Luke Humphries calls for Premier League format change: “Up it to a few more players. It is so hard to pick”

Luke Humphries believes the Premier League Darts should expand in the future. According to the world number two, the field is now so strong and deep that the current format with eight players no longer fully reflects the sport.

The Englishman sees the standard rising year on year and the competition at the top of the darts world becoming increasingly fierce. That is precisely why he argues for an expanded field. Humphries calls the current edition of the Premier League the strongest he has experienced so far. In particular, the arrival of new names has, in his view, had an immediate impact on the level of the competition.

“I think it’s the best. The additions of Gian [van Veen] and Josh [Rock], two really heavy scorers, are going to make it exciting for me," says Humphries. “It is going to be challenging for us all because when you have heavy scorers, they can take the game away from you very quickly."

Humphries also says the established names make for an exceptionally strong field. “The additions of Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, who is one of the best double hitters in the world, and Stephen Bunting make it a great lineup. ”

Precisely because of that growing quality, Humphries finds it logical that the Premier League will have more participants in time. He believes it is becoming increasingly difficult to select just eight players.

“It’s a great lineup of players. The way the standard is going, I would be adamant to up it to a few more players because it is so hard to pick," says the former world champion.

He points to players who, in his view, would have been just as deserving. “Danny [Noppert], James [Wade] and Nathan [Aspinall] are all players who could have been in it."

With so much quality, Humphries expects the dominance of a few players to be less pronounced than in previous years. He believes wins will be shared among more players.

“It’s going to be tough and I don’t think you guys will see me or Luke winning nights all the time," adds 'Cool Hand Luke'. “I think you will see it shared out a lot more this year.”

Humphries is currently sixth in the table, having won one of his first three matches. The Premier League moves on to Glasgow this week, where he faces Josh Rock.