STAR DARTS PREVIEW: Premier League Darts 2026

Now the 2026 darts season is fully underway with the first major ticked off, we now have the Premier League starting with 17 weeks of darting action to look forward to, writes EMILY WALLIS.

Every Thursday, the eight top players selected will travel all over the UK and Europe fighting to make the top four in the table and bank their spot on finals night in the O2 in May.

The lineup was announced a few days after the World Championship final in January. The top four in the world rankings are guaranteed a spot, this year that was Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and Michael Van Gerwen. The other four spots are decided by the PDC and, with last year and after the World Championship, there were quite a few players that were in contention and were hoping for the phone call that they were selected.

As with anything like this, there will be controversy and plenty of opinions flying around on whether players really deserved to be selected and which ones should feel hard done by.

The lucky four that did receive the good news were Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting.

The player that striked the most conversation after the announcement was Stephen Bunting with people feeling he perhaps didn’t do enough last year to deserve the spot. Danny Noppert was the player that a lot of people thought should have been included after reaching numerous semi-finals of major competitions last year.

Noppert thrashing Bunting 4-0 in the World Masters last week certainly added fuel to the fire.

Either way, it’s a great line up for the Premier League and nice to see two fresh faces in Gian van Veen and Josh Rock who have made the line up for the very first time.

The Premier League can have an impact on the rest of the year for these eight players. Those who struggle to get off the mark and struggle over the 16 gruelling weeks can really have their confidence knocked. Particularly the four players who were chosen, not based solely on their ranking position, can feel they have to justify the decision to put them in which will add even more pressure.

Last year’s winner was Luke Humphries who managed to beat Luke Littler in the final and reverse the result from the previous year.

Will this year be between the two Lukes once again? It can be hard to look past but there’s many different angles to look at and most of the players are playing well and will fancy their chances.

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Outright

Star Sports have loads of outright markets up on the website, so make sure to have a look at these before the action gets underway this evening.

Luke Littler is the 4/6 favourite for the whole tournament which is no surprise. He picked up yet another major title last weekend and ticked another one off the list in the World Masters final. He beat a very good Luke Humphries in the final and kicked off the 2026 season just as he ended last year’s!

With ‘The Nuke’ so short in the betting there’s plenty of value to be found elsewhere. Jonny Clayton is 40/1 with Star Sports, for me this seems very big!

Clayton had a good end to the year reaching the semi-finals of the Grand Prix and the quarter-finals of the World Championship. He certainly did enough to earn his spot in the Premier League and isn’t someone that should be written off straight away.

He has a good record in the tournament, including winning it in 2021. He’s experienced and will know what to expect.

I think he will make the playoffs in the O2 come May. A bet that I like the look of is Clayton to have two or more weekly wins at 7/2, with his experience and his current form I think this is more than possible.

Gian van Veen also isn’t without a chance and is priced at 7/1 in the outright market. He’s shown in the last year what he can really do, particularly making the World Championship final and looks ready for the Premier League.

He has a decent enough record against Littler and knows how to beat him, should they both make the final.

Looking at the other end of the table, there’s also a market on who will finish bottom of the league. For this I think there’s a high possibility this could be Stephen Bunting, this is a 13/10 chance.

He finished bottom of the table last year, even though he won a night, and only accumulated 12 points.

Bunting didn’t have a hugely positive year after that either so it’s hard to see how there will be a dramatic change in the result.

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WEEK 1

The quarter-final matches:

Josh Rock v Jonny Clayton

Luke Littler v Gian van Veen

Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price

Stephen Bunting v Michael Van Gerwen

The first night of the Premier League kicks off tonight and its first stop is Newcastle.

After tonight, there will still be a long way to go but players will want to get themselves off to a good start. Particularly I feel the two debutants in Gian van Veen and Josh rock to settle themselves down.

There are some great clashes to look forward to in the quarter-finals, particularly the repeat of the World Championship final with Littler and van Veen going head-to-head in the second match of the night.

Josh Rock v Jonny Clayton

I think this will be the perfect game to kick off this year’s Premier League.

As I’ve said, Josh Rock is new to the Premier League and Jonny Clayton hasn’t been in it for a few years, but they are two players that were desperately hoping to be in it this year.

They have a very even head-to-head record with Josh Rock currently leading it 6-5.

Tonight, I think Clayton will be able to level that up once again. Like I’ve mentioned, Clayton is playing very well of late and his experience could play a part as Rock settles himself into the tournament.

Luke Littler v Gian van Veen

This is another mouth-watering clash between the World Number 1 and 3.

Until September, van Veen was leading in their head-to-head record but with Littler defeating him in the Grand Prix, of course the World Championship final and, most recently, in the World Series in Saudi Arabia, Littler leads this 6-4.

Littler will be determined to claim back the overall trophy this year after losing in the final last year so I think he will come out firing. He’s also stressed that he wants to break some more records.

Last year, he became the first player to have five nightly wins in a single campaign and finished the league stage off with six altogether. He’ll be aiming to go even better this year and will be determined to get one of those ticked off on the first night.

Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price

This looks like it could be one of the games of the night. When these two are playing well and get into a good flow, it’s always going to be a great spectacle.

Gerwyn Price has a very positive record against Humphries and added to that recently in Saudi Arabia beating ‘Cool Hand’ 6-5 in a very close game.

This is another one that I think could go either way. However, after the World Masters last weekend, Humphries looks in excellent form so I think he could edge the win this evening.

Stephen Bunting v Michael Van Gerwen

For the last spot in the semi-finals, Stephen Bunting will face Michael Van Gerwen.

Van Gerwen will be happy with the draw and looking at recent form, he should come out on top.

They’ve played each other twice already this year in the World Series events and Van Gerwen has won both times.

I feel he has a slightly rejuvenated look about him this year and wouldn’t be one to rule out for the whole tournament.

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Looking at the Name the Finalists market for Week 1, I think Luke Littler and Michael Van Gerwen could be worth taking a chance on at 5/1. Van Gerwen will have a tricky semi-final draw but loves the Premier Leauge and is more than capable.

Star Sports also have lots of specials on the website for Week 1 to have a look at.

I think each of the eight players to hit two or more 180s in the quarter-finals priced at 5/2 is a good bet. I expect there to be plenty, especially on the first night where they will all be wanting to make a good start.

You can watch all the action tonight from Newcastle live on Sky Sports, it’s set to be a brilliant night to kick off the next 17 weeks of action!

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RECOMMENDED BETS

OUTRIGHT

BACK Jonny Clayton to win outright 1pt ew at 40/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

BACK Jonny Clayton to have 2 or more weekly wins 2pts at 7/2 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

BACK Stephen Bunting to finish bottom of the league 2pts at 13/10 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

WEEK 1

BACK Each of the 8 Players to Hit 2 or More 180’s in the Quarter Finals 2pts at 5/2 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

BACK Name the Finalists: Luke Littler and Michael Van Gerwen 1pt at 5/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

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PROFIT/LOSS (FEB 2026): -2.30 points

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