Teenage Darts sensation Luke Littler has been named as one of the eight players who will compete in the 2024 Premier League Darts. Impressed with the performances of the new superstar of darts at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, the best darts betting sites wasted no time making Littler the third favorite to win the Premier League in the latest darts futures betting.
- What; 2024 PDC Premier League Darts
- When; Thursday, February 1st, 2024 – Thursday, May 23rd 2024
- Who; Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright
- Where; 16 weekly venues followed by Final in London
- Defending Champion; Michael van Gerwen +350
- Favorite to Win; Luke Humphries +275
The 2024 Premier League gets underway in Cardiff at the start of February. There will be 17 rounds of action, with 16 weekly nights, followed by finals night (playoffs) at London’s O2 Arena on May 23rd, where the top four in the table playoff for the trophy.
This is a brutal event. And as Chris Dobey and even two-time World Champion Peter Wright found out last year, there are no hiding places and no easy games on the weekly roadshow. Once you start to struggle in the Premier League, you will be exposed. Luke Littler is only 16, so this promises to be a harsh learning school for the youngster. But as he showed in the recent World Championship, age is no barrier for Littler.
Who is Luke Littler?
Luke Littler made headlines around the world with his recent run to the final of the 2024 PDC Darts World Championship.
LUKE LITTLER IS INTO THE FINAL OF THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP! 💥 pic.twitter.com/sD9bptyeSV
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2024
Hailing from Runcorn in England, Littler is only 16 years old. Later this month is his birthday. So, by the time the 2024 Premier League starts, he will be at the grand old age of 17. This still makes him the youngest player ever to compete in the event.
Back in November, on the same stage where Luke Humphries won the Players Championship Finals (beating MVG 11-9), Littler defeated Gian van Veen 6-4 to win the PDC World Youth Championship. This match was screened live on TV and introduced Littler to the wider darting public. But behind the scenes, the players on the professional circuit already knew how good Littler was, and his win came as no surprise to plenty.
LUKE LITTLER IS THE 2023 WINMAU WORLD YOUTH CHAMPION 🏆
What a game, what a standard, and what a performance!
16-year old Luke Littler is the @Winmau World Youth Champion, beating Gian Van Veen 6-4 👏 pic.twitter.com/4pPHJTkRad
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 26, 2023
When the unseeded Littler started his campaign at the 2024 World Championship just under one month later, many thought he might be able to go on a run and maybe reach the Round of 16 or Quarter-Finals. But no one predicted he would go all the way to the final, and arguably be one dart away from winning the championship. Okay, he lost 7-4 in the final. But Littler had a dart to go into a 5-2 lead in sets. If he had won that set, it would have been difficult (but not impossible) to see Humphries coming back to claim the victory.
Already in elite company
Showing how good he was in the final, Littler averaged 101.13 against Humphries. In the last seven World Championship finals, only Phil Taylor (2018) and Michael van Gerwen (2020) have lost in the finals with averages above 100. Littler averaged over 100 in five of his seven matches, including the quarter-final and semi-final. Instead of wilting under the pressure, Littler just grew in stature. He showed the whole world he is a serious player.
Betting to win the 2024 Premier League Darts
As well as Luke Littler did in the World Championship, he is not the favorite to win the 2024 Premier League. The new World No.1 and World Champion Luke Humphries is the favorite to win the Premier League at +275. This puts Humphries ahead of joint second-favorite, Michael van Gerwen – the defending champion – who is +350, the same odds as Luke Littler.
This is astonishing to see a lad who barely anyone outside of darts had heard of only a few weeks ago. Luke Humphries also isn’t so well known. So, is this the beginning of the changing of the guard in world darts?
Elsewhere in the betting, the remaining five players and their respective odds are Gerwyn Price (+550), Michael Smith (+900), Rob Cross (+900), Nathan Aspinall (+2200), and Peter Wright (+2800).
More 2024 Premier League Darts betting options are available on our odds table. We have only used odds from the best online sportsbooks for darts betting. For more information about the sportsbooks listed, please visit our free bets and promotions page.
Players | |||
Luke Humphries | +275 | +275 | +275 |
Michael van Gerwen | +350 | +350 | +350 |
Luke Littler | +350 | +350 | +350 |
Gerwyn Price | +550 | +550 | +550 |
Michael Smith | +900 | +900 | +900 |
Rob Cross | +900 | +900 | +900 |
Nathan Aspinall | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
Peter Wright | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
2024 Premier League Darts Betting Picks
With the Premier League being a 16-week roadshow followed by a finals night, it is always wise to go with an established player as one of your betting picks. The form will be up and down over the marathon event. But one thing that always happens, is the best players who can handle the treadmill make the finals night.
MVG and Gerwyn Price are two such players. And at this early stage, they would be better value picks than the two Luke’s. That’s not to say neither Humphries nor Littler will win. If they make the top four in the table, they are capable of beating anybody on finals night.
In the betting to reach the finals night, Humphries is -400, MVG is -250, Littler is -150, and Gerwyn Price is -120. By a country mile, Gerwyn Price at -120 is the best value bet to reach the semi-finals and is our early Premier League Darts pick.
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