Luke Littler will attempt to defend his Premier League title but Michael Smith has missed the cut (Image: GETTY)
The line-up for this year’s has been announced, with reigning champion the early favourite to defend his title.The 17-year-old claimed the grand prize on his debut last year and has since added to his tally by winning the .Littler is one of four players who have automatically qualified for the due to being in the top four on the Order of Merit. The other three players are , and .They are joined by four wildcard picks to make up the eight-person field. has been given the nod after his run to the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace, while also makes the list.
Littler is the reigning champion having beaten Luke Humphries in last year’s final (Image: GETTY)
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Chris Dobey, another World Darts Championship semi-finalist, and Nathan Aspinall are the final two names on the list. It means a number of high-profile players, including two former world champions, have missed the cut.Michael Smith has been snubbed following his early exit at Alexandra Palace, where he was knocked out by Kevin Doets in the opening round. It saw him plummet down the world rankings, having won just two events in 2024.Peter Wright, who finished bottom of the table last year, is another absentee despite reaching the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship.Other selected names to have been omitted from the line-up include Dave Chisnall, Gary Anderson and Damon Heta, who hit a nine-darter during his match against Luke Woodhouse.
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Where to buy Luke Littler’s darts
Luke Littler is heading to the latter stages of the WDC, and you can emulate the 17-year-old with a set of his Target G1 Swiss Point darts for £99.95. You can also upgrade to the gold Prodigy darts for £129.95.
There is also a more affordable Loadout 90% Tungsten darts for £45.90. If you need something to throw them at, Amazon has reduced the Luke Littler Cabinet & Dartboard Set to £59.99.
Speaking last week, chief executive Matt Porter teased that it would be an ‘interesting’ announcement and conceded that some people would be left disappointed.”We have to look for the star quality and people who can perform on the big stage,” he said. “It’s going to be an interesting announcement.”We’re certainly not going to please everybody but we feel we have to make the decisions that are right for the millions who will watch on TV and the 150,000 who will join us in the big arenas.”Whatever decision we make, so long as people are talking about it, we’ve made the right decision.” matches will take place every Thursday night between February and May, with events staged in different venues in the UK and throughout Europe.The series will get underway in Belfast on February 6, with the final event of the regular season being held in Sheffield on May 22. The play-offs will take place at the O2 Arena in London the following week to determine the eventual champion.