"Lacks that little bit of X Factor, that little bit of character and personality": Danny Noppert was omitted from Premier League for a reason moots darts analyst

The announcement of the Premier League Darts lineup sparks controversy every year. Barely had the dust from the World Darts Championship settled when the PDC presented the eight names who will contest the prestigious competition in 2026.

On the talkSPORT Darts channel, presenter Harry Durham and commentator Chris Murphy delved into the selections at length. Not so much about who made it, but especially about who missed out — and why that triggers debate every year. The Premier League Darts 2026 consists of the following eight participants: Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock, Jonny Clayton, and Gerwyn Price.

The first four spots traditionally raise little debate: the top four of the world rankings are automatically in. Murphy said, “We knew that Gary Anderson wasn’t going to be playing in it, even if he went on to win the World Championship. There wasn’t a big ‘will he make it?’ discussion like with Littler after his first world title.”

The most-discussed name was undoubtedly Stephen Bunting. The Englishman finished eighth in the 2025 Premier League and, aside from one nightly win, endured a difficult season. Yet he received another invitation.

Murphy explained, “I’ll be honest: I was surprised that he’s in. Not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because there were probably nine or ten players that deserved to be in and I thought he might be one that would miss out.” He added, “He found himself on the wrong end of some social media hate, which is wrong. I’m not saying that’s a reason not to put him in the Premier League, don’t get me wrong. And the abhorrent abuse regarding his son is horrible. But I just did wonder if that might feed into just taking him out of the firing line, giving him a bit of time off to rebuild and focus again.”

Durham offered a principled caveat: “I genuinely think if you finish eighth in a season, that’s you automatically out for the following year.”

Murphy pointed out that such a hard rule carries risks. “What happens if Luke Humphries finishes eighth one year? What happens if somehow Luke Littler finishes eighth one year and then they can’t put him in the Premier League for the following year due to their own rule?” In his view, the PDC constantly balances sporting fairness with protecting its biggest draws.

While Bunting was the most-discussed inclusion, Nathan Aspinall was the most notable omission. And that rankles, especially given his 2025 numbers: three European Tour wins, three televised ranked quarterfinals, and a final at the Players Championship Finals just before the World Championship.

Murphy said, “That’s just one of the reasons I would have given him the edge over Bunting, much better performance in the Premier League last year. Him and Gerwyn Price last year were the two players that people were sort of saying who maybe shouldn’t be in. And they both went on to have good campaigns. Usually the Players Championship Finals is recent enough to show that a player’s in good form. If you look at the major tournaments, Nathan Aspinall had a better year in 2025 than he had in 2024. What’s kind of baffling is how he got in in 2024 and then not in 2025.”

Durham noted that Aspinall’s early World Championship exit to Kevin Doets may have been decisive. “One of the games of the tournament,” he said. “Them two were just throwing absolutely everything at it, you know, 12, 180s to Kevin Doets’ 11. Aspinall three-time plus checkouts, Kevin Doets five. There was a bit of a dip towards the end, but if he would have gotten into the latter rounds, he definitely would have been in this competition.”

Murphy immediately nuanced that argument. “Josh Rock didn’t have the run that people expected him to have. Stephen Bunting went out the same stage as Nathan Aspinall. Gerwyn Price went out earlier than Nathan Aspinall. So again, when you’re comparing it, it’s really difficult to say what the deciding factor was. But if you were going to just look at the two years in isolation and said, which year did you get in and which year didn’t you get in? You’d say you get in this year and not last year.”

The choice of Josh Rock as a debutant seems a deliberate investment. The Northern Irishman impressed with his scoring power, his World Cup title, and especially his iconic World Matchplay semi-final against Littler.

Murphy sees a broader strategy. “Potentially, the PDC are very aware of how dominant Luke Littler was in the World Championship and how some of the conversation has been, ‘Well, have we got another Phil Taylor on our hands in terms of dominating the sport?’ Is that good for the sport? And I actually think some of the thinking might be putting Josh Rock in the Premier League might develop him to that next level where maybe he could be the one or one of the players that could put it up to Littler, could start to challenge Littler at long term. Rock himself said he thinks that’s the way darts will go, that it will be him and Littler battling it out for the major titles.”

Danny Noppert also missed out despite his strong 2025 and reaching four PDC major semifinals. Yet that was not enough to be selected according to Chris Murphy. He argued that in assembling the Premier League, entertainment value weighs heavily alongside performances.

“I’m not currently a big proponent of Danny Noppert for the Premier League,” Murphy said. “He played one of the best matches, probably the best match at the World Championship, against Justin Hood. Brilliant game, both players played their part. But I just think he still lacks that little bit of X Factor, that little bit of character and personality that you need to get people on the edges of the seats or off the seats altogether in arenas. Unfortunately, Danny Noppert is one of those players who’s going to have to do a lot more than some of the players to get in. That’s just the way it is with the Premier League. It’s always been that way. And personally, it doesn’t make me any less likely to watch with Danny Noppert not being in. Sorry, Danny.”

A recurring theme in the discussion was the Premier League’s impact on World Championship form. Only two Premier League participants from 2025 reached this year’s quarterfinals at Ally Pally, the two Lukes.

According to Murphy, players need to manage their calendars more critically. “I think players have to, considering what happened at the World Championship this year, where a lot of players who hadn’t played a lot of darts throughout the course of the year had brilliant runs, really emerged, unlikely candidates going deep in the tournament. Whereas from the Premier League, the eight players from last year, only two of them reached the quarterfinals. And they were the two Lukes, inarguably over the last 12 months, two years, the best two players in the world. So I think that was a really interesting conversation we had on the TalkSport coverage as well that did a lot of the Premier League players run out of steam by the time it came around to the World Championship.”

Premier League Darts 2026 features sixteen nights and a finals night at The O2 in London, with a £350,000 top prize. New on the calendar is Antwerp, alongside stops including Newcastle, Dublin, Rotterdam, and Berlin.

Murphy said, “I’ve been to a fair few of the venues, but I haven’t made it to one overseas yet. That’s probably on the bucket list for me because some of the atmospheres there look electrifying. And the players that are in it are really going to feel like rock stars for that sort of tour. I just hope they all enjoy it. I don’t want to see any one of those eight players moaning about it because I think what an opportunity for them. Go and embrace it. Go and enjoy it. There are plenty of people that are willing to step in and take their place if they don’t.”