PDC Make Major Announcement on 2026 Premier League After Format Rumours

The PDC have made an announcement ahead of the upcoming Premier League Darts season after rumours suggested the format was going to change.

Since it was introduced in 2005, the Premier League has undergone a number of format changes. At first, seven players competed in a round-robin tournament which had a total prize fund of £140,000, with £50,000 going to the eventual winner.

Sixteen-time world champion Phil Taylor, who eventually scooped the five-figure prize, took part in the inaugural competition alongside Colin Lloyd, Peter Manley, John Part, Roland Scholten, Wayne Mardle and wildcard entrant Mark Dudbridge.

In the coming years, the Premier League would increase the line-up size to eight and ten competitors but the current format, introduced in 2022, features eight players in a weekly knockout tournament.

The first four players qualify based on performance, with the four highest-ranked players on the Professional Darts Corporation's Order of Merit automatically selected, and the remaining four spots will be invitations from the PDC.

Last year, the top four from the PDC Order of Merit – Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross – automatically qualified, while Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall were wildcard selections.

Ahead of the 2026 season, which will begin in Newcastle on February 5 and end at the O2 Arena in London on May 28, rumours emerged that suggested the format was going to change to ten competitors.

Back in late December, a post from FDI (Darts Orakel Power Rankings) wrote on X: "So apparently there is a chance that the Premier League is going back to 10 players (Nieuwlaat)."

However, PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter has squashed those suggestions by confirming that the format will not change in 2026.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We always say that we do evaluate it and we will change it at some point, but we just feel at the moment the data shows us that this is the right format."

“The crowds in the arenas love it, they love seeing a winner on the night, it keeps them entertained until the last dart, and the TV audience figures are great," he added. "So, we will make a decision as and when we feel that the format is tired.”

There is plenty of talk around who will be included in the Premier League's line-up for 2026, with World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle recently speaking about his chances after beating Jonny Clayton at the Alexandra Palace.

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At the time of writing, Searle is ranked number 7 in the PDC rankings. Image credit: Getty

Porter also gave an insight into how a wildcard is chosen to play in one of darts' biggest tournaments.

“We never make a decision until the end when we’ve got all the facts in front of us," he said.

“We always look for the players that we feel have delivered consistently. It is important. A lot of players deliver once but you have to show you can compete at the top level on a regular basis. You have to show you’ve got real star quality.“

Let us know your picks for this year's Premier League in the comments section.