Preview: Premier League Darts Night One – Newcastle
The Premier League Darts is heading to the Utilita Arena, Newcastle to kick start the 2026 campaign.
The line up features the top four who automatically guarantee a spot in the tournament.
The current top 4 includes World Number 1 and reigning World Champion Luke Littler. Reigning Premier League winner Luke Humphries. Youth World Champion and World Championship runner up Gain van Veen who is making his Premier League debut. Seven-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen makes up the top four.
Alongside the top four are four wildcards selected by the PDC. World Number five Jonny Clayton returns to the fold for the first time since 2023. Stephen Bunting returns despite finishing at the foot of the table last time out. Ninth seed Josh Rock is also set to make his Premier League debut.2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price returns for his eighth Premier League.
Rock vs Clayton
The first quarter final of the evening sees Rocky take on the Ferret.
The pair have met eleven times with Rock edging the head to heads with six wins to Clayton’s five.
Rock was also victorious over Clayton in the World Cup final with Northern Ireland alongside Daryl Gurney. The pair overcame Clayton and Price in a last leg decider to win Northern Ireland’s first ever World Cup of Darts.
My prediction: Rock 6-3 Clayton
Littler vs van Veen
The second quarter final of the night sees a repeat of the 2026 World Darts Championship final as Littler takes on van Veen.
Over the last three seasons the World Championships finals replays have all seen the runner up win their opener. MVG overcame Michael Smith in 2023. Littler got one over Humphries in 2024 and van Gerwen beat the Nuke in a last leg decider last year.
My Prediction: Littler 6-4 van Veen
Humphries vs Price
Reigning champion Humphries starts his title defence against Price in the penultimate quarter final. The Iceman was victorious in the pairs last meeting winning 6-5 in Riyadh.
The pair both picked up three nightly wins last season and will both be looking to secure their place at the 02 Arena once again.
My Prediction: Humphries 5-6 Price
Bunting vs Van Gerwen
Rounding off the quarter finals sees Bunting face van Gerwen. The Dutch number two looked back to himself in the two most recent World Series events making both finals and winning in Bahrain.
The Green Machine missed out on a spot at the Play Offs for the first time last year and will be looking to prove a point.
Bunting only won seven out of 22 games last season but made two finals and won the night in Berlin.
My Prediciton: Bunting 2-6 van Gerwen
Following the quarter finals the winner of QF 1 will play the winner of QF 2, and the winner of QF 3 will play the winner of QF for a place in the Night One final.
Ever since the new format was introduced in 2022 there has been a different nightly winner each year at Newcastle.
Smith was victorious in 2022. Price beat van Gerwen in the final in 2023. MVG then won the night in 2024, and last year saw a clash of the Luke’s with Littler running riot with a 6-1 win.
