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Preview Premier League Darts 2024: Can teen sensation Littler hold his own for weeks against established elite?
PDCThursday, 01 February 2024 at 10:38
We are gearing up for the 2024 Premier League Darts. The twentieth edition of the world's best darts competition promises to be the most interesting edition in years.
That's really only because of the addition of Luke Littler to the lineup. Millions of darts fans will be curious to see if that 17-year-old kid is going to hold his own against the absolute world's best. The first omens are positive, but will 'The Nuke' be able to hold his own for sixteen weeks or will the Premier League put a strain on his body? In addition to Littler, seven other players are of course competing. Darts News introduces the eight participants to you...
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Luke Littler
We had just revealed the first participant. Two months ago no one at all thought about a possible Premier League entry for the English teenage sensation, but after his sensational performance at the World Darts Championship, the PDC could not ignore him anymore.
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After his lost World final, Littler also reached the final at the World Series tournaments in Bahrain and Den Bosch. In both finals he faced Michael van Gerwen and 'The Nuke' managed to beat the Dutchman at the Bahrain Darts Masters.
At seventeen, Littler is by far the youngest-ever participant in Premier League Darts. What kind of impression will those packed arenas with thousands of fans make on him? At the World Darts Championship, he certainly showed that he throws his darts at the dartboard imperturbably under all circumstances.
Luke Humphries
Many had expected him to be in the Premier League Darts last year, but much to their surprise, Luke Humphries was left out of the lineup by the PDC at the time. The league felt the time was not yet right for "Cool Hand Luke”.
Rightly or not, at least the decision worked out excellently. The 28-year-old broke out this past Autumn, capturing no fewer than four major titles including the world title.
It will be Humphries' first time playing a full season in the Premier League, yet he already got a taste of the big time twice. Indeed, during the 2019 and 2020 editions, he got to make an appearance as a contender/challenger.
In 2019, he held Gerwyn Price to a draw, while Humphries was able to win 7-5 over Gary Anderson a year later. As a result, "Cool Hand Luke" became the only contender/challenger to win a match during this two-year experiment.
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is already there for the twelfth time in the Premier League Darts. With that he equals James Wade in terms of the number of participations. Only Raymond van Barneveld (14x) and Phil Taylor (13x) participated more often in this prestigious darts competition.
Back in 2013, Van Gerwen won his first Premier League Darts title and then from 2016 to 2019 he was the best four times in a row. The COVID editions in 2020 and 2021 were the only two Premier League years in which Van Gerwen failed to reach the final.
In 2022, however, Van Gerwen got to lift the trophy again, and last year the Vlijmen native also got to collect the biggest check again. From 2013 to 2019, by the way, Van Gerwen also consistently finished at the top of the standings in the regular competition. In recent years, Van Gerwen did perform somewhat less well during the league stage. After his series came to an end in 2020, he only managed to win the league stage in 2021.
Michael Smith
Michael Smith has received an invitation to Premier League Darts for the seventh time in his career. As number three in the world rankings and outgoing world champion, he obviously belongs among the best eight darters in the world.
On his debut in 2016, "Bullyboy" finished last in the league. After a year of watching, Smith was called up again in 2018 and then he made it to the final. Smith then encountered an unleashed Michael van Gerwen.
In subsequent years, Smith only managed to make the playoffs in 2023 but again Van Gerwen thwarted him then.
Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall will prepare for his fourth full participation in the Premier League Darts. 'The Asp' more or less already secured his participation in the Premier League Darts in July by surprisingly winning the World Matchplay.
Then, Aspinall was also in the final of the World Series Finals and ended the year as number four in the world. But some doubts are there about his form and throwing action. Despite that though, he is one of the most popular players on tour and makes commercial sense to be involved.
Looking back at Aspinall's previous participations in the Premier League Darts, we can conclude that the darter from Stockport never falters. In 2020 he was the losing finalist and in 2021 Aspinall made it to the semifinals. After missing the 2022 edition, Aspinall finished a neat fifth in 2023.
Gerwyn Price
After being joined for several years by good friend Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price is the only Welshman in Premier League Darts this year. With the first round of play in Cardiff, the season begins immediately with a homecoming for 'The Iceman'.
In 2021, the season start in Cardiff still ended in drama for Price as he had to withdraw due to Covid and be replaced by James Wade. Last year, to the delight of his fans, the former world champion did manage to take the weekly title in Cardiff.
In 2023 Price also managed to win the regular competition, making it to the playoffs for the first time in his career. He did lose the final to Michael van Gerwen. The Premier League Darts is a good opportunity for Price to add another major trophy to his trophy cabinet. His last major title dates back to September 2022, and that's far too long ago for someone as good as Price.
Rob Cross
Rob Cross was eager to let the 2023 edition pass him by but after a strong season, 'Voltage' did want to participate in the Premier League Darts again until 2024.
Cross won two World Series titles, one Euro Tour title and a Players Championship tournament in 2023. In addition, he was in the final of the Masters and the Grand Slam of Darts. These achievements have allowed him to climb back up to the sixth position on the PDC Order of Merit.
From 2018 through 2021, Cross was also a presence in the Premier League Darts. On his debut in 2018, he became a semifinalist and even runner-up a year later. After that, Cross finished ninth in the league twice.
Peter Wright
Although Peter Wright won the European Darts Championship in 2023, the wildcard seems to have been given to 'Snakebite' primarily on the basis of his status as an entertainer.
Apart from his European Championship title, Wright had a very bad year. In the other major tournaments, the Scot only managed to reach the last eight at the World Grand Prix and then the quarterfinals were the end of the line. The World Darts Championship ended in a deception with a hopeless elimination in the second round. In his current form, Wright has little to look for in the Premier League Darts and it is to be hoped that this participation does not provide the next push in his downward spiral;
Wright and the Premier League have not proved to be a good marriage anyway. The current world number eight has competed 10 times before and made it to the playoffs only twice. Especially the 2017 edition became an embarrassing one for Wright. Then he missed six match darts to take the tournament to his name.
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