Why the 2026 Premier League will be the most competitive yet

Just over two weeks ago the PDC announced who will be taking part in darts most lucrative roadshow, and now we have had time to digest the line-up fans can start to predict what they might see from the class of 2026. There is school of thought that this might just be the most competitive cast in the tournaments 22-year history, or certainly in recent years.

This makes predicting who will reach the O2 for finals night an extremely difficult task, not something we're attempt to do. Instead, let's look at whether there is any truth to the notion that, come May 28^th, we will have seen 16 weeks of darts that could rival the competitions prime years.

Firstly, it’s important to establish that competitive doesn’t necessarily translate to quality or talent. There have been 22 years of the Premier League and to make the claim that this is the most talented group yet would be short sighted and drowning in recency bias. What is meant by ‘competitive’ is that this could be the most tightly knit group of players going into a campaign.

This years roster includes Josh Rock and Gian Van Veen, who have both received much deserved Premier League call ups alongside a returning Johnny Clayton after a two-year absence. As well as this, five of last year’s group return including Stephen Bunting, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, reigning champion Luke Humphries and World Champion Luke Littler.

No Glaring weaknesses

One feature of recent Premier League campaigns is that there has been a gulf in quality between the top five or six and those languishing at the bottom of the table. This means that by week nine, quite often at least two players are without a realistic chance of making finals night.

However, what separates this line-up from previous years is that there are no clear week links. Of course, there are exceptional players in there like the two Lukes who will be the favourites, but pinpointing who will finish bottom is tough.

The most obvious pick is Stephen Bunting who, for a lot of people, was the most controversial selection choice. This is mainly because he finished bottom of last year’s table, and he didn’t have the greatest of World Championship runs in December.

But when you take that away, Bunting had a terrific year on the tour which included six titles. Last year was his debut campaign in the Premier League so the relentless nature of playing the very best week after week may have hindered his performance. With some experience now under his belt, fans should expect a much better showing from the Bullet.

Johnny Clayton could also be perceived as being weaker than some others in the list but his previous showings in the Premier League have proven differently. He reached finals night in all three of his full campaigns including winning the entire tournament in 2021, so writing him off before a darts has been thrown is an extremely dangerous thing to do.

The other players that can make a Premier League predictable, are the debutants but fans have reason to be optimistic that they could be the reason why this year's edition will be remembered.

The changing of the guard?

2025 has been the year of breakthroughs. A bunch of players that have been known to have enormous potential exploded onto the main stage.

The two players that have made the biggest impact are this year’s Premier League rookies, Gian Van Veen and Josh Rock. They have had the third and fourth highest average across the last 12 months, only behind the two Lukes.

They were involved in games that many fans will pinpoint as being two of the most exciting in 2025. For Van Veen- his 10-9 victory over Luke Humphries in the European Championship final to secure his first major title. For Josh Rock- winning the world cup for Northern Ireland alongside Daryl Gurney in spectacular fashion, if you haven’t seen that final, watch it.

Those performances haven’t been one off’s either, as both players have enjoyed TV wins in the last 12 months against the very players they’ll be competing for points in the Premier League.

With the form they have shown recently, it’s hard to see either player languishing at the bottom of the table after 10 weeks like Stephen Bunting was last year, in fact they may even come out of the 17 weeks cemented in the minds of fans as two of the top five players on the planet.

Three years, three different winners

In an era when Van Gerwen won seven Premier League titles between 2013 and 2023 it’s been refreshing over to see some new winners over the last two years.

With the pack moving closer together in terms of skill hopefully the years of one players repeatedly claiming the title are behind us. There are fears that Luke Littler, should he continue his form from 2025, will slowly monopolise the Premier League in a similar way to how Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen did in their prime years.

But with the final being first to 11 legs, the margin of error isn’t as big as some of the other majors. This, in turn, makes the Premier League unpredictable and further highlights the extraordinary nature of past dominance, dominance that in the current state of darts will be a challenge to replicate. Is Luke Littler the favourite? Absolutely. A foregone conclusion? Not a chance.

The Premier League will begin on February 5th in Newcastle with finals night taking place just under four months later on the 28th of May. What transpires in-between will be captivating, enthralling and full of unscripted drama from the very first 'GAME ON!'

Thursday nights are back, let the action commence.