Stephen Bunting will return to the Premier League for the first time in ten years, securing a place as one of four wildcard players for darts’ premier roadshow event.
Joining him in the wildcard category are Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey, who complete the eight-man squad for the 2025 competition.
The Premier League starts on February 6th in Belfast.
These four join the automatically qualified top four players in the PDC Order of Merit: newly crowned world champion and reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler, world number 1 Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross.
Bunting, ranked No. 5, is the highest-ranked player outside of automatic qualification.
His remarkable 2024 season, highlighted by a semi-final appearance at the World Darts Championship and a second place finish at the PDC Players Championship, makes him worthy of inclusion.
Chris Dobey, nicknamed “Hollywood”, also had an impressive year, reaching the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship before losing to van Gerwen and securing three Players Championship titles in 2024.
The vintage of 2025 🎓
Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall
The starting signal will be fired on February 6th in Belfast… Let’s go ✅
👉 https://t.co/C8DHdQrRUB pic.twitter.com/ZnrMJVwpt1
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 6, 2025
Premier League lineup for 2025
The full 2025 Premier League squad includes:
- Luke Humphries
- Luke Littler
- Michael van Gerwen
- Rob Cross
- Stephen Bunting
- Gerwyn Price
- Chris Dobey
- Nathan Aspinall
Several big names missed out on selection this year, including world number 6 Dave Chisnall, 2023 World Cup winner Michael Smith and 2021 Premier League champion Jonny Clayton.
Former World Cup winners Peter Wright and Gary Anderson were also left out, with Wright missing the Premier League for the first time since 2013.
Mike De Decker, the reigning Grand Prix World Champion, became the first player in history to miss out on a Premier League place after winning the title.
Commenting on these decisions, PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: “Of course, alongside Price, Dobey and Aspinall in the rankings there are players above them who were not selected, but we looked at it in terms of major stage presence and popularity” and the nature and Way they can bring a 10,000-person audience to the stage every Thursday.
“We want to keep people on their toes. We want people to enjoy darts. That doesn’t mean other players can’t do it. You have to decide at any given time who is right.”
The Premier League follows a knockout format, with eight players taking part in each tournament.
In the first seven weeks, each player will face every other competitor once in the opening round. Matches repeat in weeks 9-15, while games in weeks 8 and 16 are based on league standings.
The 2025 @BetMGMUK The Premier League is just around the corner… 🙌
Here are the eight stars who will be fighting for the 2025 Premier League title 🏆
👉 https://t.co/C8DHdQrk53 pic.twitter.com/TbWqE28ETu
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 6, 2025
After 16 weeks, the top four players in the league standings will advance to the semi-finals and final, which will be held at The O2 in London.
The semi-finals will be played in a best-of-19-leg format, with the final being played over 21 legs.
Premier League 2025 schedule
Here is the full schedule for this year’s Premier League:
- Night 1: The SSE Arena, Belfast – Thursday 6th February
- Night 2: OVO Hydro, Glasgow – Thursday 13 February
- Night 3: 3Arena, Dublin – Thursday 20th February
- Night 4: Westpoint Exeter – Thursday 27th February
- Night 5: The Brighton Center – Thursday March 6th
- Night 6: Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – Thursday March 13th
- Night 7: Utilita Arena, Cardiff – Thursday March 20th
- Night 8: Utilita Arena, Newcastle – Thursday March 27th
- Night 9: Uber Arena, Berlin – Thursday, April 3rd
- Night 10: AO Arena, Manchester – Thursday April 10th
- Night 11: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam – Thursday, April 17th
- Night 12: M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool – Thursday April 24th
- Night 13: Utilita Arena, Birmingham – Thursday May 1st
- Night 14: First Direct Arena, Leeds – Thursday May 8th
- Night 15: P&J Live, Aberdeen – Thursday May 15th
- Night 16: Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday May 22nd
- playoffs: The O2, London – Thursday May 29th
