Bunting included in 2026 Premier League lineup as Aspinall, Noppert miss out

[p]There are guaranteed places for the top four in the PDC Order of Merit, which means Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, and Michael van Gerwen were all automatic inclusions. However, there will have been plenty of debate around the remaining four places.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bunting-stephen/xANKMtPG/"]Bunting[/a] has not been at his best since winning two World Series events and a Euro Tour tournament at the top end of last year, but the 40-year-old is a firm fan favourite wherever he goes.[/p][p][b]"I'm slightly surprised at Stephen Bunting. He's had a decent enough year but not as good as some in my opinion," [/b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mardle-wayne/UmzCxymn/"]Wayne Mardle[/a] told [i]Sky Sports[/i].[/p][p][b]"He can consider himself a little fortunate. He played OK in the Premier League last year but results didn't go well, especially for the first eight weeks when he didn't win a game.[/b][/p][embed guid="e5c20134-ba89-497a-8b84-c9a29a0cc796" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2008205713664065675?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/price-gerwyn/8dDDoW0B/"]Gerwyn Price[/a] has been included for an eighth time for similar reasons away from the oche; his antics always headline-grabbing whenever the darts comes to town.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/clayton-jonny/tx0y2xRD/"]Jonny Clayton[/a], meanwhile, has been named for the first time since 2023, while Northern Ireland's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rock-josh/xKxxNY1P/"]Rock[/a] will be making his Premier League debut along with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-veen-gian/jgT1AT29/"]Van Veen[/a].[/p][p]The two biggest names to miss out are [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/aspinall-nathan/KURJJrU5/"]Aspinall[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noppert-danny/YmMfGEz0/"]Noppert[/a], with the former not featuring for the first time since 2022.[/p][p]Noppert has been long mooted as a likely inclusion, but perhaps his failure to make it into the last 32 at Alexandra Palace this year cost him more than just a bigger chunk of the prize money.[/p][p][b]"Danny Noppert has been really unlucky. He's reached the semi-finals of four majors," [/b]Mardle continued.[/p][embed guid="f9ded59b-0358-4ff8-b5e9-6d7e590d781a" url="https://x.com/OfficialPDC/status/2008204636889494012?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Nathan Aspinall had a squeak, but Noppert, I feel... what's he got to do? He won the UK Open a few years ago. Since then, he's got better and better.[/b][/p][p][b]"Maybe he's got to reach a final or win one, but Stephen (Bunting) hasn't done that this year.[/b][/p][p][b]"With the performances of last year, I thought that would have gone against him rather than for him, but he's got a massive following."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/anderson-gary/MyKZZS6r/"]Gary Anderson[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/searle-ryan/UFF3Eh5C/"]Ryan Searle[/a], who were respectively beaten by Van Veen and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/littler-luke/0URN6Xks/"]Littler[/a] at the World Championship, have not made it in, but there was no indication that Anderson would have wanted to take a spot, while Searle would have been a slightly surprising inclusion despite his recent impressive run at the Worlds.[/p][p]The Premier League Darts gets underway in Newcastle on 5 February, where Humphries will begin his title defence in earnest following a disappointing quarter-final exit at Ally Pally.[/p][embed guid="90fec97a-f6d1-47bf-b420-a4cc118516ef" url="https://www.instagram.com/p/DTIodrYjfEO/" social-type="instagram" /][h2]Full player lineup[/h2][p]Luke Littler [/p][p]Luke Humphries[/p][p]Gian van Veen[/p][p]Michael van Gerwen [/p][p]Jonny Clayton[/p][p]Stephen Bunting[/p][p]Josh Rock[/p][p]Gerwyn Price[/p][h2]Schedule[/h2][p][b]February 5:[/b] Night 1 - Newcastle[/p][p][b]February 12: [/b]Night 2 - Antwerp[/p][p][b]February 19:[/b] Night 3 - Glasgow[/p][p][b]February 26: [/b]Night 4 - Belfast[/p][p][b]March 5:[/b] Night 5 - Cardiff[/p][p][b]March 12:[/b] Night 6 - Nottingham[/p][p][b]March 19:[/b] Night 7 - Dublin[/p][p][b]March 26:[/b] Night 8 - Berlin[/p][p][b]April 2:[/b] Night 9 - Manchester[/p][p][b]April 9:[/b] Night 10 - Brighton[/p][p][b]April 16:[/b] Night 11 - Rotterdam[/p][p][b]April 23:[/b] Night 12 - Liverpool[/p][p][b]April 30:[/b] Night 13 - Aberdeen[/p][p][b]May 7: [/b]Night 14 - Leeds[/p][p][b]May 14: [/b]Night 15 - Birmingham[/p][p][b]May 21: [/b]Night 16 - Sheffield[/p][p][b]May 28: [/b]Finals Night - London[/p]