2025 Premier League Darts Outright Preview

The 2025 Premier League Darts kicks off in Belfast on the 6th of February and finishes on the 29th of May at the O2 Arena in London. That is a long time. We have sixteen weeks of mini tournaments to decide the top four players, who will play a straight knockout to find the winner. Groundhog day… with a four player knockout played on one night in London.

2025 Premier League Darts: The Format

The format sticks to the one introduced in 2022. It is an eight-person knockout bracket every night, with each of the seven matches played as first to six legs. The players are guaranteed to meet each other once in the quarter-finals throughout the first seven weeks, and once in the quarter-finals in weeks 9–15, with weeks 8 and 16 being drawn based on the league standings at that point.

Players will receive two points per semi-final finish, three points per runner-up finish, and five points per final win. The top four players after week sixteen will contest the Play-Offs with the player at the top of the league playing the player in fourth and second and third playing for the other place in the final. The semi-finals are played as a best of 19 leg format, the final best of 21 legs.

The format has been tinkered with over the years, and this one is my least favourite. It is just too repetitive. The same eight players every week, for sixteen weeks. No mid-competition cut to add a bit of jeopardy. It is a bit like eating your favourite meal every Thursday night. You would soon get sick of it.

2025 Premier League Darts Lineup

The top four players in the PDC World rankings, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross, qualified automatically. The board of the PDC then selected the other four players. The choices always spark debate, which generates some pre-event interest, and this year was no different. The players selected were Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price and Chris Dobey.

There was no place for Major winners Mike De Decker, or Ritchie Edhouse. It used to be the case that if you won a Major, you got a Premier League place but now, if you have a big Tik Tok following, or a popular walk on tune, you’re in. Edhouse and De Decker are not the first Major winners to be denied a place, contrary to various press reports. Danny Noppert, Andrew Gilding and Ross Smith all got passed over in recent years.

It is all about selling tickets. The venues are big arenas, and while they would likely sell out if they just went for the top eight players in the OOM, the PDC want ‘entertainers’. Players that will sell tickets and get people tuning in to watch on TV.

It is not a line-up that I would disagree much with. All are ranked in the top 11 and it is good that the PDC have not just been lazy and picked the likes of Peter Wright or Gary Anderson, again. Unless the two Scottish venues do not sell out, it was a good choice. The only glaring omission, is of course, Joe Cullen.

The Players

1 Luke Humphries

Last year’s runner up on his full debut. Cool Hand failed to defend his World Championship and while he remains the World number one in the rankings, it is fair to say that he is number two to Luke Littler.

His 2024 win rate was 72%. Humphries has a losing H2H record against Cross, Littler, Price and MVG, but there is not much in it, and it isn’t significant. He warmed up for the start of the Premier League by winning the revamped, and ranking, Masters tournament at the weekend.

Humphries also won the Players Championship finals shortly before the World Championship. He has won two of the last three Majors, so he is giving Littler a run for his money.

2 Luke Littler

The new World Champion and defending champion of the Premier League having won it on debut last year. He was the best player of 2024 and is the 2.38 favourite to successfully defend his title.

The young man coped well with the demands of the Premier League on his debut last year, and I suspect he will find it easier this time. He knows more about managing his schedule and I imagine that he will be playing in fewer Euro Tour events than he did in 2024.

His management will be aiming for the Majors first and foremost, the Premier League secondly and the Euro Tours and Pro Tours much less so. Littler had the best win rate of the eight players in 2024, with 77% matches won.

It is that sort of consistency which helped him win the 2024 title, and he is the shortening favourite to make it two in a row. Littler has a winning H2H record against all seven of his opponents.

3 Michael van Gerwen

Not the force he once was, but he remains the World number three, and in this revised format, he has won it twice and reached the playoffs last year. It will be harder for him to win it against the likes of Littler and Humphries, but it is hard to bet against him making the playoffs.

At his peak, Van Gerwen was winning 91% of his matches in 2016. Since then, that rate has fallen every year and in 2024 was down to 68%. That is still the fourth best of this group of eight, but he is no longer top dog.

Van Gerwen has won the Premier League seven times, and he has only failed to make the playoffs once in his twelve appearances. He is a 1.54 shot to do so again, which does look a touch generous. MVG has a winning H2H record against everyone bar Littler, but his records are weakening.

