It is coming to that time of year again when the Premier League Darts lineup is being mulled over. The big tournaments are coming thick and fast with the players attempting to seize the opportunity in front of the TV cameras for the prized reward of being in the 17-night weekly roadshow. Chris Mason is already looking up and down the rankings as he outlines who should feature.

"Well, we had this discussion in our last interview, didn’t we? I noticed you did one with Vincent van der Voort as well," Mason told Online Darts as he spoke on his thoughts on the lineup.

"Is there anybody outside of the obvious choices? Right now, the two that make absolute sense for me are Luke and Luke, and then Aspinall, because he just gives you everything."

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries will certainly be in it, with Gian van Veen also in a top four spot. However, Nathan Aspinall still has some convincing to do with a second round exit at the European Championship a poor result, albeit it was against Littler who averaged over 114.

"That performance yesterday against an incredible Luke Littler is why I would have him in the Premier League every week. You know he’s not going to turn up, average 85 and be a bit flat. He’s going to go up there and give you everything."

The eventual champion, Ross Smith, has won two of the last three major titles along with more success on the European Tour and Players Championship circuit. "Ross has had plenty of success on the European Tour, which is why he’s the number one seed. He’s always dangerous in the Players Championship, of course, but he’s got to have deep runs in majors, and he’s doing that here. His ranking is going in the right direction, and I’d quite happily pick him for the Premier League. He ticks the boxes: he talks well, he’s got a good fan base, he hits lots of 180s and loves a big average."

He also put James Wade forward. "But other than that, no one has really stood up and said, 'I want that spot.' I’ve been vocal about it. I think James Wade is probably one who deserves to be in. I think James has produced monstrous averages and started hitting lots of 180s again. His popularity is high because of his now more frequent use of social media.

"He seems a lot happier in himself. He’s a lot better when it comes to talking with the media and trying to portray himself. Away from darts, James is a great fella, a great laugh and has a great sense of humour. But I think his issues in this environment affect him more than we probably even realise, even though it’s been well documented. He’s a different fellow away from the sport."

Ross Smith boosted his Premier League Darts chances by winning the European Championship

Van Gerwen's Premier League spot under scrutiny

Mason made a bold prediciton surrounding Michael van Gerwen's involvement. The seven-time champion has dropped out of the top 10 in the world and has struggled badly for form. "The top four, we know, pick themselves. We know Michael will be in regardless of what he wins, what he doesn’t win or how he does."

He had glittering words for the Dutchman whose dominant rule at the top of darts is crashing down. "For me, he’s stepped into Phil Taylor’s shoes almost and carried the sport on his shoulders for many years.

"It wouldn’t even be a question for me if he went down to 25 in the rankings. Michael is in there. Maybe a year on, if there’s nothing, but not first time around. This is his first slip, apart from when he initially started playing PDC darts. They’ve almost done it as a testimonial, although I’m not saying it’s exactly that. They did it with Barney, didn’t they? They’ve done it with other players."

Aside from the World Cup of Darts, van Gerwen has failed to reach a major quarter-final. One floor title and two European Tour semi-finals are simply not good enough for someone with the prestige of him, and the three-time world champion is working hard to turn it around.

There is even a suggestion that he should skip the Premier League in 2027. "I would probably knock it on the head for a year personally, but I’m not sure what Michael’s thoughts are at the moment. Listen, he still loves playing darts, so it would be hard for him. But for me, it would be about trying to rebuild his throw and rebuild his confidence.

"If you’re struggling and your confidence is a bit shot, do you want to be playing in what is probably the toughest environment, because it should have the eight best players in it, every week and getting bashed up? Not for me. You’ve got to remember as well that he might have to play in the European Tour events or qualifiers. Where does all that fit in? It’s going to be tough on him."

Mason believed that van Gerwen has nothing left to prove in darts and is not under pressure to compete. "Maybe he’s up for it, but I’d probably say he’s got nothing left to prove. You don’t need to do it for the money. For the longevity of whatever’s left of his career, would missing a year harm him? Probably. I suppose you’ve got to think about sponsorship as well, which is another dynamic. It’s a tough choice, but ultimately he’ll make the right choice for what’s best for Michael."

Michael van Gerwen's Premier League participation is under threat

Exciting period of darts coming up

The next big tournament on the horizon is the Grand Slam of Darts, with the Players Championship Finals and PDC World Darts Championship also closing in on the horizon. Mason did not even attempt to contain his excitement for the next few weeks and months.

"I can’t wait. The back end of the season is getting interesting now. There’s a lot riding on them. A lot of big names are either not in or just hanging on to positions. Those four events are going to be off-the-scale pressure-wise for the players who have left it late. And there are players who think they’re in, but might not be. I think there are currently 13 spots up for grabs, something like that. We’ve maybe gone a bit conservative."

The stakes are high with the final places in Wolverhampton are up for grabs, although the new format has not been to Mason's liking. "Especially for the players who aren’t currently in the Slam. They all want to be in it. It’s a different structure this year as well, with the pools of three. I’m not keen on this 12-games-a-session malarkey, by the look of it. I’m not sure if they’re going to go with that."

Who can challenge Littler?

After the World Matchplay, there was an ominous narrative looming around the 'unbeatable' Littler. The 19-year-old had won all the major events in 2026, lost one ranking match at the Belgian Darts Open and had set an enormous record tournament average at the Winter Gardens.

Three major events later, he has failed to make it past the quarter-finals and there are some different discussions around him. 'The Nuke' will go to the Grand Slam of Darts still unbeaten in the tournament after winning his first two editions in 2024 and 2025. He will not qualify for the Players Championship Finals but will return to Ally Pally with the quest in making it three consecutive world titles.

While he is the man to beat, Mason listed off a number of contenders who will look to upset Littler. "You can never write off Price and Humphries, obviously," Mason noted, who also mentioned Jonny Clayton, the man to end Littler's major streak.

"Then he loses in a best-of-three-set match, double-in, double-out. And I’m being funny, that’s no upset. Losing to a guy who’s just won a Players Championship and a European Tour event, and who’s absolutely granite."

At Ally Pally, it is likely that Humphries and Gerwyn Price will be his main threats based off recent results. "Unless he has an absolute nightmare, but he won’t, because he loves being world champion," Mason commented. "He loves what it stands for. He knows how hard he’s worked to win one, never mind defend it. And he loves chasing records, doesn’t he? That’s evident. We know that."

Since losing in the second round of the World Championship, Price has been almost immaculate on the big stage. He has reached three finals and four semi-finals, but still waits for his first major title since 2022.

"He is the second-most-likely player to win a TV major. Not because I like him or because I like the way he plays the game, which I do. The numbers say it.

"He’s the only player remotely close to Littler in terms of averages on TV this year. In fact, he’s the second-best player on TV this year in terms of numbers, across every metric. The only player superior to him—and it’s not by a huge amount—is Luke Littler. That’s why a lot of pundits and so-called experts are picking Pricey as a live outsider. The terminology probably isn’t great, but everyone is an outsider to Littler at the moment."