Gurney gets the nod as line-up for 2019 Premier League darts confirmed

These lads will be hitting up Dublin in February.

As is always the case on the night of the World Darts Championship final, no sooner is the trophy presented to the winner than Barry Hearn is centre stage on Alexander Palace. The English promoter is given airtime to announce the always debatable, top secret list of participants for the coming year's Premier League darts competition. The ten competitors are chosen via a system that has been in place for years where the world's top four ranked players are automatically selected, four more are chosen by the PDC on merit while Sky Sports are responsible for the final two wildcard picks. And on the back of Michael van Gerwen's third World Darts Championship win, Barry Hearn was in the thick of it. And not to buck any trends, some of the calls for the 2019 rendition have gone down like led balloons.

2019 Premier League darts lineup

Michael van Gerwen Rob Cross Peter Wright Gary Anderson Michael Smith Mensur Suljović Raymond van Barneveld James Wade Daryl Gurney Gerwyn Price

First and foremost, the decision to include Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld was always going to be a divisive one. He never showed any kind of form in 2018 and on merit, the Dutch man shouldn't be within an ass's of the ten names. https://twitter.com/durhamchris1983/status/1080230289631338497 But, he is one of darts' most popular players and seeing as it will be his last year on the oche, it is a nice touch to grant the five time champ a dream farewell. He was quick to thank the selection committee for his inclusion. https://twitter.com/Raybar180/status/1080235753353998336 Another divisive inclusion is that of Englishman James Wade. He didn't endear himself to the darts faithful in Ally Pally over the last two weeks and many aren't happy at his inclusion. https://twitter.com/anthonyfaulder/status/1080366919486750721 Those who find themselves unlucky to miss out include Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock, Joe Cullen etc. 2019 will see the main darting tour stretch across seventeen nights, beginning in February and coming to a conclusion in May.

Dates & Venues 2019 Premier League Darts

07 Feb – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle 14 Feb – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow 21 Feb – 3Arena, Dublin 28 Feb – Westpoint Exeter 07 Mar – The BHGE Arena, Aberdeen 14 Mar – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham 21 Mar – Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin 27 Mar – Rotterdam Ahoy 28 Mar – Rotterdam Ahoy – Judgement Night 04 Apr – The SSE Arena, Belfast 11 Apr – Echo Arena, Liverpool 18 Apr – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff 25 Apr – Arena Birmingham 02 May – The Manchester Arena 09 May – The FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield 16 May – First Direct Arena, Leeds 23 May – The O2, London – Play-Offs

Bring it on!