Premier League of Darts: Who are they?

The world of darts has blown up over the last 12 months thanks to 17-year-old Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler.

Both World Darts Championship finals that Littler played in are Sky Sports’ most viewed non-football events.

This year’s 2025 WDC final between Littler and Michael Van Gerwen brought in a peak of audience of 3.1 million and the 2024 WDC final between Littler and Luke Humphries had a peak audience of 3.7 million.

The viewing figure for the 2024 final was a 143% increase on the previous year’s final, which saw Michael Smith defeat Van Gerwen 7-4.

The 2024 final also smashed the total viewing record for the sport, with an audience of 4.8 million across the entirety of the match.

Littler lost the 2024 final 7-4 after a fantastic debut tournament but backed up the hype by going on to win 10 trophies across 2024 before winning this year’s WDC trophy by beating Van Gerwen seven sets to three.

The Nuke’s victory pushed him up to number two in the PDC rankings.

With the WDC ending with millions more darts fans, this year’s Premier League of Darts lineup announcement could not have been met with any more excitement and anticipation.

There is not much doubt that the 2025 Darts Premier League will be one of the highest viewed in its history, but which eight players will be showcasing their talent across the country?

1 – Luke Littler

The 17-year-old is likely to be the reason many people will watch the Premier League and that comes as no surprise following his impact and influence on brining in new fans to the sport.

Littler first picked up a dart at 18-months-old and just 14 and a half years later he reached (on debut) his first WDC final.

Following his second placed finish at the tournament, he went on to achieve incredible things in the next 12 months.

He won five televised PDC titles which included the Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts, World Series of Darts Finals, Bahrain Darts Maters and the Poland Darts Masters.

He also won the Belgian Darts Open and Austrian Darts Open on the Pro Tour along with the Players Championship.

‘The Nuke’ also hit four nine-darters with one making him the youngest player to hit one on the Pro Tour.

Prior to his WDC debut, he also won 2023 World Youth Championship against Gian van Veen, becoming the youngster player in history to win the competition.

Littler is the defending champion in this year’s Premier League after hitting a nine-darter in the 2024 final to beat Humphries.

The pressure on the young man has greatly increased since that win but that does not seem to bother him in the slightest.

With all of this in consideration, he heads into the 2025 Darts Premier League as one of the favourites.

2 – Luke Humphries

Luke Humphries is the current world number one and has the nickname ‘cool hand’ which relates to his smooth and effortless throwing style.

The 29-year-old made his professional darts debut in 2017 after receiving his PDC Tour Card through the Q-School.

He made his WDC debut in 2018, where he lost to Jeff Smith

A year later he won the World Youth Championship.

Humphries continued his steady rise and dominated the sport in 2023, winning the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, and Players Championship Finals.

He also two Pro Tour titles.

Humphries capped of his fantastic 2023 by starting 2024 winning the WDC against Littler.

So far ‘cool hand’ has won nine televises titles and 11 non-televised PDC titles, pushing him to being the best in the world according to the rankings.

Surprisingly, the former champion of the world is yet to hit a televised nine-darter but after crashing out of the 2025 WDC to Peter Wright, he will want to show the world once again what he can do.

So, it will be no surprise if he is fighting for the Premier League title right from the get-go to the finals at the O2.

Despite his shock exit, Humphries is still one of the best in the sport.

3 – Michael Van Gerwen

‘Mighty’ Michael Van Gerwen is without a doubt the most decorated player in this year’s Premier League.

The 35-year-old currently sits at third in the rankings and has won 66 televised titles and 91 non-televised titles.

Just to name a few, he has won three WDC titles, seven Premier League titles, three World Matchplay titles, six World Grand Prix titles and three Grand Slam titles.

MVG has also won the World Cup of Darts three times.

In 2019 the Dutchman become the first and only player to complete the full set of televised PDC titles.

‘Mighty Mike’ broke through as a teenage wonderkid in 2006 and won the BDO World Masters.

It took Van Gerwen another six years to pick up his next trophy, but when he did in 2012 it sparked a decade of Dutch dominance that cemented him as one of darts’ all-time greats.

