"Three Dutchmen in the Premier League? Really not that crazy" - Van Veen & Van der Voort predict record breaking 2026 lineup

For years, Michael van Gerwen was the only Dutchman who seemed guaranteed a Premier League Darts spot season after season. But if you ask an increasing number of pundits — and the players themselves — that could change in 2026.

Many now believe both Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen have a very real shot at making their debuts. Van Veen joined the Darts Draait Door podcast to discuss the possibility — and it produced a few interesting takeaways.

The episode opens with host Damian Vlottes posing the question: does Danny Noppert deserve a Premier League place? Alongside Van Veen sits former top pro and analyst Vincent van der Voort, who doesn’t hesitate for a second.

“I’m part of the campaign team,” Van der Voort jokes — despite having been critical of Noppert’s form earlier in the season. But now he’s clear: Noppert has proved himself more than enough and belongs among the eight players who should be lighting up the stage next year.

Van Veen agrees. He sees Noppert as a consistent, dangerous player who has been competing at the top level for a long time. “Yeah, agreed,” he replies without hesitation.

Attention then turns to Van Veen himself. The 23-year-old Dutchman has enjoyed a standout year, climbing rapidly up the world rankings and making deep runs on multiple TV stages. Even so, he finds it difficult to say he personally deserves a Premier League spot.

“Yeah… tricky, isn’t it,” he answers modestly. But Van der Voort isn’t having that, and pushes ‘The Giant’ firmly:

“Go on then — name enough players who’ve done better than you?”

Backed into a corner, Van Veen eventually concedes. Slightly sheepish, but clear enough: “Pff… agreed.”

It isn’t just the Dutchmen being mentioned. Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock also receives high praise on the podcast. Both Van Veen and Van der Voort believe Rock fully deserves a Premier League Darts place in 2026. But that would inevitably mean some established names miss out.

Van der Voort is refreshingly blunt about that. He argues it’s healthy for the Premier League to shake things up.

“In recent years we’ve only had one or two changes. It’d be good to have some new players again,” the 49-year-old says.

If the PDC were to pick Noppert, Van Veen and Rock, it would mean three debutants in one season — something that has been rare in the league’s history. But Van der Voort believes it would give the competition a huge boost.

Whether these dream scenarios become reality depends heavily on the upcoming World Championship. In darts, the rule has been the same for years: produce a big run at Ally Pally, and your Premier League chances shoot up.

“Will they do it? It’ll depend massively on the Worlds. How far you go there,” says Van der Voort. “But at the moment… yeah, it’d be great.”

It would make the 2026 darts season particularly special: three Dutch players in the Premier League at the same time. Alongside Van Gerwen — a nailed-on pick for years — both Noppert and Van Veen could be joining him. And Van Veen doesn’t think that idea is far-fetched at all.

“There are three of us in the top eight right now,” he points out. “So if you look at it like that, it’s really not that crazy.”

In short: the talent is there, the results are there, and the calls for fresh faces are getting louder. The next few months — with the PDC World Darts Championship as the ultimate decider — will determine whether 2026 becomes the year a new generation properly breaks through into the Premier League Darts.