Three Players Who Could be Selected for the 2019 Premier League Darts

Joe Cullen has enjoyed a profitable 2018 so far and he is beginning to make a name for himself on the tour. He reached the latter stages of the World Matchplay in July and admitted that he is determined to use it as a springboard. He described his progress at the Winter Gardens as a chance to 'kick on' and improve his record in events which are televised on Sky Sports. The Bradford-born 29-year-old still has a way to go but he's definitely on the right path and with four debutantes being included in the 2018 Premier League line-up, Cullen could be a left-field pick.
He's recorded victories over Adrian Lewis and Daryl Gurney in September and appears to be improving with every passing tournament. He's been particularly effective on his doubles in 2018 and hit 56% of them during a two-week period which straddled the end of August and the beginning of September. During his 6-4 success over Gurney, he had an 86% success rate on his doubles and put in a near-faultless display against a player who had held his own in the 2018 Premier League.

Veteran Ian White may not be the most fashionable player on the tour but he's been creeping back up the rankings and he could be an outside pick for the 2019 Premier League. He wrapped up his first-ever European Tour Title when beating Ricky Evans in the final of the Dutch Darts Championship at the beginning of September as he continued his profitable 2018. He has ten PDC titles to his name and is extremely experienced in this sphere. As a result of his success at the MECC Event Center in Maastricht, he has in the rankings, rising above Raymond van Barneveld in the process. The Dutchman did feature in the 2018 Premier League but has missed a number of tournaments this year; however, he has confirmed that he will feature in the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship in December, where he is rated as a 50/1 chance by the bookmaker . He was last successful in the tournament in 2007. Like Cullen, White is also confident that he is edging closer to securing a TV title and admits that he regularly looks at the updated rankings. He has a busy calendar with appearances at the World Grand Prix, European Championship, World Series of Darts and Players Championship Finals all lined-up before heading to Alexandra Palace at the end of the year. If White breaks into the top ten, he will have to be seriously considered for a place in the 2019 Premier League. He is playing with confidence and his chances of making the line-up should not be dismissed.

The demolition man was overlooked for a place in the 2018 Premier League but the PDC may opt to include the Norwich-born player this time around. Outside of the ten players selected for the competition, he acquired the most prize money last season, yet he was still overlooked. He is always hugely entertaining to watch and would certainly add some excitement to the 2019 staging of the tournament if he gets the nod. It's not been an easy year for the East Anglian who was left with a broken nose in April after being headbutted by a football thug but he on the tour despite his injury. He isn't short of confidence, however, and has previously told reporters that big games bring the best out of him. He has plenty of fans and as a regular on the circuit, he certainly deserves his chance next year. The 50-year-old reached the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship last year and repeated the trick in the World Matchplay. He typically starts games quickly and would be a colourful addition to the 2019 Premier League roster. The tournament gets underway in February and the line-up is likely to be unveiled at the beginning of 2019. After last season's shake-up, further surprises could be in the offing. Joe Cullen, Ian White and Darren Webster have all done enough in the last twelve months to suggest that they could make an impact in the Premier League. With Gerwyn Price, Mensur Suljovic and Simon Whitlock picking up less than twenty points between them in 2018, places are surely up for grabs as the PDC look to make the tournament even more competitive this time around.