Premier League Darts 2026: Calendar, Prize Money, Schedule, Format, Field, TV Guide and Predictions

The Premier League Darts will take place between February 5 and May 28, with 17 nights of action overall from Newcastle to London and all in between. The top eight players, both the top four and those otherwise invited, will be given the chance to strut their stuff on the stage every Thursday night.

Leading the way is Luke Humphries, the defending champion as well as two-time World Champion Luke Littler. Seven time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen is also involved as is World finalist Gian van Veen.

As ever, the Premier League Darts will take in a multitude of different cities in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as further afield. New for 2026, Antwerp will be on the calendar with Exeter, which is the usual stop before the UK Open, replaced by Cardiff.

The Antwerp stop in Night Two taking its place. As ever, the action will also head to Berlin and Rotterdam. Albeit only the latter has any local representation with no Belgians or Germans in the line-up.

The field sees Luke Humphries return as defending champion, while Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting and Gerwyn Price return from last year. Jonny Clayton, a former champion in this event, returns, while Josh Rock and Gian van Veen make their debut in the confirmed line-up.

The format sees the eight selected players compete in a nightly tournament with a winner crowned in every venue over the night. PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter has said before that this is something the fans prefer over the old format of a league table based on fixtures, like it is in football.

The current format sees five points awarded to the winner of each night, three points to the runner-up, and two points to the losing semi-finalist. Losing Quarter-Finalists score no points. This goes onto a league table with the top four players qualifying after 16 weeks for The O2.

In the UK, the Premier League Darts will be shown on Sky Sports, albeit the full allocation is not yet clear as to how the channels will show it due to other sports, such as football perhaps taking the spot on Sky Sports Main Event.

In the US and Australia, it is likely to be shown on Peacock in the States, and Stan Sport and Fox in Australia, with PDCTV otherwise for those territories. In Germany, DAZN/Sport1 will broadcast the event, while in the Netherlands, it will be Viaplay.

The full broadcast information will be confirmed here for the UK and other territories nearer the tournament.

The champion will scoop £350,000, while the runner-up will earn £170,000. For semi-finalists in the play-offs, the prize is £110,000. For a nightly win overall, the prize is £10,000. While even finishing seventh gleams £80,000, so it is very much in the interest of players to qualify. However, the Premier League is unranked, so none of this goes towards the main Order of Merit.

Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com sees it very different to others with a few resurgent displays.

Luke Littler will go out as the outstanding favourite, but I don't see him being crowned as champion. I see it as being one of two players with a point to prove. Michael van Gerwen has already shown this year that he is in title form, and he has won this tournament countless times. It would be so MVG for him to return to the major winning circle by winning this.

Then Gerwyn Price, who has been on the cusp of a major for a long time and in my view could also figure well here if his head doesn't fall off from travelling every week. Not writing off Littler and Humphries, but I think giving them the title already is reckless.

*** Michael van Gerwen

** Gerwyn Price, Luke Littler

* Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen

Oliver Ried for DartsNews.DE sees Luke Littler as the champion.

With the Premier League of Darts, Thursday nights are firmly booked for every darts fan. The world’s best players are not only fighting for the Premier League title, but also for £350,000 in prize money.

First of all, I believe that Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Gian van Veen will reach the play-offs. Most likely, the two Lukes will once again pull clear at the top of the table, while Price, van Veen, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock and Michael van Gerwen battle it out for the remaining play-off spots. I also see little chance for Stephen Bunting to reach the play-offs again in his third Premier League appearance.

In the play-offs, I expect the Lukes to meet in the final for the third year in a row. Littler and Humphries simply look the most consistent over such a long period. The final should once again be of the highest quality, and in the end, the Premier League title will go to Luke Littler, who will get his revenge for last year’s final defeat.

For Gian van Veen, the key question is whether he can maintain this level over such a long stretch. If he can, he will be one of the main play-off contenders. However, the Premier League often proves dangerous for debutants, who can easily struggle. The same applies to Josh Rock. Towards the end of 2025, he repeatedly had problems with the doubles. If he can sort those out, he will be a play-off candidate. Jonny Clayton knows the Premier League inside out by now. Although the Welshman returns after two years away, he did reach the play-offs in 2023. This year, in my view, he will just miss out. A crucial year also lies ahead for Michael van Gerwen. He has a lot of prize money to defend and wants to show in 2026 that he is fully competitive again. In 2025, he lacked consistency. That should gradually return, but once again, it will probably not be enough in the end. Gerwyn Price in the Premier League is always box office. You know what you get: a fired-up, high-quality Price, who will qualify for the play-offs for the second year in a row.

***Luke Littler

**Luke Humphries

*Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price

Lucas Michael, Editor for DartsNews.com, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, in his words picks Luke Littler.

