"There’s a real risk of picking a player on a spell, and I was a classic example" - Mark Webster explains the dangers of having Premier League Darts callup too early

The selection for the Premier League Darts caused quite a stir in 2025. Getting the callup too early can actually prove detrimental to a player's career though, as experienced by Mark Webster.

Webster, world champion with the BDO in 2008, reached the semifinals of the PDC World Darts Championship in 2010 and 2011 and was invited to the Premier League Darts 2011. It wasn't a great experience for the Welshman though, 'Webby' finished dead last in the table with only two wins from his 14 matches played.

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“My memories of it obviously aren’t great,” he reflects in conversation with Reach’s 2025 darts preview publication. “I probably wasn’t ready to go in the Premier League, but I’d had a little spell [of good form]. There’s a real risk of picking a player on a spell, and I was a classic example of that. But if you get asked, you’re not going to say no. It’s a tough learning curve, and it’s probably when I realised that I wasn’t going to compete at the elite end of the game, although I still had a good career."

"Playing elite players week in, week out, I got found out. So, it was a bit early for me. If I’d been in it a year after – I’m not saying I’d have pulled up any trees – I wouldn’t have been as bad," he continues. "But I was terrible, and they couldn’t give me another go. They [the PDC] were looking out for me [by not picking him for 2012], not being detrimental. It was a great experience but a tough one.”

It ultimately remained just that one participation for Webster, who put a stop to his career in early 2020, when he was only 36 after a battle with the dreaded dartitis. “I don’t really [miss playing],” he concludes. “Sometimes, when you watch, there’s a little buzz. When I first stopped, I was a bit envious of the players when I was commentating here [Ally Pally]. But the last time I qualified was 2018. I’m used to it now, and I’m enjoying it [commentating]. As long as my bosses want me, I’ll keep doing it. It’s good being part of these events and it takes me around the world. It came along at the right time for me while my playing career was tailing off.”

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