He has also hit a breathtaking 10 televised nine-darters.

He had a relatively disappointing 2024 for his standards, but after reaching the 2025 WDC final, he showed that he is still here and ready to compete.

Do not write him off this year. He is third in the rankings for a reason.

4 – Rob Cross

Perhaps the first controversial inclusion for some after his poor WDC performance and below average 2024.

He picked up two titles, but that is pretty poor for the world number four.

In 2017/18 Cross burst onto the scene and secured his first WDC title on his astonishing debut season.

He defeated Phil Taylor 7-2 at Alexandra Palace.

Since then, Cross has gone on to win a further seven televised titles to add to his 11 non-televised PDC titles.

The Hastings hero has the nickname ‘voltage’ which represents his previous career as an electrician.

With the Premier League fast approaching next month, it gives the 34-year-old a chance to bounce back and recapture his form from seven years ago.

5 – Stephen Bunting

The people’s champ.

After winning the Lakeside Championship, Bunting joined the PDC in January 2014 and rapidly climbed the rankings.

At this moment in time, he sits at number five in the world.

‘The Bullet’ secured victory on his opening PDC ProTour event and made his Premier League debut the year after reaching the WDC quarter final.

The 39-year-old won his first PDC televised title in January 2024 when he won the Masters.

Prior to that victory, he won three non-televised PDC titles which came in 2014, 2016, and 2021.

Bunting was already a fan favourite from his social media content, but his performance and crowd interaction at this year’s WDC tournament saw him win the hearts of millions more fans.

With this in mind he will certainly be one of the favourites in many tournaments this year.

His walk-on is also considered one of the best in the sport.

I AM TITANIUM…

6 – Gerwyn Price

The 2021 WDC champion has been inconsistent in recent years, but when he is on it, he is one of the best you will ever see.

The former rugby player steadily rose up the rankings after joining the PDC in 2014 and went on to claim 12 televised titles to become one of the most established names in darts.

Amongst those 12 titles are two World Cup of Darts triumphs.

‘The Iceman’ has also picked up 25 non-televised PDC titles since 2014.

The 39-year-old had a solid WDC campaign, reaching the quarter-final, which he lost 5-3 to Chris Dobey, so he will be hoping it gives him a confidence boost and a platform to build on heading into the Premier League.

The world number nine is another player you can never write-off.

7 – Chris Dobey

The Newcastle United supporter had a fantastic start to 2025 as he reached the semi-final of the WDC.

Dobey played a fantastic game but lost 6-1 to eventual runner up Van Gerwen.

This along with his three Players Championship titles in 2024 is what secured him his Premier League spot.

The 34-year-old has only won one televised title, which came in 2023 when he was victorious in the Masters.

He also has four non-televised PDC titles.

‘Hollywood’ is the world number 10, so is likely to enter the tournament as one of the lowest ranked players.

However, that does not mean he can’t compete, as seen with his recent WDC run.

Watch out for him.

8 – Nathan Aspinall

Last but certainly not least is ‘The Asp’.

The 33-year-old is a crowd favourite thanks to his iconic walk-out song.

Mr Brightside by The Killers.

He started his journey to the promise land of darts by playing in the PDC Development and Challenge Tour events in 2012.

He earned his PDC Tour Card in 2015 through the Q School Order of Merit.

In January 2018, he saw himself back at Q School where he earnt his Tour Card once again.

September 2018 is where things really took off for the world number 11. He won his first ranking Players Championship event, before reaching the semi-finals of the 2018/19 WDC.

He was a 500/1 outsider.

In 2019 he overcome a potential career-threatening injury and claimed his first televised title at the UK Open.

The Stockport star has won three televised titles, with his biggest being the 2023 World Matchplay.

He also has five non-televised PDC titles.

Aspinall is another player who had a good WDC run, reaching the quarterfinals where he lost 5-2 to Littler.

Some people questioned whether he would receive a Premier League spot for a variety of reasons, but there is no situation where a crowd favourite and top-class player can be left out.

‘The Asp’ will be hoping he can prove doubters wrong and bring home his fourth televised title.