, the format has been a nightly eight-man knockout bracket, with each player competing once from Weeks 1 to 7, then again from Weeks 9 to 15, with Weeks 8 and 16 drawn based on league standings.
The point system is as follows.
Nightly Winner: 5 points Runner-up: 3 points Semi-finalist: 2 points
After Week 16, the top four players in the table will compete in the semi-finals and final at the O2 in London.
The first team will play for 4th place and the second team will play for 3rd place in the best of 19 leg semi-finals, followed by the best of 21 leg final.
premier league darts winner
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Watch how MVG won a record-breaking seventh Premier League title in style on Night 17 at the O2 in London.
2005: Phil Taylor 2006: Phil Taylor 2007: Phil Taylor 2008: Phil Taylor 2009: James Wade 2010: Phil Taylor 2011: Gary Anderson 2012: Phil Taylor 2013: Michael van Gerwen 2014: Raymond van Barneveld 2015: Gary Anderson 2016: Michael van Gerwen 2017: Michael van Gerwen 2018: Michael van Gerwen 2019: Michael van Gerwen 2020: Glen Durant 2021: Johnny Clayton 2022: Michael van Gerwen 2023: Michael van Gerwen 2024: Luke Littler 2025: Luke Humphries
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will defend his title and the fight will be available to watch on Sky Sports every Thursday from February to May. Stream darts and other top sports now.
