Littler joined Bunting and Dobey in the lineup to defend his title.


Stephen Bunting is set to return to the Premier League for the first time in 10 years and will earn a place as one of four card options for the Rockets' premier road showdown.

Gerwyn Price, who joins him in the cream of the crop; Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey have put together an eight-man squad for the 2025 tournament.

The Premier League kicks off in Belfast on February 6.

The four are the top four players who automatically qualify for the PDC Order of Merit: newly crowned world champion and Premier League champion Luke Littler; World No. 1 Luke Humphries; Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross are involved.

Ranked 5th, Bunting is the highest ranked player outside of the automatic qualifiers.

His outstanding 2024 season, highlighted by a run to the semi-finals at the World Darts Championship and a runner-up finish at the PDC Players Championship, makes him a worthy inclusion.

Nicknamed “Hollywood”, Chris Dobey had an impressive year, winning three Players Championship titles in 2024 before losing to Van Gavin and reaching the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship.

Premier League fixtures for 2025

The full squad for the 2025 Premier League includes:

  • Luke Humphries
  • Luke Littler
  • Michael van Gervin
  • Rock Cross
  • Stephen Bunting
  • Gerwyn Price
  • Chris Dobey
  • Nathan Aspinall

World No. 6 Dave Chisnall; A number of big names missed out on selection, including 2023 world champion Michael Smith and 2021 Premier League champion Jonny Clayton.

Former world champions Peter Wright and Gary Anderson were also left out, missing out on the Premier League title for the first time since 2013.

World Grand Prix champion Mike de Decker became the first player in Premier League history to win the award.

Addressing these decisions, PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: “Obviously with Price, Dobey and Aspinall there are players above them at the unselected levels, but we've looked at it in terms of fame and popularity on the stage. And a way to get 10,000 people every Thursday.

“We want people on the edge of their seats. People want to enjoy playing their rods. This doesn't mean other players can't. We have to make decisions about who is right and when.”

The Premier League follows a knockout format with eight players in each match.

During the first seven weeks, each player played once in the opening round; You have to face every other opponent. Matchups in Weeks 9-15 and Weeks 8 and 16 are based on league standings.

After 16 weeks, The top four players from the league standings will advance to the semi-finals and finals held at the O2 in London.

The semi-finals will be played in a best-of-19-round format, with a final of 21 rounds.

2025 Premier League table

Here is the full schedule of this year's Premier League.

  • Night 1– SSE Arena; Belfast – Thursday February 6
  • Night 2OVO Hydro Glasgow – Thursday February 13
  • Night 3: 3Arena, Dublin – Thursday February 20
  • Night 4: Westpoint Exeter – Thursday February 27
  • 5 at night– Brighton Center – Thursday March 6th
  • 6 at night– Motorpoint Arena; Nottingham – Thursday March 13
  • 7 at nightUtilita Arena, Cardiff – Thursday March 20th
  • 8 at nightUtilita Arena, Newcastle – Thursday March 27
  • 9 at nightUber Arena; Berlin – Thursday April 3rd
  • 10 at night: AO Arena, Manchester – Thursday April 10th
  • 11 at night: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam – Thursday April 17th
  • 12 at nightM&S Bank Arena; Liverpool – Thursday April 24th
  • Night 13Utilita Arena, Birmingham – Thursday May 1
  • Night 14– First Direct Arena; Leeds – Thursday May 8
  • 15 at nightP&J Live; Aberdeen – Thursday May 15
  • Night 16Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday May 22
  • Play-OffsO2, London – Thursday May 29





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