The darts world is buzzing with controversy following the announcement of the 2026 Premier League lineup, as one of the sport’s most respected voices has openly questioned the selection process. Three-time world champion **John Lowe**, a pioneer who helped shape modern professional darts, has voiced strong criticism over the exclusion of women’s sensation **Beau Greaves**, while also raising eyebrows at some of the wildcard picks.
The Premier League Darts, known for its high-stakes weekly roadshow across Europe, features eight elite players in a format that blends intense competition with entertainment value. For 2026, the top four ranked players automatically qualified: newly crowned back-to-back world champion **Luke Littler**, defending Premier League title holder **Luke Humphries**, rising star and World Championship finalist **Gian van Veen**, and seven-time Premier League winner **Michael van Gerwen**. The remaining spots were filled with wildcards: **Stephen Bunting**, **Jonny Clayton**, **Gerwyn Price**, and **Josh Rock**, with van Veen and Rock making their debuts in the competition.
Lowe, inundated with messages from fans and insiders alike, didn’t hold back in his assessment. He pointed out the curious inclusion of Gerwyn Price, who sits at world number 12—behind players like James Wade and Danny Noppert. “Many question the invite for Gerwyn Price, down at number 12, below Wade and Noppert,” Lowe noted, suggesting that the vacancy created by Gary Anderson’s dip in form opened a spot. But rather than strictly adhering to rankings, he implied commercial factors played a role: “the space left by the decline of Gary Anderson did leave an invitation open, but only if the order of the ranking players was the criteria for selection, so I can only assume, players are chosen from the ranking table, and the players outside of the top 8 are invited because they have an impact on ticket sales and TV audiences.”
Yet Lowe’s sharpest critique was reserved for the snub of Beau Greaves, the dominant force in women’s darts who has increasingly proven herself against top male competition. “The number of questions, why did Beau Greaves not receive an invite was enormous, I question that also after her performance on the big stage,” he said. Greaves, a multiple women’s world champion with an astonishing record on the PDC Women’s Series and impressive showings in mixed events, has turned heads with her precision and composure. Lowe argued that her inclusion would have been justified on merit alone, drawing a parallel to Stephen Bunting’s strong showing in the previous year’s Premier League. “After Buntings performance in the league last year, no one can say she would not have made a serious threat.”
Beyond the competitive edge Greaves could bring, Lowe emphasized the broader impact: her participation would have sent a powerful message for gender inclusivity in darts, boosting visibility for the women’s game at a time when the sport is exploding in popularity. The Premier League, after all, is as much about drawing massive crowds and television audiences as it is about pure rankings—it’s an invitational spectacle designed to showcase the biggest names and most exciting talents.
This debate highlights the delicate balance organizers must strike between rewarding current form, maintaining star power for commercial success, and pushing boundaries to grow the sport. While the selected eight promise thrilling matchups—Littler’s flair against van Gerwen’s experience, Humphries’ cool precision defending his crown—the absence of Greaves has left many wondering if an opportunity was missed to inject fresh excitement and inspire a new generation.
As the 2026 season kicks off in February, running through 16 weeks of nightly mini-tournaments before the play-offs at London’s O2 Arena, fans will undoubtedly pack venues to cheer their favorites. But Lowe’s words linger, sparking wider conversations about fairness, evolution, and what truly makes the Premier League the pinnacle of darts entertainment. In a sport where underdogs can rise and legends endure, perhaps Greaves’ time on this stage is only delayed, not denied.
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