Reigning Darts World Champion Luke Humphries is making a bold proposal: expand the Premier League Darts. He argues that while the current eight-player format showcases elite talent, it risks making highly anticipated clashes feel routine and overlooks a growing pool of exceptional players. Humphries believes that adding more competitors would introduce greater variety, safeguard the sport’s top quality, and keep the spectacle fresh and thrilling for fans, preventing even the most extraordinary rivalries from losing their spark due to overexposure.
The Paradox of Elite Darts: Too Much of a Good Thing?
In the high-stakes, commercially charged world of Premier League Darts, a fascinating paradox is emerging. World Champion Luke Humphries suggests that **an abundance of top-tier matchups, specifically between the same few players, could inadvertently dilute the very spectacle it aims to create.** While his rivalry with teenage sensation Luke Littler should feel like a rare, electrifying event, the current format’s intense regularity means such duels risk becoming procedural rather than truly seismic.
Humphries’ Bold Solution: Expand the Field
Humphries’ remedy isn’t about sentiment; it’s a strategic structural change: **expand the Premier League player roster.** His goal is to preserve the mystique of these elite encounters by introducing more variety and fresh permutations. By doing so, he believes the anticipation and excitement for each match would be restored through greater variation in opponents.
Why Expansion Matters: Safeguarding Quality and Unleashing Talent
Far from compromising quality, Humphries argues that **enlargement would actively safeguard it.** He points to a talent pool that is currently bursting at the seams, with many deserving players missing out on the Premier League spotlight. He specifically referenced players like **James Wade and Danny Noppert** as prime examples whose credentials warrant serious consideration.
The Premier League’s existing structure is undeniably brutal yet elegant: **eight players, fifteen relentless weeks of competition, culminating in four finalists on Finals Night.** This attritional theatre offers constant exposure, where every flaw is magnified under unforgiving illumination. However, the World No.2 senses that the sport’s depth is rapidly outgrowing the confines of this tight eight-man enclosure. For Humphries, **expansion isn’t an indulgence; it’s a necessary evolution.**
The Current Season’s Calibre and Overlooked Stars
Speaking to Oche180, Humphries was unequivocal about the exceptional standard of the current season:
- “**I think it’s the best.** The additions of Gian van Veen and Josh Rock, two really heavy scorers, are going to make it exciting for me. It is going to be challenging for us all because when you have heavy scorers, they can take the game away from you very quickly.”
- He continued, acknowledging the formidable lineup: “The additions of Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, who is one of the best double hitters in the world, and Stephen Bunting make it a great line-up of players.”
- The sheer difficulty of selection is what drives his argument: “The way the standard is going, **I would be adamant to up it to a few more players because it is so hard to pick.**”
Humphries highlighted several top players who, despite their quality, were not selected for the current Premier League:
- **Danny Noppert**
- **James Wade**
- **Nathan Aspinall**
These players, he suggests, are more than capable of competing at the highest level and would add significant value to an expanded format.
A Season of Shared Victories?
Looking ahead, Humphries predicts a more open competition:
“It’s going to be tough and **I don’t think you guys will see me or Luke [Littler] winning nights all the time.** I think you will see it shared out a lot more this year.”
His prediction seems to be taking shape early in the season. Two weeks into the competition, neither Humphries nor Littler has yet secured a nightly crown. As Humphries heads to Glasgow, currently sixth in the table, to face Josh Rock, the debate continues: **is the current level of familiarity truly enhancing the greatness of darts, or is it subtly eroding the excitement and unpredictability that makes the sport so captivating?** Humphries firmly believes the latter, advocating for a future where more players mean more thrills.
Source: Based on an article from Darts World Magazine.
