Premier League Darts: World champion Luke Littler heads line-up as Stephen Bunting returns
2025-01-07
Category: sports

World champion Luke Littler headlines the line-up for the 2025 Premier League Darts, with Stephen Bunting returning to the eight-player elite tournament after a 10-year absence.Littler, 17, became the youngest ever PDC World Championship winner on Friday when he beat Michael van Gerwen in the final at Alexandra Palace.The Warrington teenager is the defending Premier League champion, having beaten Luke Humphries in the final last May when he produced a memorable nine-dart finish.Former world champion Humphries makes his second appearance in the tournament, having lifted the World Cup, World Matchplay and Players Championship titles in 2024.Bunting has been rewarded for his recent resurgence after being selected as one of four wildcard entries for the tournament.The 39-year-old reached the semi-finals of the World Championship, losing to Littler, and at number five in the world is the highest-ranked player outside of the top four automatic qualifiers.Bunting last took part in the 2015 Premier League season and participated as one of the challenger players in 2020.Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey are the other wildcard selections alongside the two other automatic picks in Rob Cross and Van Gerwen, who is seeking his eighth Premier League crown.World number six Dave Chisnall and former world champions Peter Wright and Michael Smith took part in the 2024 edition but miss out this time around.PDC chief executive Matt Porter told Sky Sports: "Obviously with Price, Dobey and Aspinall, there are players above them in the rankings who haven't been selected."But we have looked at it in terms of big-stage presence, popularity, and the way they can get a 10,000-person crowd every Thursday going."We want people on the edge of their seats. We want people up and enjoying their darts. That isn't to say other players can't do that. You have to make decisions on who is right at the time."The Premier League takes place at venues across the United Kingdom and Europe and starts on 6 February in Belfast.
Full Premier League line-up
Luke HumphriesLuke LittlerMichael van GerwenRob CrossStephen BuntingGerwyn PriceChris DobeyNathan Aspinall