Preview Premier League Darts 2026 Night 1: World Darts Championship rematch between Littler and Van Veen headlines the start of a new campaign

The Premier League Darts 2026 gets underway tonight at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle. It is the first of sixteen nights in total on which the players will try to qualify for the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena. The opening night already serves up several compelling clashes.

As always, there was debate among fans and analysts about the selection for the Premier League Darts, but in the end Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock, and Gerwyn Price were chosen for this darts roadshow across several European countries.

Each week is played in a tournament format from the quarterfinals through to the final. Every match is best-of-11 sets. Only during the play-offs are there longer matches.

Luke Humphries starts the tournament as defending champion, having beaten Luke Littler 11-8 in last year’s final. Below is a preview of the four quarterfinals on the opening night.

The night in Newcastle kicks off with Josh Rock against Jonny Clayton. Rock makes his Premier League Darts debut this year. The 24-year-old Northern Irishman won the World Cup of Darts last year alongside Daryl Gurney, but at the majors he regularly fell short of expectations. Nevertheless, he has climbed to eighth in the world rankings.

In his opener he faces a former Premier League Darts champion in Jonny Clayton. “The Ferret” triumphed in 2021, beating José de Sousa 11-5 in the final. His last major title also dates from that same year, yet Clayton has climbed back to fifth in the world after a very steady season. Clayton and Rock have met eleven times before, with Rock leading the head-to-head 6-5.

Next up, Luke Littler and Gian van Veen take to the stage at the Utilita Arena for a rematch of their recent World Championship final. Littler prevailed 7-1 at Alexandra Palace to claim his second consecutive world title. “The Nuke” has been anything but idle since. At the season opener in Bahrain, his 21-match winning streak at TV events ended against Gerwyn Price. A few days later he started a new run by winning the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters. Last week he also won the Winmau World Masters, meaning he has now won nine TV matches in a row. It is clear the 19-year-old Englishman starts the Premier League Darts 2026 as a heavy favorite.

Van Veen also made a strong start to the new season. He reached the final at the Bahrain Darts Masters, where only Michael van Gerwen could stop him. At the recent Winmau World Masters he lost 5-0 in the semifinals to Humphries. Van Veen therefore looks more than ready for a successful Premier League Darts debut.

In the penultimate quarterfinal, Luke Humphries faces Gerwyn Price. “Cool Hand Luke” came very close to victory at the Winmau World Masters last week, but ultimately lost the final to Littler by the narrowest of margins. Humphries begins as defending champion at the Winmau World Masters, the only title he currently still holds.

He meets a player in form in Price, who underlined that last week at the Winmau World Masters with some impressive displays. “The Iceman” even missed a match dart in the semifinals to beat Littler. Price is starting to dream of another major title, with his last dating back to 2022.

The final quarterfinal pits Stephen Bunting against Michael van Gerwen. If there was one player whose Premier League Darts selection sparked debate, it was Bunting. The 40-year-old Englishman certainly performed reasonably last year, but at the majors he often went out early. Many fans and analysts therefore found it rather illogical that Bunting made the final eight. It is up to “The Bullet” to prove those people wrong in the coming weeks. His display at the recent Winmau World Masters did little to inspire confidence, as he suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Danny Noppert in the second round.

Van Gerwen, by contrast, started the new season superbly with victory at the Bahrain Darts Masters and a runner-up finish at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters. He then headed to the Winmau World Masters full of confidence, but exited immediately in the opening round to Damon Heta. His good friend Vincent van der Voort revealed afterwards that Van Gerwen had received bad news in his private life just before the start. Can he put those worries aside and make a strong start to the Premier League Darts 2026?