Is it time Premier League Darts introduced a reserve player? Gian van Veen missed Dublin after needing surgery to remove kidney stones, then was thrashed by Gerwyn Price in Berlin on Thursday.
Van Veen, the 23-year-old who reached January’s World Championship final and is a back-to-back World Youth champion, made the trip to Germany for Night Eight despite feeling fatigued and low on energy. He had also sat out a European Tour event in Belgium. In Berlin he lost 6-1 to Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals, though he did hit a 113 checkout to avoid a whitewash.
Van Veen’s withdrawal from Night Seven in Dublin reignited debate over the Premier League format after opponent Michael van Gerwen received a bye to the semi-finals. Van Gerwen was awarded two league points and a +1 leg difference; Van Veen was handed a -6 leg difference and no points.
That outcome has prompted calls to reconsider the ‘Contenders’ and ‘Challengers’ concept first used in 2019, which brought local players in for one night and produced memorable moments while keeping the evening’s structure intact. Opinions are mixed.
“I think that would be totally unfair,” said Price. “When you had the challengers, it was a good idea but unfair to the players that are playing the challengers. Every player is a different standard… If someone is ill, then there’s no way of trying to get those points back. If they miss a week, somebody gets gifted points, which is a little bit unfair but I’m not sure what they’re going to do about it.”
Former Lakeside champion Mark Webster, speaking on the Love The Darts podcast, called the idea “tricky” while acknowledging the issue is real. “I get the idea, but I just don’t know how you do it,” he said. “Who you get and obviously the players are going to be of a different level to say Gian… It happened last year and it’s happened a couple of times this year and it could be pivotal come the Play-Offs. It cost Van Gerwen last year, missing out on the Play-Offs when he was given a 6-0 defeat because he couldn’t make Berlin. In an ideal scenario, you want to see all the players play in the opening quarter-finals and if you get a reserve in it does get that player fine-tuned. From a crowd point of view, they want to see someone, but the player would think ‘I’ve got that bit of luck, I want to run with it’.”
Laura Turner added: “We used to have ‘Challengers’ and ‘Contenders’ so when you’re playing someone different each week, is it fair? Is it balanced? From a crowd point of view, they want to see the whole thing pan out, but it’s just how you go about it if it’s an option the PDC want to consider.”
William O’Connor, who was a Challenger in Dublin in 2020, backed a return: “It’s definitely something to be talked about, especially when a player pulls out. I mean, why not have a local? It makes sense not to have a bye. Whether there’s points on the line or not at least fill the void for the crowd and have a home player to give everyone something to cheer about. Makes sense to me.”
The BetMGM Premier League season continues with Night Nine at the AO Arena in Manchester on Thursday April 2. The quarter-finals are Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price vs Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen vs Luke Littler, and Jonny Clayton vs Josh Rock. Luke Littler leads the table by two points over Jonny Clayton, with Price and Van Gerwen third and fourth; Humphries sits two points behind Van Gerwen in fifth, with Van Veen, Bunting and Rock chasing.
Ranking points are awarded each night — five to the winner, three to the runner-up and two to the semi-finalists — forming the league table from which the top four progress to Finals Night at The O2 on Thursday May 28. Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts remains to be seen.