‘Premier League Darts line-up could be very sturdy – however I believe it is lacking one participant’

Seven-time Premier League Darts champion Michael van Gerwen has criticised the competition’s line-up this season by claiming it could have been stronger

Michael van Gerwen believes that the Premier League Darts line-up is strong, but one player would make it stronger.

The 2025 Premier League Darts begins on Thursday in Belfast with Luke Littler looking to put a marker down on the opening night as he begins the defence of his crown. It will also be a major night for Van Gerwen to make a statement in the tournament that has been his most successful.

Van Gerwen is one of the automatically selected players in the top four of the world rankings to be given a place in the Premier League.

While Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey received a place in the eight-player competition from outside their respective rankings.

It’s the first edition of the Premier League without former world champion Michael Smith since 2021 as the ‘Bully Boy’ put himself among the darting elite in the following years. But Smith’s poor form since his Ally Pally triumph has seen him miss out.

Speaking to the BetMGM Premier League Darts, Van Gerwen admitted that while he feels the line-up for this year’s competition is strong, the addition of Smith would have made it better.

“It’s an incredibly difficult decision for the PDC to choose the line-up – I think they did well,” the seven-time Premier League champion said.

“It’s quite strong but it could have been a little bit stronger. I miss one good player – Michael Smith – but outside that it’s eight really good darts players and that’s what people want to see.

“Moving forward we want to create an atmosphere, too. It’s important to be a good player but it’s also how you come on stage and the show you put on. That’s all part of it.

“It’s very hard for the PDC to pick the line-up, but I still think they did well.”

Smith recently opened up on his battle against arthritis in his wrist having endured a frustrating 2024.

Despite reaching the Premier League semi-final last year and winning the World Cup of Darts alongside Luke Humphries, a semi-final appearance in the World Matchplay was the only run he had in a major ranking tournament.

Without a major win to his name since the World Championships, ‘Bully Boy’ has dropped to No.18 in the PDC Order of Merit.