Too few fresh faces: Why darts in 2025 has become a closed shop

The 2025 darts season has revealed an eye-catching pattern — the big stages are more familiar than ever. Newcomers have become a rare sight, with the same names continuing to dominate the TV tournaments that define the sport.

Across the three most recent televised ranking events — the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and European Championship — there have been just eight debutants in total. That’s an historically low figure, and it says plenty about the current balance of power in professional darts. The established elite are holding firm, leaving very few openings for anyone looking to break through.

At the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool, only Wessel Nijman and Cameron Menzies made their first appearances. Two debutants — the second-lowest total in Matchplay history.

The tournament’s exclusivity has always been part of its charm, but this year’s field highlighted just how difficult it’s become to climb into that top-tier group.

If the Matchplay hinted at a trend, the World Grand Prix confirmed it. Only Nijman and Niko Springer made their debuts in Leicester — a record-low two new faces. Both were quickly dispatched in round one, unable to make much headway in the event’s famously awkward double-in, double-out format.

The European Championship offered a bit more variation with four debutants: Nijman, Springer, Menzies and Ryan Joyce. Yet even that modest number marked the third-lowest total in tournament history.

Normally, the Euro Tour system provides a route for fresh talent to reach the televised stage, but even that conveyor belt has slowed in 2025. The familiar names continue to collect titles and ranking money, leaving the next generation waiting in line.

It raises an interesting question — is this level of stability good for darts, or is it a warning sign? On one side, consistency at the top shows just how high the bar has become. Players like Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith have built a standard that’s brutally hard to match.

But the lack of fresh blood could also signal a logjam in development. For fans and younger players hoping to see new stories unfold on the big stage, 2025 has been a frustrating year.

Whether this pattern continues into the Players Championship Finals and ultimately the World Darts Championship remains to be seen. What’s clear, though, is that the old guard aren’t budging.

For now, 2025 will be remembered as the year darts’ top tier closed ranks — a season where the same faces kept returning to the oche under the bright lights, and the new generation could only look on, waiting for their shot.