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Former world champions Michael Smith and Peter Wright have missed out on a place in this year’s Premier League Darts line-up.
Smith was a semi-finalist in last season’s edition after he clinched World Championship success in 2023 but has dropped to 16th in the world rankings, while former Premier League runner-up Wright has struggled for form over the past 12 months.
Newly crowned world champion Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross were already assured of a place in the Professional Darts Corporation tournament and they will be joined by wild cards Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall.
Reigning Masters winner Bunting, ranked fifth in the world, will be a popular addition after his fine run to the last four at Alexandra Palace, but Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton and Damon Heta – sixth, seventh and eighth in the world – all miss out.
Players Championship champion Dobey was another to enjoy an excellent World Championship campaign with a semi-final appearance, while Price and Aspinall tasted defeat in the quarter-finals, but they will all be part of the 13th edition of the eight-man competition.
The first night of the tournament begins in Belfast on February 6 with the final scheduled for the O2 in London on May 29.
PDC chief executive Matt Porter told Sky Sports: “Obviously with Price, Dobey and Aspinall, there are players above them in the rankings who haven’t been selected but we have looked at it in terms of big stage presence, popularity, and the way they can get a 10,000-person crowd every Thursday going.
“We want people on the edge of their seats. We want people up and enjoying their darts. That isn’t to say other players can’t do that. You have to make decisions on who is right at the time.”
