The cruel Luke Littler irony as Premier League Darts diehards in Scotland stripped of a proud record
Scottish darts fans will be without a hometown hero to cheer for when Luke Littler mania takes over Glasgow and Aberdeen.
It's the first time since 2010 that world champions Gary Anderson and Peter Wright haven't qualified for the Premier League Darts. And the world will be tuning into Glasgow on match night two on Thursday February 13 with the Saltires in reserve as the Nuke world tour heads to the Hydro. Wright and Anderson endured mixed fortunes at the Ally Pally – the former came alive while Anderson was unceremoniously dumped out by Jeffrey de Graaf in the second round.
Littler has been joined by Luke Humphries, mercurial Michael Van Gerwen and Rob Cross in the automatic slots while Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall have also been selected. The tournament runs for 17 weeks with a winner crowned at each event before the grand finale.
READ MORE: Premier League Darts line-up plus schedule in full as world champion Luke Littler defends his title
PDC chief Matt Porter explained his selections. He said: "We want people on the edge of their seats and up enjoying the darts. That's not to say other players can't do that. You have to make a decision as to what you feel is right at the time. The board has selected players that we feel will deliver that level of entertainment and that level of darting excellence every week.
"People will disagree with us and that's the nature of it. It's part and parcel of sport. Every decision will be analysed, we may get decisions wrong, we may get decisions right. But ultimately the proof will be in the pudding in the numbers every week."
