Premier League Darts line-up confirmed as Luke Littler determination is made for 2024
The Premier League Darts line-up for 2024 has now been introduced – and 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler shall be part of the £1m event this 12 months.
World No1 and new world champion Luke Humphries can be within the competitors following his 7-4 victory over Littler within the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship ultimate at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday evening.
They have been assured to be joined within the competitors by Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall as, together with Humphries, they make up the highest 4 gamers within the PDC’s Order of Merit who’re routinely chosen.
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The different 4 spots for the 17-week travelling circus have been determined by the PDC and Sky Sports. Last season’s runner-up, Gerwyn Price and 2018 world champion Rob Cross additionally obtained the nod.
However, two areas have been largely unclear to finish the line-up, and a type of spots finally went to teenager Littler, who drew in record-breaking viewing figures on Sky Sports throughout the latter levels of the World Championship. The different has been confirmed as Peter Wright, regardless of his dismal efficiency on the Worlds.
The event begins in Cardiff on February 1, and concludes at London’s O2 Arena on May 23. And it is set to kick-start a busy spell within the grownup recreation for Littler.
Do you suppose any participant picks ought to have been totally different? Let us know within the feedback part.
Reacting to being included within the competitors, Littler mentioned: “It will be right up my street and I can’t wait. Obviously Manchester and Liverpool are very close to my home town (Warrington) and I’m looking forward to the magnificent Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Cardiff, Brighton… it’s going to be an amazing experience.
“Playing darts week in, week out, in front of tens of thousands of fans, against the world’s best players, is a dream come true. I’m looking forward to the Mercedes-Benz arena – it’s massive and they have a nice crowd over there in Germany.
“It might be lively in Cardiff if I end up playing Gezzy there on the opening night when he gets the crowd on his side but it will be an amazing experience and a good test for myself. But that’s the nature of the Premier League – I’ve just got to do what I do and show why I’m there every week.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Luke ‘The Nuke’, who’s assured a minimal £60,000 prize cash from the Premier League, admitted he had mentioned the implication of journey and a heavy schedule along with his father, Anthony and mum Lisa.
He added: “Everyone has been saying, ‘Will it help me or will it put me off?’ But I sat down with my mum and dad, who said it’s going to be difficult to play every week in the Premier League, the Pro Tour and potentially the European Tour as well.
“But it’s the opportunity of a lifetime to play in the Premier League, which is probably the second-biggest competition on the darts calendar, and it was too good to turn down. It fills my diary even more, which means more days of darts, but that’s my job now and I’ve got to take it as it comes.”
(Image: GMB)
Due to his rating being exterior the highest 16 on the earth, the teenager faces having to play Thursday nights throughout Europe within the Premier League earlier than then dashing to participate in video games on Friday for quite a lot of weekend competitions.
It’s set to be a gruelling take a look at of Littler’s stamina, though he confirmed on the largest stage of all he can maintain his nerve up towards a lot of darts’ most skilled gamers. The consideration will proceed to be intense on the oche and away from the stage. Just Littler’s Instagram, his follower depend has mushroomed from 4,000 earlier than the World Championship to an unbelievable 775,000 now – making him the most-followed darts participant on the planet.
Humphries, 28, may even be a debutant within the Premier League’s major line-up, having solely ever beforehand figured as a ‘challenger’ again in 2019 and 2020. The world champion insisted he needed to see Littler be part of him on this 12 months’s line-up, and spoke of the teenager’s future off the again of Wednesday’s heroics from each gamers.
(Image: Ian Stephen/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)
He mentioned: “Luke (Littler) showed incredible grit, incredible determination. We will never, ever see the likes of him again. To go up on that stage in a world final and produce those darts. I was putting him under so much pressure.
“I like the child to bits and I hope that he is within the Premier League and performs in every part as a result of I’d love the share the stage with him much more.
“I’ve just achieved something that is a dream for darts players, so I’m really, really pleased. Obviously the crowd wanted Luke to win and I couldn’t begrudge them that because it would have been a fantastic story had he won the tournament. What an incredible story would that have been for our sport.”
(Image: Getty Images)
After attracting a peak viewers of three.71million on Sky Sports for the ultimate (representing a 143% enhance on the 2023 ultimate) and a complete viewership of 4.8million – Sky Sports’ document viewers exterior of Premier League soccer – Littler and Humphries cannot look ahead to the rock ‘n’ roll crowds on the Thursday evening curler coaster.
FULL PREMIER LEAGUE LINE-UP:Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Rob Cross
