Bedlington thrower Chris Dobey has been included in this year's PDC Premier League line-up as the competition's eight players were announced this afternoon.

The competition gets underway in Belfast on Thursday, February 6 with World Champion Luke Littler looking to defend his title after beating world number one Luke Humphries 11-7 last year. The 17-year-old also hit a nine-darter in last year's final on his way to victory.

Dobey, who made the semi-finals of this year's World Championship before being knocked out by runner-up Michael van Gerwen, has deservedly earned his spot in the line-up after also being the number one player on the ProTour last year.

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The 34-year-old has competed in the Premier League before in 2019 as a 'Contender' after Gary Anderson pulled out of the tournament. He played in Newcastle in front of a raucous crowd, but lost 6-5 to Mensur Suljović.

He returned the following year as a 'Challenger', a re-brand of 'Contender', but lost 7-2 to Daryl Gurney on night seven in Milton Keynes.

Dobey is the first player from the North East since Glen Durrant in 2021 to play in the Premier League. Durrant famously won the title in 2020 on debut, defeating Nathan Aspinall in the final.

Four names had already been confirmed to be competing in this year's competition - Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross. This is because they occupy the top four spots on the PDC Order of Merit.

There were a host of names that were rumoured such as Australian Damon Heta and World Grand Prix Champion Mike De Decker, but both have missed out. The full line-up for this year's tournament is: Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall.

The competition begins in Belfast on Thursday, February 6, and concludes with the Play-Offs at the O2 in London on Thursday, May 29.