With a dramatic 2023 World Championship in the history books, attention will soon shift to the Premier League, which kicks off in Belfast on February 2.
As is the norm at this time of year, debate is raging amongst darts over which players will be part of the annual darting roadshow across the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. In the past, the PDC announced the line-up immediately after the World Championship but in recent years the organisation has waited until later in January.
That is set to be the case again while one place could be kept open until after the Masters over the final weekend of January. That is the tournament Joe Cullen won last year to clinch the final spot.
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For 2022, there was a drastic change of format which saw eight players compete in a mini tournament each night with quarter-finals, semis and a final. With that format set to remain in place, Daily Star Sport predicts which eight players will make the cut…
The certainties
Let’s start with the easy picks. New world champion and world number one Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and outgoing world number one Gerwyn Price will all make the cut.
There have been questions over Price’s involvement following his antics at the World Championship but given he is in the field for the two World Series events in January in Bahrain and Denmark this month, it’s safe to assume he will be in the line-up.
Whether his ear-defenders will be involved is another matter!
The leading contenders
World number five Luke Humphries is widely expected to make his Premier League debut this year. Cool Hand is the next cab off the rank after an excellent 2022 which saw him win four European Tour titles, even though he was knocked out in the last 16 by Stephen Bunting at the Worlds.
Humphries’ selection for the upcoming Bahrain and Nordic Masters is a clue to his involvement. Others playing in both events are Rob Cross, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jonny Clayton, although the latter's call-up for Bahrain was only confirmed this week.
Cross made a good case for inclusion with a strong 2022 while Clayton would be unlucky to miss out having won the Premier League in 2021 and topping the group stage last year. Of that quartet, Van den Bergh could be the man to miss out, with his penchant for slow play potentially not helping his cause.
Nathan Aspinall deserves to be in the conversation too after making two major finals in 2022.
The outsiders
Josh Rock, the most exciting young talent in the sport, leads the way here. It would be a bold and probably controversial call to throw the 21-year-old in after just one year on the PDC Tour.
But the Premier League is about putting bums on seats more than any other tournament. This counts in the favour of Rock, who has already become a box office attraction.
Just imagine Rock vs new world champion Smith going head to head in Belfast on the opening night, the atmosphere would be electric. It just might be worth the criticism the PDC would get by overlooking high-ranked players like Ross Smith, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert.
However, strong performances from the likes of Smith, Van Duijvenbode or Noppert at the Masters – which features the top 24 players in the world – could push them further into the reckoning.
Name your Premier League line-up in the comments section below
Predicted 2023 Premier League line-up
Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen
Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright
Luke Humphries
Nathan Aspinall
Jonny Clayton
Josh Rock
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