4 Rob Cross

Cross didn’t want to play in the Premier League when he wasn’t selected in 2022 and 2023, but no doubt he will have changed his tune now that he is an automatic selection. However, for players like Cross and Price, who have said that they do not really like the weekly grind, when things get tough, their heads can drop a bit too quickly.

Cross reached the playoffs on debut in 2018, and was runner up in 2019, but in his three other appearances, Cross finished ninth twice (in the old format) and was sixth last year. His 2024 win rate was just 57%, his second lowest rate since he got a tour card in 2027. Cross does struggle against MVG and Littler in particular.

5 Stephen Bunting

Let’s go Bunting Mental! I for one am getting sick of his attempt to court favouritism with the crowds via Tik Tok. I would be more impressed if he won a Major.

Bunting is number five in the World rankings and was likely to get a pick, and you have to give his management credit for making him very hard not to pick. Bunting played in the 2015 Premier League and got put through the mincer.

He was one of the Sky Sports’ wild card picks, was only 24th in the rankings, and he finished eighth, winning just three matches from sixteen played, but he did make the cut ahead of Wright and Huybrechts. He found it tough and he probably wasn’t ready for the demands of the tournament in just his second season in the PDC.

Bunting is a more seasoned player these days and should do better. His 2024 win rate was 69% bettered only by Littler and Humphries. One big worry for Bunting backers is that he has poor H2H records against MVG (4-21), Dobey (3-11), Cross (3-12), Price (5-12) and Humphries (5-11).

The Bullet has started 2025 well, winning the Bahrain Darts Masters, runner up in the Dutch Darts Masters and was a quarter finalist in last weekend’s Masters.

6 Gerwyn Price

I was a little surprised to see Price getting a pick. He was close to calling it a day in 2024, such was his lack of motivation for playing darts. Part of that falling out with the game was down to playing in the Premier League.

He was probably picked just the be a figure of hate for the crowd, the Pantomime Villian. I do not see how getting abused by thousands of punters week in week out, will improve his love for the game. A year or two away from the PL, and concentrating on the Euro Tour, where he is well received, would have been a better choice, in my opinion.

2023 Finalist

Price did make the final in 2023, losing to MVG, but outside of that, two fifth place finishes are his best results from his six previous appearances. His struggles on the outer ring in 2024 have held him back, and if that continues, the crowds are going to tear him to shreds. Price has winning H2H records against all but MVG (15-34) and Littler (3-4).

Price has been playing some very good darts at the start of the season, including a 115 average in a 6-2 win over Luke Littler in Bahrain, but there is still one big problem in his game, and it is his doubles. In four of his nine matches so far in 2025, his checkout rate has fallen below 33%, and this is costing him match wins.

The PL crowds enjoy giving Price a hard time, and if they sense that he is having double trouble, he will get the full treatment when trying to check out, which will not make things any easier. Price’s PL hopes, and indeed his season ahead, depends or whether he can improve his consistency on the outer ring. If he sorts it, he will be back to winning titles, if not, there could be more retirement talk.

7 Chris Dobey

Making his second appearance as a full time competitor in the Premier League. His first go was back in 2023, when he finished seventh of eight. He played better than that sounds and he did come out of it a better player.

Hollywood still hasn’t won a ranked Major, or a Euro Tour event, but he hits a lot of 180s and 170 checkouts, so he is seen as an entertainer, and that was enough for him to get the pick ahead of De Decker and Edhouse, who both won a ranked Major in 2024.

Dobey does struggle with MVG, Price and Aspinall, but otherwise he plays well against the others.

8 Nathan Aspinall

Perhaps getting a pick for the Premier League will make him feel a little less ‘disrespected’. Like Cullen, Aspinall thinks he is not shown the respect his record deserves. Unlike Cullen, Aspinall has won two ranking Majors and he has played well in his four previous appearances.

He was runner up in 2020, reached the playoffs in 2021 and finished just outside the play off places in the last two years. The crowds love his Mr. Brightside walk on tune, and he may have The Killers to thank for his place in this year’s PL.

He has admitted to struggling with Dartitis and while he copes well enough with it, it is far from ideal. The Asp has reasonable H2H record against most of his opponents in the League, with the exception of Littler (1-8) and MVG (7-19).

2025 Premier League Darts: Summary

When considering tournaments in 2025, and beyond, it looks like a case of, if Littler doesn’t win it, who might? Having one big megastar in any sport does raise its profile, and Littler has done that already, but eventually it gets dull, a bit like the Premier League.

