There's still a lot of action to look forward to in dartsto end 2025, but the Premier League Lineup for 2026 is already starting to shape up.
Of course, some repeat participants from 2025 will be competing again, but there may be a few major changes.
As it stands now, let's see what eight players we can expect to see competing in the multi-month tournament next year.
Predicting the eight players in the 2026 Premier League of Darts lineup
Here are the eight players I have making the lineup as of now.
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1. Luke Littler
Littler has had a lot of success in his first two Premier League campaigns and is pretty much a lock to return.
He won it all in 2024 and was the runner-up this year.
Littler is in great form at the moment and might even overtake Luke Humphries for world number one before the 2026 Premier League starts.
MORE: Watch: Luke Littler hits nine-darter in one of the greatest legs of all time against Josh Rock
2. Luke Humphries
Humphries, the current world number one, is another lock for the 2026 lineup.
He claimed his first Premier League title a few months ago.
Luke has struggled recently to be in 'world number one form' since that title win in May, but we all know it will come back, and he'll be back in the lineup in 2026, especially since the top four-ranked players receive auto bids.
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3. Michael van Gerwen
Van Gerwen was a finalist at this year's PDC World Championship, but has also undergone struggles of his own.
Some have questioned whether or not we will ever see MVG anywhere close to the level he played at during his prime.
He's had some personal issues that forced him to take time off, but he is still searching for consistency after returning to the stage a couple of months ago.
With how highly he's ranked as of now and how big a figure he is in darts, it's a rare scenario in which van Gerwen isn't featured in next year's lineup.
Van Gerwen did not finish top four on the table in the 2025 PL to qualify for the play-off night, which was the first time that had happened to him since 2020.
He's also in danger of not qualifying for this year's Players Championship Finals after sitting out a majority of PC events this year.
MORE: MODUS Super Series leg ends with nine-darter after Michael van Gerwen/Michael Smith-esque leg
4. Stephen Bunting
Bunting didn't have an ideal return to the Premier League in 2025.
He finished last in the standings for the season, with just 7 wins in 22 matches played.
As of now, he would receive an auto bid as a top four seed on the Main OoM, but either way, he has proven he is capable of playing against Premier League-caliber players.
Even with a last-place finish on the table, Bunting still had the fourth-highest average for a player in the 2025 PL.
His average of 97.48 across his 22 games showed how he was unlucky at times with opponents. His average stood to be higher than Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall in the 2025 PL, even though both had good enough campaigns to qualify for the play-off night.
MORE: Stephen Bunting darts walk-on song: Details on 'Titanium" by David Guetta featuring Sia
5. James Wade
The five-spot is where it can start to get tricky. The margins are very small in what determines whether one player makes it over another.
Wade was recently a runner-up at the World Matchplay. It's considered the second-biggest tournament on the darts calendar, strengthening his case for a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2022.
In addition to his final against Littler at the World Matchplay, Wade also played Littler at the 2025 UK Open, losing to him in the final.
Another one or two deep tournament runs to finish 2025 could solidify his return to the Premier League, especially if he finds a way to overtake Bunting for world number four (would get an auto bid).
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6. Gerwyn Price
Price silenced the doubters in 2025, making the play-off night after being told he didn't deserve to be on the 2025 lineup.
He's slowly gotten better as the year has gone on, with notable performances at the World Cup, European Tour and World Series of Darts.
Price is an entertainer and can bring energy to the game that very few players can replicate.
His results in the coming months will play a role in whether or not he gets the call to return, but with what he's done recently, I don't see how he doesn't make a return to the PL in 2026.
MORE: Gerwyn Price builds on previous history with nine-dart finish on Night 15 in Aberdeen
7. Jonny Clayton
Clayton is a four-time participant in the Premier League, winning in 2021 and making an appearance as recently as 2023.
He's quietly put together a very consistent year, which could put him on the right track to a return to the Premier League.
He made the final of the World Masters earlier in the year, barely losing to Luke Humphries in a thriller.
Clayton was a semifinalist at the World Matchplay last month and was also a semifinalist at the UK Open.
The European Tour has been a success for him so far, winning the Dutch Darts Championship, along with a semifinal and two quarterfinal appearances in nine Euro Tour event appearances so far this year.
MORE: Jonny Clayton darts walk-on song: Details on 'Johnny B. Goode' by Chuck Berry
8. Josh Rock
The eighth spot is/will continue to be debated until the 2026 World Championship is completed.
Too much can happen from now until the beginning of January, but one player is very deserving of making it. That player is Josh Rock.
Rock is one of the up-and-comers whose spotlight has been blocked by the shadow of other talents in the PDC at times
His recent run to the semifinal round of the World Matchplay showed fans how good he can be and how big a step he's taken in just the last year or so.
Rock has multiple appearances on day 3 of Euro Tour events, with two semifinal runs and a quarterfinal run in 2025.
Rock also notably won the World Cup as Northern Ireland's standout star and was a UK Open Semifinalist earlier in the year.
MORE: Watch: Josh Rock pins nine-dart finish at Players Championship 20
Honorable mentions
An eight-player lineup means that only a short list of competitors can make the PL. Considering how much depth the PDC has at the moment, some snubs are bound to happen.
Nathan Aspinall has fallen drastically on the Main OoM after losing prize money from his 2023 World Matchplay title. He's still put together a great year, but it might be hard when his name is compared to talents having just as good a year as him.
Chris Dobey was another player in this year's Premier League, but might find himself out in 2026, after just returning from a snub in 2024.
Damon Heta is still looking to make more noise at TV events to strengthen his case for making the PL, but right now, it doesn't feel like the time has come just yet for The Heat.
Rob Cross joined Aspinall and Dobey in this year's Premier League, but might be the third player not returning. He's had a below-par year for his standard so far, and might be snubbed with the players he's competing to get in over.
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