Danny Noppert’s Incredible Response After Being ‘Robbed’ of Premier League Spot
Danny Noppert has responded with a classy statement after being snubbed from the 2026 Premier League lineup.
Off the back of the World Darts Championship where Luke Littler retained his crown and bagged a record £1 million prize as well as the Sid Waddell Trophy, the lineup for the Premier League dropped.
As per PDC rules, Littler and losing finalist Gian van Veen secured automatic qualification alongside Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen as the four highest ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit secure automatic qualification.
The remaining four wildcard spots were up for grabs, with Noppert, Ryan Searle, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall among the names in contention.
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On Monday, Sky Sports made the official announcement for the full lineup - with Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price all included.
Bunting's inclusion caused a huge stir given his 2025 Premier League campaign was extremely underwhelming, having failed to record a single point in the opening eight weeks.
He was beaten by James Hurrell in the third round of the latest edition of the World Darts Championship and many wondered whether he would get the call-up for the Premier League.
Darts legend Wayne Mardle admitted he felt Bunting was a "little fortunate", with 'The Bullet' acknowledging that "the back end of the year didn’t go too well" in a statement following the decision.
His involvement, along with that of Josh Rock's, comes at the expense of Dutchman Noppert, who is tenth in the world rankings.
Plenty thought the European Championship and Masters semi-finalist was "robbed" of a spot in the weekly tournament after a strong run.
One user on X wrote: "Danny Noppert been absolutely robbed by Stephen Bunting there, rest of the picks are bang on."
A second commented: "Danny Noppert has been robbed, probably due to his poor walk on music and poor social media following."
A third agreed, stating: "Danny Noppert has been robbed and its not even funny 4 major Semi finals he reached this year."
2026 Premier League schedule in full:
Night 1 - Utilita Arena, Newcastle - Thursday February 5
Night 2 - AFAS Dome, Antwerp - Thursday February 12
Night 3 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow - Thursday February 19
Night 4 - SSE Arena, Belfast - Thursday February 26
Night 5 - Utilita Arena, Cardiff - Thursday March 5
Night 6 - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham - Thursday March 12
Night 7 - 3Arena, Dublin - Thursday March 19
Night 8 - Uber Arena, Berlin - Thursday March 26
Night 9 - AO Arena, Manchester - Thursday April 2
Night 10 - Brighton Centre, Brighton - Thursday April 9
Night 11 - Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam - Thursday April 16
Night 12 - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool - Thursday April 23
Night 13 - P&J Live, Aberdeen - Thursday April 30
Night 14 - First Direct Arena, Leeds - Thursday May 7
Night 15 - Utilita Arena, Birmingham - Thursday May 14
Night 16 - Utilita Arena, Sheffield - Thursday May 21
Finals Night - The O2, London - Thursday May 28
However despite the disappointment, Noppert took the news well - thanking fans for their support and wishing "the best of luck" to all those selected.
"Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected for this year’s Premier League," the 30-year-old said on Instagram.
"Still, it truly means a lot to me to see more and more people speaking positively about me and mentioning my name as a potential candidate. I really appreciate all the support, it genuinely does me good.
"For now, I’ll just concentrate on having another good season. Thank you all once again for the support, and best of luck to everyone competing in the Premier League."
James Wade reacts to Premier League snub
Another high-profile omission from the lineup was world number eleven and four-time PDC World Championship semi-finalist James Wade.
Wade, who was beaten in the second round of the World Darts Championship by Ricky Evans, won the Premier League in 2009 but was overlooked again.
"Hard work pays off… really?" Wade said.
"Disappointed, but proud of the work I put in this year chasing one goal getting back to the Premier League. Missing out hurts, but that’s part of the journey.
"I trusted my performances in the big moments, two major finals and two major quarter-finals and I’ll keep backing that process. Back to work now. 2026, I’ll be ready. James."
The new Premier League season begins on 5 February at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle and runs for 17 weeks on Thursday nights, with the final taking place at the O2 Arena in London on May 28.
The 2026 Premier League Darts will take place from Thursday, February 5 to Thursday, May 28. You can purchase hospitality tickets on Seat Unique or watch live on Sky Sports via NOW TV.
Topics: World Darts Championship, Darts
Josh Lawless