In the least surprising development since it was known the Pope was a Catholic, Luke Littler’s meteoric rise in the darting world continued apace this evening when it was announced the soon-to-be 17 year old was added to the field for the forthcoming Premier League.
The Warrington lad has taken the sporting world be storm over the past month or so, as he appeared to smash more records than a demolition expert let loose in a music shop. But while his omission would have been disastrous on a lot of levels, the point should be made that where opportunity knocks for some there are others who are cut adrift.
In this instance, one would have to feel particularly sorry for players like Scott Williams and Stephen Bunting and Dave Chisnell and, yes, Raymond Van Barneveld any of whom could have been well entitled to have been included in the BetMGM-sponsored event.
The field in full is:
Luke Humphries
Luke Littler
Rob Cross
Michael Smith
Michael Van Gerwen
Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price
Nathan Aspinall
The fixture list for the weeks and months ahead are as follows:
February 1: Premier League, Night One – Cardiff (Utilita Arena)
February 2-4: The Masters – Milton Keynes
February 8: Premier League, Night Two – Berlin (Mercedes-Benz Arena)
February 15: Premier League, Night Three – Glasgow (OVO Hydra)
February 22: Premier League, Night Four – Newcastle (Utilita Arena)
February 29: Premier League, Night Five – Exeter (Westpoint)
March 1-3: UK Open – Minehead
March 7: Premier League, Night Six – Brighton (The Brighton Centre)
March 14: Premier League, Night Seven – Nottingham (Motorpoint Arena)
March 21: Premier League, Night Eight – Dublin (3Arena)
March 28: Premier League, Night Nine – Belfast (The SSE Arena)
April 4: Premier League, Night 10 – Manchester (AO Arena)
April 11: Premier League, Night 11 – Birmingham (Utilita Arena)
April 18: Premier League, Night 12 – Rotterdam (Rotterdam Ahoy)
April 25: Premier League, Night 13 – Liverpool (M&S Bank Arena)
May 2: Premier League, Night 14 – Aberdeen (P&J Live)
May 9: Premier League, Night 15 – Leeds (First Direct Arena)
May 16: Premier League, Night 16 – Sheffield (Utilita Arena)
May 25: Premier League Play-Offs – London (The O2)
June 27-30: World Cup of Darts – Frankfurt
July 13-21: World Matchplay – Blackpool
July 21: Women’s World Matchplay – Blackpool
August 13-15: World Series Finals – Amsterdam
October 7-13: World Grand Prix – venue TBC
October 24-27: European Championship – Dortmund
November 9-17: Grand Slam of Darts – Wolverhampton
November 22-24: Players Championship Finals – Minehead
December (exact dates to be confirmed): Word Darts Championship – London
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