This time last year, I had my doubts that Littler would cope with the grind of the PL, with facing the top players week in, week out, but he proved me wrong. He may be carrying too much timber, but his youth means he has a bit more energy than the older players, and he has no wife and kids to miss while he is out on the road travelling to all the different venues, and that helps.

He can just play darts. The others are all family men and will have to sacrifice family time in order to commit to the Premier League, and the other events that are going on. The money is good, but there is a sacrifice to be made for the other seven players.

Consistency Key

The format of playing over a period of sixteen weeks means that the more consistent players, tend to do well. Players that have a good win rate do well.

We had a big winner, with a strong bet on Jonny Clayton to win this in 2021. He was made the 21.00 outsider with one firm, despite Clayton having the best win rate going into the tournament. That was a different format, but the principle remains the same. If you can hold your form reasonably well for sixteen weeks, you shouldn’t be far off. That is why MVG has done so well.

Off The Oche Issues

The fact that the tournament takes sixteen weeks to find the final four players, means that off the oche matters can be an issue for one or more players. Players can get ill for a couple of weeks, there can be an illness in the family, an injury can get picked up, or the wife might run off with the milkman.

In recent years we have seen Price struggle with injuries. Nathan Aspinall is also fragile in that respect, MVG had problems with his dental surgery last year and so on. These are things that cannot be foreseen, but it is one reason why the Premier League is very far from being a good betting opportunity. That and the repetitive nature of it.

I will happily admit that that the Premier League is my least favourite event of the year, although the new revamped Masters is right up there. I find it hard to make money out of it, so if you are following my tips, don’t be going mad, unless I say so. Clayton was the exception to the rule.

No Certainties

Occasionally you can get a well fancied player who just bombs, and it can take the market a few weeks to accept it. Glen Durrant was a case in point in 2021. He had won it in 2020 but picked up covid in the days afterwards. He was never the same player after that, but we got decent odds for him to get pummelled week in, week out in the 2021 PL. Duzza lost all nine of his matches and had a leg difference of -39.

It can sometimes pay to keep your ear to the ground and try to pick up any news about players who are having some sort of problem, as it can have a negative impact on their game. I remember one year when MVG was caught with a female fan in suspicious circumstances. It was tabloid fodder and published the day before a Premier League night. He lost that night, and I think the next week as well.

I will cover the opening four matches for the sixteen weeks, and play-offs, but I will resist the urge to put up bets just for the sake of it.

2025 Premier League Darts Outright Ante Post Selections

In terms of win rates, and I am looking at the 2024 seasonal win rates, Luke Littler tops the list at 77%. Luke Humphries is the only other player over 70% and his rate in 2024 was 72%, down from 78% in 2023. Stephen Bunting was 69%, MVG 68%, Dobey 67%, Price 60%, Cross 57% and Aspinall 54%. Humphries has improved on that so far in 2025, but it is too soon to really have a 2025 form line as such.

The Asp has had win rates of 54% for the last two seasons but finished fifth in both Premier Leagues. That tells me that he likes the tournament. He relishes the big crowds, and if he can keep his fitness intact and the Dartitis under control, he may well make the playoffs, despite having the worst 2024 win rate.

He is the 41.00 outsider which, despite his low win rate in 2024, may be unfair. Aspinall is one of the players who loves to play in the Premier League, and not everyone does. Having the right mental attitude for a long drawn out marathon, such as the PL, is worth much gold. He appreciates the opportunity to play the best players every week and take home a good wage to his family.

Playoff Run For Asp

I do not see Aspinall winning the title. His problems with Littler rule that out, but I can see him making the playoffs. He has suffered with injuries for the last couple of years and that is my biggest concern. He says that he is fit again, and able to practice more intensely.

Aspinall believes that he can put more work into his game in 2025 and improve. I am not overly concerned with the Dartitis. He has had that for a quite some time, he is working with professionals to address the matter, and he copes well enough with it.

His recent Bursitis scare does not seem to have affected his throw. This is very much a ’horses for courses’ bet. Aspinall has the right attitude towards the event and has a positive mental attitude. So long as he stays fit, he will give it 100% every week.

2025 Premier League Darts Outright Tip: 2 points Nathan Aspinall to reach the semi-finals @ 4.00 generally available

From a stat based point of view, Van Gerwen looks a bit of value to make the semi-finals. His period of dominance is over, but he remains a player who wins plenty of matches, and that is what you need to do in the Premier League.

