The surprising starting field of the Darts Premier League 2023
Momentous weekend: Chris Dobey clinched his first major title at the Masters
Which: pa/Action Plus/Shaun Brooks
The PDC has awarded the last four places for the eight-man starting field of the Premier League. A quartet from the top ten was not considered, nor is the German World Cup semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens. The 1st matchday is already waiting in Belfast on February 2nd.
DThe Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has announced its participants for this year’s Premier League. With the top four in the world rankings, Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price, a quartet was already set. However, the completion of the starting field that has now taken place holds surprises.
World ranking fifth Luke Humphries and sixth Rob Cross were not taken into account. Danny Noppert, who is listed in eighth place in the Order of Merit, is also absent, as is last year’s finalist Joe Cullen.
And Darts Germany also has to wait for a starter. Gabriel Clemens, who reached the semi-finals at the World Championships in January, did not receive any of the four wildcards, contrary to what some had hoped.
Dobey does what Cullen did last year
The “German Giant” was eliminated from the Masters last Friday against the Portuguese José de Sousa and thus squandered not only the round of 16 but also his chance to get into the elite circle as 19th in the ranking. In view of Germany’s prospering market, the PDC would have been only too happy to give a ticket to a German. As a player outside the top 16, another exclamation point similar to his World Cup coup would have been needed at the Masters.
Englishman Chris Dobey proved at the weekend how the Masters can be used to promote promotion to the financially lucrative Premier League. With “Hollywood” another outsider triumphed on Sunday evening. The 32-year-old prevailed 11:7 in the final against his compatriot Rob Cross, who seemed tired after the strong performances in the previous rounds, and celebrated the first major title of his career. In previous years there had already been surprising winners in the tournament with Jonny Clayton 2021 and Joe Cullen 2022, which was not relevant for the world rankings.
Like Cullen last year, Dobey bought his ticket for the Premier League via the Masters and will be there in Belfast on Thursday. In Northern Ireland, the first of a total of 16 match days is on the agenda. In addition to Dobey, Clayton, Nathan Aspinall and Dimitri van den Bergh received the other wild cards.
The season ends with the final playoff tournament on May 25th. A total of one million pounds will be distributed to the eight players. The winner receives £275,000 plus possible matchday winner bonuses of £10,000 each. The 9th matchday will be played in Berlin on March 30th.
