Newly-crowned world champion Luke Humphries, defending champion Michael Van Gerwen and teenager star Luke Littler are among the players set to feature in the 2024 Premier League Darts.
Reigning champion Van Gerwen is chasing a record-extending eighth Premier League crown, having successfully defended his title last year, while Humphries comes in as world No 1 after registering a fourth major title in three months with victory at the World Darts Championship.
Littler will become the youngest player in Premier League history after enjoying a whirlwind World Championship debut, where he reached the final before falling to a 7-4 loss against Humphries, while last year’s runner-up Gerwyn Price is involved as well.
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Highlights of the 2024 World Darts Championship final between world number one Luke Humphries and teenage sensation Luke Littler.
Former world champions Michael Smith, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright and Rob Cross are also part of a stacked line-up, with Nathan Aspinall completing the eight-player field for what promises to a fascinating 17 weeks of action.
We take a closer look at the players chasing one of the biggest titles in the sport…
Luke Humphries
PDC Order of Merit: First.
Last year: DNP.
PL Best: Full debut (appeared as contender in 2019).
Walk-on Song: ‘Cake by the Ocean’ by DNCE.
Humphries has been the dominant force in the darting world since the end of last year, winning four majors in the space of three months to jump to the top of the world rankings and head into 2024 as the player to beat.
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World Darts Champion Luke Humphries says he expects many more battles against Luke Littler in the years to come.
‘Cool Hand’ sparked his impressive streak with a maiden major title at the World Grand Prix, then following victory at the Grand Slam of Darts the following month by winning the Players Championship Finals.
Humphries the claimed the biggest win of his career by securing a maiden World Championship title, firing averages of 103 or better in his final three matches to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy, with the 28-year-old now getting to experience a full Premier League season for the first time.
Michael van Gerwen
PDC Order of Merit: Second.
Last year: Winner.
PL Best: Winner (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023).
Walk on Song: ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes.
Van Gerwen returns as back-to-back Premier League champion, having enjoyed more success in the event than any other player in its history, with the Green Machine now aiming to add to his record tally of seven titles.
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Take a look at the best of the action from Finals Night of the 2023 Premier League in London, where Michael van Gerwen lifted the trophy
The Dutchman thrashed Price in the final of last year’s contest and is making a 12th-consecutive Premier League appearance. He has only finished outside the top four once, meaning Van Gerwen is likely to be among the pre-tournament favourites once again.
Van Gerwen was a beaten finalist at the UK Open and the Players Championship in a year of multiple near-misses, where he failed to add to his tally of major titles and lost his No 1 status, then started 2024 with a shock quarter-final exit to Scott Williams at the World Darts Championship.
Michael Smith
PDC Order of Merit: Third.
Last year: Semi-finals.
PL Best: Semi-finals (2023).
Walk on Song: ‘Shut up and Dance’ by Walk the Moon.
‘Bully Boy’ enjoyed on the most iconic moments in darting history last year when he hit a stunning nine-darter on his way to the world title, although endured a mixed campaign as world champion.
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Watch how Wayne Mardle and Stuart Pyke reacted to the sensational leg between Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith in the World Championship Final that culminated in a nine-darter for Bully Boy.
Smith reached the semi-finals of the Premier League, his best performance since finishing runner-up to Van Gerwen in 2018, but a semi-final appearance at the World Grand Prix was the only other time he was in serious contention for a major title in 2023.
The St Helens star saw his title defence at Alexandra Palace ended with a fourth-round thrashing by Chris Dobey, with Smith now focused on a return to his brilliant best over the coming months.
Nathan Aspinall
PDC Order of Merit: Fourth.
Last year: Fifth.
PL Best: Runner-up (2020).
Walk on Song: ‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers.
Aspinall, runner-up to Glen Durrant on his full debut in 2020, will be back for a second successive Premier League appearance despite a disappointing early exit at the World Darts Championship.
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A look back at the best of the action from the World Matchplay at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, where Nathan Aspinall claimed an impressive victory
‘The Asp’ sought out a sports psychologist to help with his game during last year’s Premier League, where he agonisingly missed out on a semi-final spot after struggling with injury, then bounced back to end his four-year wait for a second major TV title.
