Stephen Bunting is set to make his return to the Premier League for the first time in 10 years, earning a place among four wildcard selections for darts’ premier roadshow event.
Alongside him in the wildcard category are Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey, completing the eight-man roster for the 2025 competition.
The Premier League begins on February 6 in Belfast.
These four join the top four automatically qualified players on the PDC Order of Merit: new world champion and reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler, world No.1 Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross.
Bunting, ranked No. 5, is the highest-ranked player outside of automatic qualifiers.
His remarkable 2024 season, highlighted by a semi-final at the World Darts Championship and second place 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.
Class of 2025 🎓
Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall
It all starts in Belfast on February 6… Let’s go ✅
👉 https://t.co/C8DHdQrRUB pic.twitter.com/ZnrMJVwpt1
– PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 6, 2025
Premier League line-ups for 2025
The full 2025 Premier League squad includes:
- Luc Humphries
- Luc Littler
- Michael van Gerwen
- Rob Cross
- Stephen Bunting
- Gerwyn Prize
- Chris Dobey
- Nathan Aspinall
Several big names missed out on selection this year, including world No.6 Dave Chisnall, 2023 world champion Michael Smith and 2021 Premier League champion Jonny Clayton.
Former world champions Peter Wright and Gary Anderson were also left out, with Wright missing the Premier League for the first time since 2013.
Reigning World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker became the first player in history to miss out on a place in the Premier League after winning that title.
Commenting on the decisions, PDC general manager Matt Porter said: “Obviously with Price, Dobey and Aspinall there are players above them in the rankings who haven’t been selected, but we looked at it in terms of stage presence, popularity. , and how they can bring together a crowd of 10,000 people every Thursday.
“We want people to be on the edge of their seats. We want people to get up and enjoy their darts. This doesn’t mean other players can’t do this. You have to decide who is right at that moment.
The Premier League follows a knockout format, with each event featuring a bracket of eight players.
During the first seven weeks, each player will face all other competitors once in the first round. Matches repeat in Weeks 9-15, while fixtures in Weeks 8 and 16 are based on league standings.
The 2025 @BetMGMUK The Premier League is upon us… 🙌
Here are the eight stars who will battle it out 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 are played over the best of 19 rounds, with the final being played over 21 rounds.
Premier League 2025 Schedule
Here is the full schedule for this year’s Premier League:
- Night 1: The SSE Arena, Belfast – Thursday February 6
- Night 2: OVO Hydro, Glasgow – Thursday February 13
- Night 3: 3Arena, Dublin – Thursday February 20
- Night 4: Westpoint Exeter – Thursday February 27
- Night 5: The Brighton Center – Thursday March 6
- Night 6: Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – Thursday March 13
- Night 7: Utilita Arena, Cardiff – Thursday March 20
- Night 8: Utilita Arena, Newcastle – Thursday March 27
- Night 9: Uber Arena, Berlin – Thursday April 3
- Night 10: AO Arena, Manchester – Thursday April 10
- Night 11: Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam – Thursday April 17
- Night 12: M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool – Thursday April 24
- Night 13: Utilita Arena, Birmingham – Thursday May 1
- Night 14: First Direct Arena, Leeds – Thursday May 8
- Night 15: P&J Live, Aberdeen – Thursday May 15
- Night 16: Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday May 22
- Dams: The O2, London – Thursday May 29
