There is still plenty of speculation about the Premier League Darts participants. Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and also Rob Cross are certain to participate. For the remaining four spots, however, it is hard to say who will fill them.
PDC boss Matt Porter acknowledges that deciding which players get invitations is a difficult decision. But he indicates that all the speculation surrounding the Premier League is also only right. “We want guys who are ready, ready to play in front of 10,000 fans every week,” Porter said.
“Being boring and people not having an opinion about you are the two most terrible things. There’s really nothing worse than not being talked about. So I like having this situation where you can’t immediately write down six to eight players. Anything that gets talked about is good for darts.” But what then is the deciding factor by which it will be determined who will and will not be invited? According to Porter, not only world ranking will be decisive. “Quality. Personality. Confidence. Good behavior,” he lists as points that can be decisive.Because of all the surprising tournament winners this year, it is also more difficult to invite them. Names like Dimitri van den Bergh (UK Open win), Mike De Decker (World Grand Prix win) and Ritchie Edhouse (European Championship win) are therefore no more eligible than others.
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