Chris Dobey is set to make a return to the Premier League (Image: Getty)
Former darts ace-turned Sky Sports pundit Glen Durrant has jokingly admitted he’ll be rooting against Chris Dobey during this year’s .
Dobey enjoyed an impressive World Darts Championship over the festive period, with making it all the way to the competition’s semi-final stage.
He met his match in eventual runner-up Michael van Gerwen, who Dobey will be reunited with later this year when he competes in the .
Dobey’s impressive year on the floor and in the big TV tournaments earned him a spot in the coveted line-up.
But while Durrant has sent his congratulations to Dobey for his call-up, the three-time BDO World Championship winner is hoping the 34-year-old doesn’t go all the way and win the competition.
, Durrant said: “So happy for @Dobey180….. I just hope and pray he doesn’t win it though !!”
It’s a comment said with tongue firmly in cheek by Durrant, given he and Dobey are good friends away from the sport.
Instead, the Sky Sports pundit was likely adding fuel to the pair’s North East rivalry, with Dobey a die-hard United supporter and Durrant a fan of Middlesbrough.
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Glenn Durrant played Chris Dobey in the 2020 World Championship (Image: Getty)
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The two have crossed paths on the board plenty of times before, with their most high-profile meeting coming at the 2020 World Darts Championship when Durrant knocked Dobey out in the fourth round.
Speaking ahead of the clash in 2019, Durrant told Sky Sports: “Chris is just the nicest man in the world and it would be great to have Middlesbrough vs .
“To play Chris – he’s up there with Steve Beaton and Dave Chisnall. He’s just the nicest guy – nobody has a bad word to say about him.”
Alongside Dobey, , , , Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price and Stephen Bunting have also been selected for the invitation-only exhibition tournament.
The decision has caused a bit of controversy, mainly because of the players who were left out of the lineup, namely Damon Heta, who’s ranked eighth in the world.
On the Australian, darts master of ceremony, Richard Ashdown said: “There are more than eight players obviously. We can make a case for so many. Heta the way his stage persona is in recent years seems an ideal fit and he’s another one who people say when is he going to be in it. He will be at some point.”
The gets underway in early February 2025.