COLUMN: Gian van Veen deserves a spot in the Premier League after European Championship triumph

Gian van Veen finally won his first major title at the PDC last weekend at the European Championship. The Dutchman, who has been playing excellently for months, eliminated Michael van Gerwen, among others, to deal with the current No. 1 in the world, Luke Humphries, in a blood-curdling final with 11-10.

This automatically reignited the Premier League discussion. Van Veen was regularly mentioned prior to the tournament as a possible outsider for the prestigious invitational tournament, but because of his title in Dortmund, the chance of an invitation suddenly seems a lot more realistic. And as far as we are concerned, he has secured his spot after last weekend.

Van Veen recently managed to enter the top-16 of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time in his career, and prior to the European Darts Championship he was ranked 15th. The Dutchman had good chances of moving up after his victory in the first round anyway, as several players above him went down early in Dortmund. Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, Damon Heta, Josh Rock and Rob Cross were all eliminated in the first round.

So 'The Giant' eventually managed to win the tournament, which moved him up eight spots and currently puts him in 7th place on the Order of Merit. This makes his chances of participating in the Premier League even greater, especially if he can hold this position in the coming major tournaments. The PDC mainly looks at the names that are high on the ranking, and in addition, certain players who do well with the public but are slightly lower on the ranking are sometimes invited.

Because Van Veen has now firmly entrenched himself in the top-10, and with good results at the upcoming the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and, of course, the Darts World Cup could possibly move up two, three more spots, it seems increasingly likely that he can expect an invitation to the Premier League.

Still, there are not many spots left to fill if you look at the names at the top of the Order of Merit. In total, the Premier League Darts consists of eight participants, all of whom thus receive an invitation from the PDC. Names like Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting, who are firmly in the top 4, seem almost certain of an invitation to the tournament. Also, Josh Rock, although ninth in the rankings, is a certainty for next year as far as we are concerned. This means there are only three spots left to be awarded.

It is common knowledge that the PDC likes to choose names that provide spectacle and are well-liked by the fans, which is why Nathan Aspinall also received an invitation last year despite his lower spot on the Order of Merit. At the time of writing, however, 'The Asp' is at spot 20 on the ranking, so it seems unlikely that he will be asked again this year.

James Wade is having a great year and is currently back at No. 5 on the Order of Merit. As far as we are concerned, he deserves an invitation, but does the PDC think the same? Wade is quite the controversial type and is not afraid to be critical of the PDC. Because of this, it remains to be seen whether they will ask him, but if you look at his performance over the past year and his position in the rankings, you really can't ignore him. That would already put us at six participants.

Then you have Gerwyn Price. The Welshman has actually been in good form for months, although that is not entirely reflected in his place on the Order of Merit. At the time of writing, 'The Iceman' occupies 13th place, although with one good tournament he could easily move back into the top-10. Knowing that the PDC has a soft spot for the likes of Price, who is known for his loud cries after a 180 or a good finish, we thought there was a pretty good chance that he too will 'just' get an invitation.

So that leaves only one spot to be given away, and we think it will go to Gian van Veen after his title at the European Darts Championship. If you look at all the other candidates you come up with names like Jonny Clayton, Rob Cross, Danny Noppert or Chris Dobey. With his current title in his pocket, the fact that he is an emerging young talent and is well-liked by the public we are guessing that Van Veen currently has an edge over these names.

Noppert is having an excellent year, but is not known as a "character. Also from Dobey, who was active in the Premier League last year, you don't get much energy as an opponent. In addition, he is also not very outspoken and very introverted when on stage. Cross is simply not in the best period of his career, making him not even a contender as far as we are concerned. Only Clayton seems to have a real chance of winning a spot next to Van Veen, but he will have to win another tournament or probably reach at least the semifinals at the World Darts Championship.

When you take everything into consideration and look at Van Veen's current position on the PDC Order of Merit, the fact that he has his first major title in and the fact that the PDC loves young emerging talents like the Dutchman, there is no doubt that 'The Giant' is a serious contender to play in the Premier League Darts in 2026.

In addition, with three major tournaments coming up in the most important period of the year, he has even more chances to play himself into the spotlight and maybe move up a few spots in the rankings. Should Van Veen also win the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals or even the World Championship, the PDC simply cannot ignore him. But as far as we are concerned, after his European Championship victory in Dortmund, it is already certain: Gian van Veen deserves a spot in the 2026 Premier League Darts. What do you guys think?