Premier League Darts: PDC confirms format will remain the same in 2026 as Luke Humphries and Luke Littler chase title again | Darts News

PDC chief executive Matt Porter has denied any upcoming changes to the Premier League darts format and confirmed it will remain the same for the 2026 season.

The Premier League – live on Sky Sports – has had various formats since its launch in 2005, with the most recent changes coming in 2022, it became an eight-person competition with nightly winners at each of their weekly events.

The top four finishers in the PDC Order of Merit – following the conclusion of the World Darts Championship – are currently joined by four wildcard picks to complete the line-up for a 16-week regular season, contested across the UK and mainland Europe, with the top four finishers then progressing to finals night at the O2 in London.

The PDC announced its 2026 Premier League schedule in September, including the opening night at Newcastle on February 5 and Belgium hosting its first event the following week, but did not confirm the proposed format at the time.

Speculation had been growing over whether the PDC would opt for a change, given the increased field for this year’s World Darts Championship and the large number of potential challengers to fill the wildcard places, but Porter confirmed the current format would continue next season.

“We always say we’re evaluating it and we’ll change it at some point, but we just feel like at the moment the data shows us it’s the right format,” Porter said exclusively. told Sky Sports.

“The crowds in the arenas love it, they love seeing a winner on the night, it keeps them entertained until the last dart and the TV viewing figures are great.

“So we will make a decision as and when we feel the format is tired.”

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries occupy the top two places on the Order of Merit and are guaranteed to feature in the Premier League again in 2026, having played in the last two finals against each other, with Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton – as of January 31 – holding the other automatic qualification places.

Nathan Aspinall and Gerwyn Price both reached Finals Night last year but suffered early eliminations at the World Darts Championship, with Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey, Rob Cross and Van Gerwen all part of last year’s Premier League line-up and also failing to reach the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.

Danny Noppert and James Wade are both in the top 10 on the Order of Merit, while Gian van Veen and Josh Rock are among those pushing for a Premier League place, but Porter insists no decision has been confirmed on who will feature in the 2026 Premier League squad.

“We never make a decision until the end, when we have all the facts in front of us,” Porter added. “There’s no point talking about it now. You don’t make decisions until you have everything in front of you.

“We always look for players who we think have performed consistently. That’s important. A lot of players succeed once, but you have to show you can compete at the highest level on a regular basis.

“You have to show that you have real star quality. Most importantly, we don’t want to rush. We don’t want to hire someone before they’re ready, because that could be a really negative step for their career.

“The Premier League is a tough school. If you go there for 16 weeks and lose the first round week after week, it’s tough. You have to take that into account in the Euro Tours and the Pro Tours. So we will make a considered decision.

“As always, it won’t be 100 percent popular, but it will be an honest decision.”

Humphries: Eight is a headache!

World number 2 and reigning Premier League champion Humphries was asked about the opportunity for a change and understands why it is becoming increasingly difficult to select just eight players.

“There are a lot of good players playing well – Josh (Rock), Gian (van Veen), Gary (Anderson) are playing well,” Humphries said after his round of 16 victory over Kevin Doets at the World Darts Championship.

“There are a lot of good players and I think there will be a headache for the Premier League this year. It will be a difficult question to choose that. It’s difficult to know what the perfect scenario is for the Premier League.

“Eight always feels really elite. I missed something – it’s good to upset people, it makes you a little hungry and you don’t want to please everyone. What makes for good viewing is good arguments like ‘I should be in, I shouldn’t be in’ – all that kind of stuff.

“I think 12 is probably too much, it wouldn’t seem elite, 10 is the maximum. It all depends: if it’s eight, it’s a headache, if it’s 10, then he chooses for himself.”

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