Teenage sensation Luke Littler won the Premier League just months after making a historic run at the PDC World Championship final.
With relatively no ranked tour experience, Littler was chosen to be in Premier League Darts, angering many.
Littler quickly proved the doubters wrong as he went on to win the Premier League in 2024.
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Seeing such a young kid dominant has opened up possibilities for other younger players.
We are starting to see more talented teenagers as well as players in their early 20s play well on the big stage.
Today we are going to look at seven players that could make their Premier League debut in the next few years.
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Most probable candidates to make their Premier League Darts debut
This list isn't in any specific order, it is just seven names to look out for.
1: Damon Heta
Heta is a player that many thought we might see in the 2025 edition of the Premier League. He's currently 8th in the order of merit and is a fan favorite.
A lackluster performance at the World Championship diminished his odds of making an appearance this year, but we could very well see Heta get his chance in the next couple of years.
Heta nailed a nine-darter in his round of 32 loss to Luke Woodhouse at the PDC WC, which is exactly what the PDC and fans look for in Premier League players.
2: Josh Rock
Rock is currently 15th in the order of merit and, at 24 years old, with a lot of potential and a bright future ahead.
Rock won the World Youth Championship in 2022 and is a UK Open semifinalist already in his brief career.
Rock won the Dutch Darts Championship European Tour event in 2024 and recently won the Players Championship 10 event.
When Rock emerged on the stage in 2022, he hit an iconic nine-darter against the legendary Michael van Gerwen in his Grand Slam of Darts debut.
3: Ross Smith
Ross Smith is one of the older players on this list at 36.
As most know, darts players have better longevity than other sports, so it's never too late for a player to blossom and achieve feats at an age that would be uncommon in different sports.
Smith won the European Championship back in 2022 but has struggled to go far in some other big TV tournaments.
In 2024 he was a semifinalist in the Players Championship Finals and a quarterfinalist at the World Matchplay.
Smith had a disappointing start to 2025, being eliminated in the second round of the PDC WC and failing to make it out of the first round of the World Masters.
Despite that, Smith just had one of the most impressive single-day Player Championship performances we have ever seen, nailing two nine-darters and putting up impressive averages to win Players Championship 16.
Lastly, Smith has made two quarterfinal appearances, a semifinalist appearance, and a finals appearance on the European Tour through six events so far in 2025.
4: Mike De Decker
De Decker's most notable feat was winning the World Grand Prix in an upset win over Luke Humphries in 2024.
After being 'snubbed' from the Premier League this year, De Decker was upset that he didn't make the cut despite his major win.
De Decker was a finalist on the European Tour at the Belgian Darts Open in his home country earlier this year, producing an impressive weekend of darts.
De Decker needs to make more of a statement at tournaments like the PDC WC, as he was eliminated in the second round this year.
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5: Gian van Veen
Gian arguably has the most potential on this list, at just 23 years old right now and currently 23rd in the order of merit.
Van Veen was the World Youth Championship winner in 2024.
He has been a finalist twice in the 2025 Players Championship events, winning one of the finals.
He has steadily made late tournament appearances but has yet to break through in any of the majors.
It may take a couple of years, but I'd look to see van Veen get his first real chance at a Premier League appearance in 2027 with the current rate of his growth as a player and rapid rise through the order of merit each year.
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6: Martin Schindler
Schindler is 28 years old and 18th in the order of merit.
Schindler is one of Germany's top players and always performs well on the European Tour.
Schindler is a three-time winner in European Tour events since 2024 and has three semifinalist appearances in that stretch as well.
Schindler won Players Championship 8 a couple of months ago.
His best-ranked PDC major tournament finish was a quarterfinal appearance at the World Grand Prix in 2023, so he still has a ways to go with the big tournaments to make a bigger case for himself moving forward.
7: Wessel Nijman
Nijman is just 24 years old and ranked 46th in the order of merit.
He was suspended for a few years due to match-fixing but has since learned from his mistakes and ascended on stage over the past couple of years.
He finished 55th in the order of merit at the end of 2024 after finishing 149th at the end of the previous year.
Nijman won Players Championship 24 in 2024 and has made consistent appearances in the third and fourth round of the Players Championship events in 2025.
I project Nijman to be more of a long term target for the Premier League, as he still has little experience in majors, but has excelled in his handful of opportunities so far.
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