DartsNews Podcast | “If the best players aren’t doing the bread-and-butter events, what does that say about the system?” – ProTour absences under the spotlight

The balance between workload management and competitive obligation has become one of the defining debates of modern darts, and it was a central theme of the opening episode of the DartsNews Podcast. With the 2026 season already placing heavy demands on the sport’s elite, early absences from the Players Championship circuit have once again raised questions about what role the ProTour now plays for the game’s biggest names.

Five of the eight players selected for the 2026 Premier League chose not to contest the opening Players Championship double header, a detail that framed the wider discussion between co hosts Kieran Wood and Nicolas Gayer. Rather than focusing on individual results from Players Championship 1 and 2, the conversation quickly widened to the bigger picture of selectivity, scheduling, and system design.

“From their perspective, I get it,” Wood said. “The calendar is busier than ever. Lots of travel, Premier League every week in different cities, World Series, Euro Tours… I understand it.”

That understanding, however, was paired with clear unease. “I’m not sure it’s great for the PDC though,” he added. “If the best players in the world aren’t doing the bread-and-butter ranking events, what does that say about the system?”

The concern is not hypothetical. Recent seasons have already shown that selective scheduling can come with tangible consequences, even for the sport’s most established figures.

Luke Littler was discussed as a particularly striking example. The reigning world champion only narrowly qualified for the 2025 Players Championship Finals before going on to win the title in Minehead. With no automatic qualification for defending champions, his decision to skip at least the first four Players Championship events of 2026 materially reduces his margin for error.

As highlighted during the podcast, the issue is not whether Littler could qualify if required. “He’ll probably still qualify easily,” Gayer noted, “but that’s not the point.” The broader question is whether qualification for Minehead, and by extension the ProTour itself, is being treated as a priority at all.

At the time of recording, that discussion was framed against comments suggesting Littler would likely limit his Players Championship appearances to the Wigan based events. Since then, however, the picture has shifted further. The entry lists for Players Championship 3 and 4 have confirmed that Littler will also skip the Wigan double header, extending his ProTour absence into the opening four events of the season and underlining just how selective his 2026 schedule is shaping up to be.

A similar warning exists in the recent experience of Michael van Gerwen. Despite his status as one of the dominant players of the modern era, Van Gerwen failed to qualify for the 2025 Players Championship Finals, a miss influenced in part by a reduced ProTour schedule. His absence served as a reminder that qualification is not guaranteed, even for the biggest name in the sport.

Van Gerwen did return for Players Championship 1 and 2 in early 2026 with respectable runs, yet his confirmed absence from the Wigan based Players Championship 3 and 4 reinforced the point raised during the discussion: even players who have already felt the consequences of selectivity are still managing their calendars carefully.

“This is the big question,” Gayer said. “Personally, I love the Players Championship Tour. It might be my favourite tour in darts. As a fan, it widens the field and makes surprises more possible. Underdog stories feel more likely.”

That affection for the ProTour, however, came with a clear caveat. “It can’t be the goal for the PDC to have Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen skipping lots of these,” he added. Gayer also referenced comments made late last season suggesting that some players were openly considering skipping large portions of the Players Championship circuit in order to reduce their workload, even at the cost of missing major qualification opportunities.

Not all of the sport’s biggest names are stepping away from the ProTour. Gerwyn Price was discussed as a clear counter example. The Welshman played almost the full Players Championship programme in 2025, finished top of the Order of Merit, and carried that commitment into 2026 by reaching the final of Players Championship 2.

His approach illustrates that the system still functions as intended for players who choose to prioritise it, while also sharpening the contrast with those who are increasingly willing to trade ranking opportunities for rest, travel reduction, or focus on televised events.

As the DartsNews Podcast discussion made clear, the concern is not about individual decisions in isolation. When a majority of the Premier League field steps away from the ProTour at the very start of the season, the question shifts from justification to implication. What does that collective absence say about the structure beneath the sport’s biggest stages, and how sustainable is that balance long term?

The full debate, including further discussion on the calendar, player priorities, and the evolving role of the ProTour, is available now in episode one of the DartsNews Podcast.