The 22nd edition of Premier League Darts gets underway on Thursday night as the eight players who have qualified for the tournament start their campaign at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle.
On the back of his thrilling Masters triumph over Luke Humphries, world champion and world number one Luke Littler is the clear favourite to prevail on week one, but each player in the event will feel that they can make an early statement in the North-East.
Josh Rock vs. Jonny Clayton
The clash between debutant Rock and 2021 Premier League winner Clayton gets the tournament underway, and both players have claims to come out on top.
Rock's best performance at the Masters was a 4-1 win over Rob Cross where he produced a 101.66 average, while Clayton's 102.83 average in a 3-1 triumph over Wessel Nijman prior to his 4-3 defeat to Gerwyn Price indicated that he is in form.
At 6/5 with most bookmakers, Clayton gets our vote here in a match that goes more than 9.5 legs, the odds for that being around betting odds of 20/21.
MFT Tip: Clayton to win (6/5)
Luke Littler vs. Gian van Veen
In a repeat of the 2026 World Championship final, Littler versus Van Veen is the headline act of the quarter-finals, but we do not expect it to deliver as much excitement as many will be anticipating.
Littler has withstood fast starts from Van Veen in the last two contests before winning the world final 7-1 (in sets) and their contest at the recent Saudi Arabia Masters 6-4 (in legs).
That has taken Littler's winning streak over Van Veen to three matches in televised tournaments and we are backing Littler to win comfortably here. A 6-2 or 6-3 win – at betting odds of around 5/1 and 6/1 – should attract attention here.
MFT Tip: Littler to win with -2.5 leg handicap (11/10)
Luke Humphries vs. Gerwyn Price
Based on their performances in Milton Keynes last week, this could prove to be the match of the night.
Price missed darts to beat Littler in the semi-finals of the Masters, while Humphries averaged more than 101 in all five of his matches before a 6-5 defeat to Littler in the final, where he averaged over 105.
While Humphries is arguably too short to back at 8/13, total legs of over 9.5 at 20/21 and a Humphries 6-5 win at 6/1 should be considered.
MFT Tip: Total legs over 9.5 (20/21)
Stephen Bunting vs. Michael van Gerwen
Given his controversial wildcard pick over Danny Noppert, Bunting heads into this match with much to prove.
However, facing a Van Gerwen who will be frustrated by his 3-1 defeat to Damon Heta in the first round of the Masters does not bold well for the Bullet.
Van Gerwen recorded 6-4 wins over Bunting in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia last month. A repeat of that is available at 11/2, but there is as much value in Van Gerwen at 8/13 considering that Bunting was beaten 4-0 by Noppert at the Masters with an average below 89.
MFT Tip: Van Gerwen to win (8/13)
Value bet for Premier League Darts Night One
A Clayton, Littler and Van Gerwen treble works out at approximately 4/1. In our eyes, the only concern is the outcome of the Rock and Clayton encounter.
This is also the week where you can predict a semi-finalist after 16 weeks on a level playing field.
Some bookmakers are offering close to Evens for Price to finish in the top four. With the Welshman winning three weekly events and qualifying for the 2025 semi-finals despite nine quarter-final losses, backing the 2023 runner-up feels like the go-to bet.
Darren is a writer and tipster across a wide array of sports including football, golf, darts and boxing. He counts Keegan Bradley's US PGA Championship win in 2011 as his greatest-ever bet. Darren is also a Chelsea and Hednesford Town fan, as well as a keen golfer and darts player.
GambleAware