Premier League Darts 2026 | Night One Newcastle Preview and Order of Play

The 2026 Premier League Darts campaign gets off and running in Newcastle on Thursday as the elite eight battle it out for the first weekly title of the season.

The biggest-ever BetMGM Premier League Darts features a record prize fund, a new venue and two debutants as the sport’s star names compete across 17 nights of knockout competition.

A sold-out Utilita Arena in Newcastle is the first port of call for the PDC’s most prestigious invitational, with a first £10,000 weekly bonus and crucial points up for grabs.

The marquee quarter-final fixture features a repeat of last month’s World Championship final between Luke Littler and Gian van Veen.

Littler claimed Premier League glory in his debut campaign two years ago before losing out to rival Luke Humphries in last year’s final at The O2.

The world’s top two potentially set the tone for the season ahead by contesting the first major ranking final of the season at the Winmau World Masters on Sunday, with Littler recovering from 5-4 down to snatch a deciding-set victory for his 11th major title.

The teenage phenomenon has won seven of the last eight major ranking tournaments, with only the European Championship now missing from his collection.

Littler has finished top of the Premier League table for the last two seasons, winning four nights in 2024 and six nights in 2025 – including here in Newcastle by thrashing Humphries 6-1 in the final.

Littler has won six of his ten previous meetings with Van Veen, following up his 7-1 rout in the World Championship final with a 111.5 average in a 6-4 success en route to the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters title a fortnight ago.

Van Veen becomes the fifth Dutchman to appear in the Premier League, having been rewarded for an incredible 2025 campaign which saw him clinch a first major title at the European Championship before going on to reach the final at Ally Pally.

The 23-year-old began the new season by finishing runner-up at the Bahrain Masters and went on to reach the semi-finals of the Winmau World Masters, where his run of five consecutive wins over Humphries was brought to an end as the world number two stormed to a 5-0 whitewash with a 107.5 average.

In the bottom section of the Night One draw, Humphries launches the defence of his title with a clash against 2023 runner-up Gerwyn Price.

Humphries defeated Littler 11-8 in last year’s final to claim an eighth major title and become the ninth different winner of the Premier League since its inception in 2005.

The world number two has since suffered lost his last four consecutive major finals, three of which to Littler, and is bidding to become only the third player in Premier League history (alongside Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen) to retain the title.

Humphries picked up three weekly titles last season and hit a nine-darter in Brighton, and ‘Cool Hand’ was in imperious from in reaching the World Masters final for the second successive year, landing the first televised nine-darter of 2026 en route.

Price returns for his eighth Premier League campaign, having reached the play-offs last season for only the second time.

A four-time major semi-finalist last season, Price also reached the Last Four of the recent World Masters, narrowly losing 5-4 to Littler after missing a match dart.

Seven-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen opens up against former Masters champion Stephen Bunting.

Van Gerwen has been an ever-present in the Premier League since 2013, though last season saw him finish fifth and miss out on a play-off spot for only the second time.

The reigning World Series Finals champion started the year strongly by picking up the Bahrain Masters title and was also runner-up in Saudi Arabia, but went on to suffer a disappointing first round exit to Damon Heta at the World Masters.

Bunting was undoubtedly the most contentious of the four PDC picks this year, and returns to the fold after finishing bottom of last year’s table with no wins from the opening eight nights.

A winner of six PDC titles in 2025, including two World Series, Bunting endured a difficult end to last season, including a shock defeat to James Hurrell at the World Championship, and was whitewashed 4-0 by Danny Noppert in the second round of last week’s World Masters.

Bunting did, however, manage a nightly title in Berlin last year, while Van Gerwen failed to pick up a single nightly title for the first time since the knockout format was introduced.

The curtain-raiser on Tyneside sees former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton take on debutant Josh Rock.

Clayton returns to the competition for the first time since 2023, having enjoyed a terrific season in 2025 which saw him reach the final of the World Masters and World Cup of Darts, as well as a further three major ranking semi-finals.

The Welsh number one boasts an impressive record in the Premier League, winning the title on debut in 2021 and reaching the play-offs in the two subsequent seasons.

Rock was rewarded for a landmark campaign in 2025 which saw him guide Northern Ireland to World Cup glory, whilst also reaching the semi-finals of the UK Open, World Matchplay and World Series Finals.

The 24-year-old becomes only the second Northern Irishman to compete in the Premier League and will look to hit the ground running in his quest to make the top four.

The action gets under way from 7pm GMT, with all matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.

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Premier League Darts 2026 Night One Schedule

Thursday February 5

Utilita Arena, Newcastle

Quarter-Finals
Josh Rock v Jonny Clayton
Luke Littler v Gian van Veen
Luke Humphries v Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting v Michael van Gerwen

Semi-Finals
Rock/Clayton v Littler/Van Veen
Humphries/Price v Bunting/Van Gerwen

Final