The electrifying rivalry between darts sensations Luke Littler and Luke Humphries has taken the sport to new heights, but it’s also sparked a passionate debate about the structure of the Premier League Darts. Steve Beaton, a former world champion and revered figure in the darts community, has joined the chorus of voices calling for a significant overhaul of the competition’s format. His critique centers on the repetitive matchups between top players like Littler and Humphries, which he believes are diminishing the excitement of their blockbuster clashes. As the 2025 Premier League season barrels toward its thrilling conclusion, Beaton’s plea for change resonates with fans and players alike, raising questions about how to keep the sport’s biggest stage fresh and dynamic.
The current Premier League format, introduced by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2022, features a weekly gauntlet of quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, with points awarded based on performance: two for semi-final losers, three for the runner-up, and five for the night’s winner. After 16 weeks, the top four players advance to the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena. This structure has led to frequent showdowns between the sport’s elite, particularly Littler and Humphries, the past two PDC world champions. Their latest encounter in Aberdeen—a breathtaking 6-3 victory for Littler—underscored their dominance but also highlighted Beaton’s point. “I think the Premier League could be changed a bit. It’s getting a bit boring now,” Beaton said, voicing his frustration. “It was nice to see Luke and Luke play each other, but almost every week they’re playing each other. There’s too much of [the same] players playing each other.”
Beaton, who retired from PDC competition in 2024 after a storied career that included the 1996 BDO world title, argues that the constant repetition of high-profile matchups risks diluting their allure. The Littler-Humphries rivalry, while a boon for viewership, has become a near-weekly spectacle, with the pair meeting 14 times in 2024 alone. Littler, the 18-year-old prodigy who claimed the 2025 world title, leads their head-to-head 8-6, but Humphries, the world No. 1 and 2024 champion, has won their last three encounters, including the Players Championship Finals in November. “If that’s how they want to do it, that’s how they want to do it,” Beaton added, acknowledging the PDC’s commercial success—sellout crowds are a testament to the format’s popularity—but urging a return to the pre-2022 system, where players competed once per night, potentially with an expanded roster.
The call for reform comes at a pivotal moment. Littler, Humphries, and Gerwyn Price have already secured their play-off spots, with the final berth contested between Nathan Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen as the season heads to Sheffield for its penultimate night. Littler’s historic campaign, which includes a record five nightly wins, has cemented his status as a generational talent. His Aberdeen triumph over Humphries, described as one of the tournament’s greatest matches, featured a 105.46 average and a clinical 50% checkout rate. Yet, Beaton and other critics argue that spreading out such clashes could heighten their impact, preserving the novelty that makes darts a global phenomenon.
For Humphries, the Premier League remains a key target. Despite his stellar 2024, which included the World Matchplay and Players Championship titles, the 29-year-old has yet to claim the Premier League crown, falling to Littler in last year’s final. Littler, meanwhile, thrives in the format’s intensity, his youth and fearless precision making him a fan favorite. Their rivalry has elevated darts’ profile, with viewership soaring—over three million tuned in for Littler’s 2025 world championship win. But Beaton’s concerns echo a broader sentiment: without change, the sport risks overexposing its biggest stars.
As the PDC weighs its options, Beaton’s voice carries weight. His vision—a format that balances commercial success with competitive variety—could ensure that clashes like Littler versus Humphries remain must-see events. With the play-offs looming, the darts world watches not only for who will lift the trophy but also for whether the sport’s leaders will heed the call to evolve, keeping the Premier League as thrilling as the players who define it.
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