Premier League darts live: Stephen Bunting ‘fortunate’ to earn selection as lineup and wildcards decided

Stephen Bunting headlined the four wildcard selections, as the full eight-man lineup for the 2026 Premier League Darts tournament was revealed, and was described as “fortunate” to have received a pick.

Bunting, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price were the wildcards selected by the PDC, joining the four automatic qualifiers for the 16-week tournament – which gets underway in Newcastle on 5 February.

Those four automatic picks were double reigning world champion Luke Littler, last year’s Premier League winner Luke Humphries, World Championship finalist Gian van Veen and Dutch icon Michael van Gerwen, who were already assured of their spot due to their current ranking in the PDC Order of Merit.

Northern Irishman Rock and new Dutch No 1 Van Veen are the two debutants in this year’s lineup, while Bunting was the most controversial selection after his struggles in recent times.

World Championship finalist Gian van Veen will make his Premier League debut and the Dutchman has posted on social media that he is “honoured” to get the call.

Josh Rock is one of two men who will be making his Premier League debut this year (the other being Gian van Veen) and Wayne Mardle believes he is tailor-made for the format.

“If there is one player who is made for the Premier League, it is Josh Rock,” said Mardle. “The World Cup with Daryl Gurney showed that he loves the stage, he thrives on it, and he is ready to win.

“He is prime. I really believe this format is great for him. Sixteen weeks is made for Josh Rock.”

Mardle was asked if Gerwyn Price, the lowest ranked player in the competition as world No 12, had pressure on him to justify his spot but doesn’t believe the Welshman does.

“I don't see pressure on him, no,” said Mardle. “I think he had a good end to the year to be fair.

“He did have a poor worlds, he got well beaten by Wesley Plaisier. He took care of him but I believe he will be OK. He looked like being one of the faves to win it last year but Luke [Littler] sorted him out [in the semi-finals].”

Here’s who Wayne Mardle thinks has plenty to prove in this year’s Premier League.

“I think there is pressure on three players,” said Mardle on Sky Sports. “Stephen [Bunting], yes 100 per cent.

"Whoever gets in, you can’t really call it the last pick because we don’t know who the last pick is, but the pressure is on you. And that’s Stephen this year.

“I think the pressure is also on Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries.

“I think Humphries needs to re-establish himself with ‘hold on, forget about Gian van Veen.’ Van Veen sorted him out in the quarter-finals and I think he will want to put it right.

“There is pressure on MVG. Two years ago he wins four years of the Premier League in the same format. Last year he did not make the play-offs and he did not win a week. He needs to hit the ground running.”

So if Bunting was slightly fortunate to be selected, who can consider themselves unlucky to have missed out?

Fan favourite Nathan Aspinall won’t compete in the Premier League for the first time since 2022, despite finishing third in the standings last year, winning two nights

Danny Noppert, the world No 10, was being touted by many as a man set to make his Premier League, having controversially been snubbed last year but he misses out again.

“Danny Noppert has been really unlucky,” said pundit Wayne Mardle. “He's reached the semi-finals of four majors. Nathan Aspinall had a squeak but Noppert I feel – what's he got to do? He won the UK Open a few years ago. Since then he's got better and better. Maybe he's got to reach a final or win one, but Stephen [Bunting] hasn't done that this year.”

Two-time world champion Gary Anderson also misses out, although would have turned down a place if offered anyway, while World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle and James Wade are among the other omissions.

Stephen Bunting will be the selection that causes the most consternation given his struggles over the past year.

Bunting won two World Series events and a Euro Tour tournament in the first half of 2025 but struggled in the majors in the second half of the year.

The 40-year-old also finished bottom of the Premier League table last season after failing to win a game for the first eight weeks of the event, although he rallied slightly in the second half of the group phase.

Having entered the recent World Championship as fourth seed, and declared he would win the event, Bunting scraped through his first-round encounter 3-2 against Sebastian Bialecki and then crashed out in round three, going down 4-3 to James Hurrell.

Five-time World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle gave his reaction to the lineup and believes Stephen Bunting can consider himself lucky.

Mardle said: “I'm slightly surprised at Stephen Bunting. He's had a decent enough year but not as good as some in my opinion.

“He can consider himself a little fortunate. He played OK in the Premier League last year but results didn't go well, especially for the first eight weeks when he didn't win a game.

“You can’t argue with any of them in terms of their ability and what they are capable of but Bunting will be the one who will breathe a huge sigh of relief.”

Four very good players have been selected to join Littler, Humphries, Van Veen and Van Gerwen. Here’s a little bit about each man

Jonny Clayton

No 5 in the world, narrowly missed out on a top-four spot thanks to Gian van Veen’s run to the World Championship final. A former Premier League winner in 2021.

Stephen Bunting

Down to No 7 in the world after an abrupt end to his time at the World Championship, Bunting has endured a tough time and admitted to struggling with criticism, including online trolls targeting his 13-year-old son Toby. Loved for his walkout song, and wildly popular, despite some critics.

Josh Rock

No 9 in the world, will make his Premier League debut. A rising star of the game and the 24-year-old Northern Irishman has been rewarded for his breakthrough year

Gerwyn Price

The lowest ranked at No 12 in the world. The 40-year-old Welshman is a huge character within the game, often enduring a love-hate relationship with the fans, although that seems to have softened somewhat in recent times. Was a Premier League runner-up in 2023 and a semi-finalist last year.

Ok, here we go. Emma Paton and Wayne Mardle take to the Sky Sports News studio to reveal the four wildcards.

And these are the lucky four:

• Jonny Clayton
• Stephen Bunting
• Josh Rock
• Gerwyn Price

Here’s the current PDC Order of Merit after the recent World Championship. Luke Littler miles clear at the top, of course.

The top four are automatically in the Premier League, with four wildcards coming from outside that quartet. Will a higher placing help the case of the likes of Jonny Clayton and Stephen Bunting?

1) Luke Littler

2) Luke Humphries

3) Gian van Veen

4) Michael van Gerwen

5) Jonny Clayton

6) Gary Anderson

7) Stephen Bunting

8) Ryan Searle

9) Josh Rock

10) Danny Noppert

11) James Wade

12) Gerwyn Price

13) Chris Dobey

14) Nathan Aspinall

15) Martin Schindler

16) Ross Smith