Premier League of Darts 2024: Our Online Betting Guide
Action gets underway in Cardiff on February 1st and here at betting.bet we’ll run the rule over the eight players set to take to take to the oche, providing the latest outright odds from the tournament’s new sponsors, BetMGM.
The lineup for this year’s Premier League of Darts tournament has been announced and there are some intriguing choices amongst the players selected. Recently-crowned world champion, Luke Humphries heads the market but the bookies’ odds suggest this year’s competition could be wide-open. Action gets underway in Cardiff on February 1st and here at betting.bet we’ll run the rule over the eight players set to take to take to the oche, providing the latest outright odds from the tournament’s new sponsors, BetMGM Sportsbook.
Luke Humphries
- Odds: 11/4
- Previous best: Challenger (2019 & 2020)
Luke Humphries is an obvious choice as tournament favourite having enjoyed a stellar few months in the PDC. The new world number one has won four of the last five televised ranking events, adding this year’s World Darts Championship title to a hat-trick of titles won in quick succession at the end of 2023. The 28-year-old won the World Grand Prix back in October before following up with victories in both the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals.
Humphries has never played in the Premier League in its current format but was selected as a ‘challenger’ in both 2019 and 2020. In 2019, Humphries tied 6-6 with Gerwyn Price before defeating Gary Anderson (7-5) twelve months later.
Luke Littler
- Odds: 7/2
- Previous best: N/A
The name on everyone’s lips at the moment is that of Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler. The 16-year-old is set to become the youngest ever player to qualify for the Premier League of Darts as the youngster from Runcorn continues his meteoric rise up the PDC ranks.
Littler won the PDC World Youth Championship in 2023 but few would’ve anticipated his charge to the World Championship final over the festive period. Littler defeated 2023 UK Open champion, Andrew Gilding in round two at Alexandra Palace before dumping out two former PDC world champions in Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross.
Having become the youngest player to ever reach the final of the PDC World Darts Championship, Littler moved up 133 places in the world rankings from 164th to 31st. He remains the lowest-ranked player in the Premier League lineup but the bookmakers still list him amongst the tournament’s outright favourites.
Michael van Gerwen
- Odds: 7/2
- Previous best: Winner (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 & 2023)
In a new-look Premier League lineup, Michael van Gerwen is the only former winner set to take part in 2024. MVG has won the competition a record seven times, including each of the past two years and he will have his sights set firmly on title number eight.
Van Gerwen will be disappointed to have been eliminated in the quarter-final of the World Championship but it’s the manner of the defeat that’ll really irk the Dutchman. Van Gerwen’s quarter-final average (93.41) was his lowest World Championship score since round one of the 2014 World Championship.
In a relatively underwhelming 2023, Van Gerwen still managed to claim victories in both the Premier League and World Series of Darts Finals and was a losing finalist in the World Championship, UK Open and Players Championship Finals.
Gerwyn Price
- Odds: 6/1
- Previous best: Runner-up (2023)
Last year’s runner-up will be hoping to go one better this year as Gerwyn Price prepares for his sixth Premier League campaign. Price topped the league table last year but after storming to a 10-2 semi-final win over compatriot, Jonny Clayton, he came unstuck against Michael van Gerwen in the final and eventually lost 11-5.
Gerwyn Price made up one half of Wales’ World Cup-winning side in 2023 but the Ice Man has not won an individual televised event since winning the 2022 World Series of Darts Finals. His winless run in ranking events televised stretches right back to the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts.
Price has however, achieved some success on the PDC European Tour in recent years and the world number five cannot be overlooked in this year’s Premier League.
Michael Smith
- Odds: 8/1
- Previous best: Runner-up (2018)
Michael Smith has recently lost his world number one ranking after failing to build on the World Championship title he won just over twelve months ago. Since winning the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship, Smith has made just one semi-final appearance in seven televised ranking events.
Smith will enter the Premier League for the seventh time this year and was runner-up in 2018. The 33-year-old finished second in the league stage of last year’s Premier League but lost to eventual winner, Michael van Gerwen (10-8) in a thrilling semi-final. At 8/1, he may well prove to be the best value in the Premier League’s outright betting.
Rob Cross
- Odds: 10/1
- Previous best: Runner-up (2019)
There’s something of a trend in this list, Rob Cross is another former world champion and previous Premier League runner-up. Cross was runner-up in 2019 but was not even selected to compete in the Premier League in 2022 or 2023.
Cross is a relative novice having only turned professional in 2017 but he’s more than capable of springing an upset or two back in the Premier League. The 33-year-old was a losing finalist in both the Grand Slam of Darts and The Masters in 2023 but it was probably his sensational comeback win over Chris Dobey in the World Championship quarter-final that helped seal his place in the Premier League. Cross came from 4-0 down to defeat Dobey 5-4 in their quarter-final match and there’s a feeling that Dobey would be playing in a second successive Premier League tournament had he progressed at Cross’ expense. The bookies rank Rob Cross as the sixth best player in the Premier League and that seems about right.
Nathan Aspinall
- Odds: 22/1
- Previous best: Runner-up (2020)
If the likes of Luke Littler and Rob Cross have been selected the compete in the Premier League on the back of their respective World Championship performances, it’s fair to say than Nathan Aspinall has been picked in spite of his lacklustre showing at Ally Pally.
World number four, Aspinall, lost 3-0 to unseeded Englishman, Ricky Evans in the World Championship second round to make it four successive televised ranking events where he’s failed to progress past round two.
The 32-year-old occupied a top four spot for 11/16 weeks during the Premier League’s league stage last year but just fell short of a place in the semi-final. On current form, Aspinall looks unlikely to reach the Play-offs this time around but last year’s World Matchplay winner could make a mockery of his 22/1 odds. Having finished fifth in the Premier League last year, Nathan Aspinall is certainly one to watch.
Peter Wright
- Odds: 28/1
- Previous best: Runner-up (2017)
Peter Wright is the rank outsider in this year’s Premier League and with all due respect, the two-time world champion should count himself fortunate to have been selected.
‘Snakebite’ has been well short of his best in recent tournaments and limped out of the 2024 World Championship in round two, losing 3-0 to Jim Williams with an average of just 83.87. Wright did win the European Championship last year, but 2023 was generally a disappointing year for the world number eight.
The 53-year-old finished rock-bottom of last year’s Premier League league stage, winning just five of the twenty one matches he was involved in.
2024 Premier League of Darts Schedule | Location |
---|---|
Night One February 1st | Cardiff (Utilita Arena) |
Night Two: February 8th | Berlin (Mercedes-Benz Arena) |
Night Three: February 15th | Glasgow (OVO Hydra) |
Night Four: February 22nd | Newcastle (Utilita Arena) |
Night Five: February 29th | Exeter (Westpoint) |
Night Six: March 7th | Brighton (The Brighton Centre) |
Night Seven: March 14th | Nottingham (Motorpoint Arena) |
Night Eight: March 21st | Dublin (3Arena) |
Night Nine: March 28th | Belfast (The SSE Arena) |
Night Ten: April 4th | Manchester (AO Arena) |
Night Eleven: April 11th | Birmingham (Utilita Arena) |
Night Twelve: April 18th | Rotterdam (Rotterdam Ahoy) |
Night Thirteen: April 25th | Liverpool (M&S Bank Arena) |
Night Fourteen: May 2nd | Aberdeen (P&J Live) |
Night Fifteen: May 9th | Leeds (First Direct Arena) |
Night Sixteen: May 16th | Sheffield (Utilita Arena) |
Play-Offs: May 23rd | London (The O2) |
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