Aspinall enjoyed the biggest win of his career when he thrashed Jonny Clayton to win the World Matchplay in Blackpool and followed it up by reaching the final of the World Series of Darts, with the Englishman now at the highest ranking of his career so far.
Gerwyn Price
PDC Order of Merit: Fifth.
Last year: Runner-up.
PL Best: Runner-up (2023).
Walk on Song: ‘Ice Ice Baby’ by Vanilla Ice.
‘The Iceman’ endured a nightmare campaign on debut in 2018, suffering elimination without a win to his name, before recording consecutive fifth-placed finishes in 2019 and 2020.
He landed two nine-darters on an incredible night in Belfast in the 2022 campaign, where he finished seventh, then produced his best Premier League in last year’s event when he finished runner-up to Van Gerwen.
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Gerwyn Price hit two nine-dart finishes in one night during the 2022 Premier League in Belfast
Price also finished second to Humphries at the World Grand Prix and partnered Clayton to victory at the World Cup of Darts, although failed to progress beyond the third round of the World Darts Championship.
Rob Cross
PDC Order of Merit: Sixth.
Last year: DNP.
PL Best: Runner-up (2019).
Walk on Song: ‘Hot Hot Hot’ by Arrow.
The 2018 world champion is back in the Premier League after missing the past two editions, having finished runner-up in two major TV events and won two World Series titles over the past 12 months.
Cross was beaten by Chris Dobey in the final of The Masters and lost out to Humphries at the Grand Slam of Darts, although enjoyed victories at the New Zealand Darts Masters and New South Wales Darts Masters this year.
‘Voltage’ made an impressive run to the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship before being beaten by Littler, his best finish since winning the event, with Cross now ready to make his fifth Premier League appearance.
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Rob Cross came back from 4-0 down to Chris Dobey to complete a ‘darting miracle!’ in the quarter finals of the World Darts Championship
Peter Wright
PDC Order of Merit: Eighth.
Last year: Eighth.
PL Best: Runner-up (2017).
Walk on Song: ‘Don’t Stop The Party’ by Pitbull.
Wright will make an 11th-consecutive Premier League appearance, where he will want to improve a poor record that has seen him only reach the play-offs once since losing a last-leg thriller to Van Gerwen in the 2017 final.
‘Snakebite’ won the European Championship and enjoyed strong displays at several non-ranking TV events, reaching the semi-finals in The Masters and the World Series of Darts plus partnering Gary Anderson to the final of the World Cup of Darts.
Wright slipped down the Order of Merit after struggling at the World Darts Championship, two years on from lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy for a second time, as he suffered a straight-sets loss to Jim Williams in the second round.
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Wayne Mardle says Peter Wright’s 0-3 collapse against Jim Williams will sting and be very hard for him to forget.
Luke Littler
PDC Order of Merit: 31st
Last year: DNP.
PL Best: Debutant.
Walk on Song: ‘Greenlight’ by Pitbull featuring Flo Rida and LunchMoney Lewis.
Littler has been handed a Premier League debut after his sensational run to the World Darts Championship final, where he captured the interest of the sporting world with his remarkable rookie appearance at the Alexandra Palace.
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Wayne Mardle and John Part look at what the future holds for Luke Littler, after the 16-year-old narrowly missed out on a debut world title.
The 16-year-old became the youngest player to win a World Darts Championship match and fired the best average by a debutant, with the rising star brushing aside UK Open winner Andrew Gilding, childhood hero Raymond van Barneveld and former world champion Cross on his way to the final.
Littler was 4-2 up against Humphries before losing the next five sets to hand the world No 1 victory, but his stunning tournament has seen him jump inside the world’s top 32 and means he will feature more frequently in TV tournaments over the years ahead.
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Check out the best moments from the 2024 World Darts Championship.
When is the 2024 Premier League?
The 2024 Premier League Darts season will begin in Cardiff on the first day of February with the play-offs to take place at London’s O2 Arena at the end of May.
Berlin, Glasgow, Newcastle and Exeter host events in February, before the Premier League roadshow heads to Brighton, Nottingham, Dublin and Belfast in March.
Manchester, Birmingham, Rotterdam and Liverpool are the cities for April’s Premier League nights, before Aberdeen, Leeds, Sheffield are the venues ahead of the finals night in London on May 23.
Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on Thursday May 23. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