With 17 weeks of action-packed darts with eight of the best players in the world: the Premier League is back! Another blockbuster campaign is set to commence, with the usual suspects targeting the coveted prize.

Only four of the eight players will make it to finals night, and it is tough to split the field in half. A few names stand out for me in not making the distance. One of these is 7-time champion Michael van Gerwen, who is way too inconsistent on the oche. Stephen Bunting was a contentious pick this year, and following last year’s disastrous outing, I expect similar results. I also predict Jonny Clayton to be here or thereabouts, but the 2021 Premier League champion to not quite make it.

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are shoe-ins for me on night 17. It is just a matter of picking two from Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price and Josh Rock. It is a flip of a coin between them, but I am just going to say that the 2023 finalist Price will come perilously close to the top four but ultimately miss out by a slim margin.

That leaves us with our final four raring to go for finals night. The last two final showdowns have seen the two Lukes go head-to-head, both debutants in 2024 before repeating the fate in 2025, sharing the prizes between each other. However, I am going to mix it up and say Rock will cause a surprise and face off against Littler in the final, with Humphries and van Veen falling at the semi-final stage.

While darts fans may be sounding like a broken record predicting the two-time world champion to win the major events, he has proven it time and time again his capabilities on the stage, in whatever format. With it being extended, I can see Littler running away with it for a second Premier League triumph.

*** Luke Littler

** Josh Rock

* Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen

Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com also predicts Luke Littler.

The Premier League promises another 17 weeks of darts spectacle. However, to be honest, I expect that only two of the four play-off spots are up for grabs. In my opinion, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are both already certain of those play-offs. But which two players will join them?

As far as I'm concerned, it will be between three or four players, depending on how Van Veen and Rock handle the pressure on their debut. On paper, Van Veen should be able to make the play-offs, but everything is new to him, and we have often seen players buckle under that pressure. Still, I expect him to make it, given that he has already proven on several occasions that he can handle the pressure.

I don't think the other debutant, Josh Rock, will make it. The Northern Irishman has the potential to make the play-offs, but I think he will be too inconsistent and just miss out.

That's why I think the last spot will go to Gerwyn Price or Michael van Gerwen, with 'The Iceman' just edging it out and the Dutchman finishing fifth. Unfortunately, I think it will be another disappointing Premier League for Bunting, and I also see Clayton finishing in the bottom two this year.

***Luke Littler

**Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen

*Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock

Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE also picks The Nuke to seal glory in May.

The Premier League, the PDC’s elite competition and travelling darts roadshow, is back once again. And although the much-debated format remains unchanged, this year’s weekly circus comes with a breath of fresh air. Young talents such as Gian van Veen and Josh Rock will be chasing Premier League points for the very first time, while former champion and fan favourite Jonny Clayton makes his long-awaited return.

In the end, one central question arises: who will be leading the race for the coveted play-off tickets after 16 matchdays? In my opinion, two players in particular are set to endure a tough campaign: Stephen Bunting and Michael van Gerwen.

Stephen Bunting, in my view, did not do enough over the past year to fully justify a Premier League nomination on sporting merit. If The Bullet performs over the upcoming 16 weeks in a similar fashion to his recent displays at the World Championship, the Grand Slam, or the World Grand Prix, the brutal Premier League format could once again have a damaging impact on the Englishman’s career—much like it did at an earlier stage of his journey.

Michael van Gerwen, on the other hand, is a far more complex case. As he proved once again in Bahrain, it is never wise to write off the three-time world champion. Nevertheless, I believe that the weekly Premier League format does not suit the Dutchman in his current state. Van Gerwen is presently lacking consistency in his performances. While he is certainly capable of producing isolated moments of brilliance, I do not see him competing with the very top of the sport over the course of 16 consecutive weeks.

That very top, in my opinion, will consist of two familiar faces: Luke Littler and Luke Humphries—the undisputed elite of the sport. I also expect Gian van Veen to continue his outstanding development and secure a play-off spot on his Premier League debut. The final ticket to Finals Night, I believe, will be claimed by The Ferret Jonny Clayton. Clayton knows exactly what it takes to win an entire Premier League campaign. Moreover, the Welshman recently spoke about just how much he loves the Premier League, and I am convinced he will be motivated to the very core, once again converting his impeccable timing into crucial victories and points.

This leaves one major question unanswered: who will lift the trophy? The answer is a predictable one—Luke Littler. The Nuke has impressively demonstrated over the past two years that, on the sport’s biggest stages, no one can match him. And after falling short in last year’s final, I strongly believe he will reclaim the Premier League crown this time around.

***Luke Littler

**Gian van Veen, Luke Humphries

* Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock, Gerwyn Price