Danny Noppert as a reserve in the Premier League Darts? "If someone pulls out, we will pull you in and you might get four weeks or nothing"

According to former professional darter Matthew Edgar, the PDC missed a trick by not keeping a reserve player on standby for this season’s Premier League Darts. The issue arose in Glasgow, where Michael van Gerwen had to withdraw due to illness on Night 3. As a result, Luke Littler received a free pass to the semi-finals without having to throw a dart.

Edgar believes such a situation could have been easily avoided. In his view, the organizers should have kept a ninth player on standby so the line-up remains complete on every league night.

The former Tour Card holder points to past precedents. “The Premier League in Covid times, there was a ninth player in Milton Keynes ready should anyone fail their test.

“It happened down in the World Championships as well — there were reserve players there just in case."

According to Edgar, there is usually always a next player in the pecking order, but once the Premier League starts, that principle seems to vanish.

“There is always a next in line, but I think once the Premier League starts that is always ignored. It is 16 weeks or nothing. I’m sure at the start of the campaign when they were saying, ‘Is it Stephen Bunting or Danny Noppert?’

That is precisely why the Dutchman would have been a logical standby candidate in his eyes. “If they had told Danny Noppert: “If they told Danny Noppert, ‘You are number nine on the list, but if there is ever a week, just be ready.’ Because if someone pulls out, we will pull you in and you might get four weeks or nothing. That would have been a good option."

Edgar adds that such a setup would also have offered a future benefit. "Yes, they have given him World Series events, but I think that would have blooded him into what the Premier League is to see if he is ready for that campaign in the future.”