Premier League Darts Tips

The 2026 Premier League Darts season gets underway in Newcastle on Thursday, 5 February, with eight contenders set to begin a 16-week league campaign before the top four in the standings progress to the Play-Offs at the O2 Arena on 28 May.

Luke Humphries is the defending champion, having wrestled the title away from previous winner Luke Littler. The pair have contested the last two Premier League finals and also met in the World Masters final on Sunday, so it is no surprise they head the outright market.

Littler is the clear odds-on favourite at 8/11, with Humphries second at 9/2. There is then a small gap to 5/1 shot Gian van Veen, the World Championship runner-up, who will be looking to break the recent dominance of the two Lukes.

Van Veen is one of two Premier League debutants, alongside Josh Rock, who earned his place after winning the World Cup with Northern Ireland and reaching three further major semi-finals.

Rock is at 14/1, in a similar range to 2023 Premier League Darts runner-up Gerwyn Price, and seven-time winner of the event, Michael van Gerwen.

Van Gerwen failed to reach the Play-Offs for only the second time in 13 years in 2025. He is an even-money chance to finish in the top four this season, reflecting his recent lack of consistency despite showing some encouraging signs in recent events.

The two outsiders are Jonny Clayton, back in the line-up after two years away, and Stephen Bunting, who has finished eighth in each of his Premier League campaigns, including last season, where he went eight weeks without a win.

Tipster Ben Smith has four selections for week one, made up of two outright bets and two match bets, all placed with BetMGM, one of the best darts betting sites available for this event.

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Luke Humphries to Win Week One (5/1)

Littler and Humphries have not only contested the last two Premier League finals - they have also finished first and second in the league phase in both seasons. Littler topped the table by four points in 2024, and that margin grew to 11 last year, underlining how he has edged clear of his rival.

In their first Premier League season, Littler and Humphries both reached six nightly finals, winning four each. In 2025, their returns were even more impressive, with Littler reaching nine finals and Humphries only one fewer.

Littler continues to set the standard, but there are signs Humphries is at least closing the gap a bit. Their averages for 2026 are separated by less than a point. Humphries was arguably the more convincing player across the World Masters as a whole, and despite averaging more than Littler in the final, he still lost a tight 6-5 match.

At 5/1, Humphries looks overpriced, particularly with Littler facing the world number three, Van Veen, in round one.

Luke Humphries Most 180s in Week One (4/1)

There’s not a lot between Littler and Humphries on averages this year, and the same can be said for their maximum hitting. That has not usually been an area where Humphries has matched the world champion, but so far this season, both players are landing just under one 180 every other leg. At the World Masters, they were both recording better than one maximum every two legs.

Again, I think the gap between the pair in this market is too big. An opening-round match against Price is clearly a danger for any Humphries bet, but at the odds, both selections still make sense.

Luke Littler vs Gian van Veen - Over 9.5 Legs & Over 4.5 Littler 180s (5/2)

A semi-final defeat was probably about par for Van Veen in Milton Keynes, and even though he was whitewashed by Humphries in the semi-final, he should not be too disheartened, having simply run into an outstanding version of Cool Hand.

The Dutchman’s tournament average was 99 and it represented a solid follow-up to his displays on the PDC World Series of Darts in the Middle East, where he reached the final of the Bahrain Darts Masters.

He also pushed Littler hard in Saudi Arabia, losing 6-4 in a match that featured 11 maximums. With Littler’s 180 hitting being so reliable at the moment, you would expect the big scores to flow again if Van Veen can extend this contest to 10 legs or more.

Stephen Bunting vs Michael van Gerwen - Van Gerwen -1.5 Leg Handicap (49/50)

Bunting is struggling more than any other Premier League participant at present. His 4-0 defeat by Danny Noppert on Saturday only added to the feeling that the Freeze, rather than Bunting, should have been included in the line-up.

The Bullet also lost 6-4 to Michael van Gerwen at both World Series events earlier this month, and, even with Van Gerwen’s level being somewhat volatile right now, I am happy to take him on the handicap here.

Where Can I Watch Premier League Darts Week One?

Sky Sports is the broadcaster for Premier League Darts in the UK, showing every week of the season live on TV, including week one on Thursday 5 February.

You can watch darts live on Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Darts from around 7pm, and stream it through the Sky Go app or with a NOW TV pass if you do not have a Sky subscription.

Alternatively, talkSPORT radio will carry coverage and commentary for night one.

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