“Watch this space...” - PDC boss Matt Porter teases long-debated refresh to Premier League Darts format

PDC chief executive Matt Porter has hinted that changes to the Premier League Darts format could be considered, admitting the organisation does not want the weekly roadshow to become “repetitive” or “boring”.

The 2026 campaign reaches its conclusion at the O2 Arena tonight, where Luke Littler, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries and Gerwyn Price will battle for the title after 16 regular league nights across the UK, Ireland and Europe.

The current format has again delivered packed arenas, major storylines and a final four that Porter believes fully deserve their place in London. But with debate around the weekly knockout structure continuing among fans, broadcasters and pundits, the PDC boss left the door open to future changes.

“Yeah, we discuss it all the time,” Porter told Sky Sports when asked about possible format tweaks. “This format has been in place for a number of years now. We don’t want it to get repetitive. We don’t want it to get boring.”

The Premier League has used the nightly mini-tournament format since 2022, with eight players competing across 16 league nights before the top four progress to Finals Night.

It has created clear weekly winners and regular high-stakes matches, but it has also led to recurring debates over variety, repeated fixtures and whether the competition should be refreshed.

Porter acknowledged the difficulty of pleasing both the live audience and regular TV viewers. “People look at it through different eyes,” he explained. “If you come to an arena once, you see it once. You want to see a winner on the night. You want to see that drama until the very last dart thrown."

“If you watch it every week on TV, some people want to see the best players playing each other every week. Others want to see a little bit of variety," he adds. “You’re never going to pick something that pleases everyone, but we always look at what we can do. So watch this space.”

That final line will naturally fuel fresh discussion over whether the PDC could alter the Premier League in future seasons, especially with demand for the sport continuing to grow.

For now, the focus is on Finals Night, with Littler facing Price in one semi-final and Clayton taking on defending champion Humphries in the other.

Porter believes the final table has produced a worthy top four after a campaign that tested consistency, form and resilience across four months. “Ultimately, over 16 weeks, nobody can say that they’re not the four who deserved it,” he said. “They’ve had to show consistency. They’ve had to show brilliance. They’ve had to be able to dig it out when they’ve got tired, when the crowd maybe hasn’t been on their side as much as they would have liked. All those different scenarios that sports people get faced with, these are the guys who’ve delivered.”

Littler finished top after a dominant league phase, with Clayton second after one of the most consistent campaigns of his career. Humphries recovered from a difficult middle section to finish third, while Price held on to fourth despite recent concerns over form, health and withdrawals from other events.

Porter was also asked about Littler’s continued dominance and whether one player winning so often could become a problem for the sport.

The PDC chief rejected that idea, arguing that fans want to see elite standards and that it is now up to the chasing pack to respond. “People want to see the best in the sport, don’t they?” Porter said. “Luke at the moment is the best in the sport, but there’s a big chasing pack. He hasn’t been the best for the whole period that he’s been around, but he has been for a lot of it. It’s up to the others to rise to his level and do so on a consistent basis.

“It’s certainly not boring. You watch people throw 110 averages, big checkouts, nine-dart finishes, whatever. No one can say that was boring," Porter insisted. “But it’s up to everybody else to hit that target that’s on his back.”

Porter also suggested Littler is motivated by the records and milestones now appearing in front of him. “You hear him say things about the most number of nightly wins, and he references different numbers of titles that he’s won and when he wins something for the first time,” he added. “I think he’s got those little challenges, and it’s almost like he’s got a list in his head and he’s just going through it one by one, ticking them off as he does them.”

Crowd behaviour has also been a recurring theme across this year’s Premier League, particularly after recent incidents involving whistling and deliberate attempts to disrupt players.

Porter made clear that while darts should remain a party atmosphere, there is a line that spectators should not cross. “There’s a lot of ways to enjoy yourself when you come to the darts, and disrupting the players doesn’t have to be one of them,” he said. “Most of the players, in fact all of them really, know how to deal with it. At different times and in different scenarios, they can deal with it to different levels."

“But it’s better if it doesn’t happen. Everyone who’s been, anyone who’s watched the sport on TV, knows what a great party atmosphere it can be," added Porter. “So don’t be the one who spoils it for everybody else.”

That message will carry into the O2, where the 2026 Premier League season ends with its strongest four players still standing and the wider future of the competition now once again part of the conversation.