To only miss the playoffs once in twelve appearances is a cracking record, and even in recent years, when his win rate has slipped, he is still right there, in the mix on finals night.

He is 7.00 to win the title, 2.75 to make the final and 1.54 to make the semi-finals. The two Lukes may keep him out of the final again, but while the odds are not huge, he does look a reasonable proposition to make the semifinals again.

2025 Premier League Darts Outright Tip: 2 points Michael van Gerwen to reach the semi-finals @ 1.54 with Boylesports, Livescorebet

As for the winner? I can only see two choices. Littler’s odds are coming in all the time and at 2.38 (in from 2.50 after the lineup was announced) the value is evaporating quickly.

Littler is the best player and defending champion. He is hard to oppose, but there is one stat that does pose a question mark. In the last ten years, the reigning World Champion has only gone on to win the Premier League three times, the last back in 2019.

There is a bit of a downside to being World Champion, and that is more demands on a player’s time. The Champion is in greater demand for press work, and there is the temptation to just to cash in. Littler’s management will try and manage his schedule to prevent burn out, but already he has played in two meaningless World Series events, one in Bahrain and the other in the Netherlands.

Short Break

So, while most players were enjoying some time off, Littler has had about eight or nine days post World Championship to rest, and a couple of those will have been taken up with press duties. He will have the PL launch day to attend and the Masters event to play in. It may be hard for him to stay fresh and keen.

There will be a lot of offers to cash in, in terms of exhibitions and personal appearances, and there is a risk that his focus may not be entirely on darts, and the PL in particular.

That said, there were big demands on his time in 2024, and he coped just fine in the PL, but not so much in the ranking Majors. Life as the most important darts player in the World will not be a bed of roses and Littler is still a very young man. No doubt various members of the fifth estate will be waiting for him to stumble and are sharpening their knives in anticipation.

Humphries Capable

Littler is the most likely winner but Luke Humphries is still very capable of beating him, as he did in the final of the Players Championship finals. I went for the wrong Luke in the World Championship, but Humphries is likely to always be better value than Littler.

He doesn’t have the same huge fanbase and has a much lower profile, but he is an excellent darts player. He has won two of the last three Majors and has beaten Littler in their last three matches. Humphries is the 4.00 second favourite and I will have a modest bet on him to go step further than he did on debut last year.

2025 Premier League Darts Outright Tip: 1 point Luke Humphries to win the Premier League @ 4.00 with SpreadEx

There may be more value in finding the player to finish in last place. We have had the ‘new’ format for three years now and last year it was Peter Wright who finished last with just four points scored. Gerwyn Price was seventh on twelve points, Rob Cross sixth with seventeen.

Those three were well detached from the remaining five players. Wright was also last in 2023, with Chris Dobey in seventh. In 2022 it was another Scotsman, Gary Anderson who finished last, with Gerwyn Price in seventh.

There are no Scottish players in this year’s PL, so that that form line doesn’t apply in 2025. But what about Gerwyn Price? He has been struggling with his form for a while now. In 2024, Price only picked up two titles, and they were both non-ranking World Series events. Exhibitions.

His 2024 win rate was down to 60%. Of the eight players in this year’s PL, only Nathan Aspinall had a lower win rate, and Aspinall did have a serious arm injury which ruined the bulk of his season.

Double Troubles

Price has an unspecified health issue that has affected his form, but his biggest problem has been a lack of enthusiasm for the game. He seems to have regained much of his enthusiasm but as he said himself, for now at least. And there is the issue of his doubling.

There is little wrong with Price’s game in terms of scoring, but his confidence on the outer ring is lacking. You can see it in his eyes, and his body language. Once he starts missing the doubles, his game unravels.

His quarter final loss to Chris Dobey in the World Championship was a classic case. Two sets to nil ahead, but then he started missing doubles and it cost him the match, even against a player who was fighting his own demons.

Price was runner up in 2023, but either side of that, he has been seventh of eight. It is no secret that the crowds single Price out for special treatment. He has to play the role of the Villian. It is not good for his mental health and it must be hard to keep motivated if you are getting abused, and missing doubles. If Price sorts out his doubles, he could well make the semi-finals, if not, he will struggle.

2025 Premier League Darts Outright Tip: 1 point Gerwyn Price to finish last @ 10.00 generally available

-JamesPunt