Darts fans think three players were 'robbed' as Premier League line-up announced by PDC

Fans think that three players were 'robbed' after missing out on the 2025 Premier League of Darts line-up.

The PDC confirmed the eight-player line-up on Monday afternoon, with world number one Luke Humphries and reigning world champion Luke Littler heading the field.

The top four players on the two-year Order of Merit rankings automatically ensured their selection, meaning Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross are also named in the line-up.

Meanwhile, the other four players selected for the 2025 edition are Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey.

The full PDC Premier League of Darts 2025 line-up (Image: PDC)

All four of those players reached at least the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship, with Bunting and Dobey making the semi-finals.

Price, meanwhile, attempted to put a challenging season - which included 'The Iceman' suffering from what he described as a 'frustrating' medical issue - behind him by at least reaching the last eight, where he lost to Dobey.

And Aspinall ultimately lost to eventual champion Littler at the same stage after victories over Leonard Gates, Andrew Gilding and Ricardo Pietreczko.

Some names that missed the cut, however, include world number eight Damon Heta, world number five Dave Chisnall and World Grand Prix winner Mike De Decker.

And fans thought that any of those three players deserved to make the cut.

One wrote: "Aspinall over Heta is a joke."

A second said: "Should've been De Decker instead of the Asp."

A third asked: "How on earth are Aspinall and Price in there? Heta and Chizzy robbed."

World number five Dave Chisnall missed out on 2025 Premier League of Darts selection (Image: Getty)

And a fourth said: "Mike De Decker becomes the first player in the 20-year history of the Premier League to win a major televised event on Sky and not be selected. Sickening."

While another fan wrote: "Dobey has done naff all apart from the worlds, and Chizzy is four places ahead on the OoM."

Another player who may have felt hard done by would be Dimitri van den Bergh, who won the UK Open in 2024.

What all four of those stars have in common, however, is early exits from the World Championship.

Chisnall and De Decker were knocked out in the second round, while Heta made it to round three but lost to Luke Woodhouse - despite hitting a nine-darter in the match. Van den Bergh was whitewashed 4-0 by Callan Rydz at the same stage.

While the Premier League is not strictly based on ranking points - except the top four players - as it is an invitational event, World Championship performances clearly have an impact on who gets selected.