North East darts star Chris Dobey is "buzzing" to be part of the 2025 Premier League Darts line-up alongside world champion Luke Littler. The eight-strong line-up was announced on Monday with Bedlington-born Dobey joined by Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries, Rob Cross, Gerwen Price, Stephen Bunting, and Nathan Aspinall in the touring competition.
The league stage moves around the country with an event set to be held in Newcastle in March. "I'm buzzing to be part of it, it's another step in the right direction for my career," Dobey told The Northern Echo. "You get to play with the elite week in, week out. You play at the big, massive arenas and it's one everyone keeps their eye on. It's similar to the World Championships. Everybody wants to be watching the Premier League."
The black-and-white wearing player has had some words of congratulations from previous Premier League winner Glen Durrant—another North East star. Dobey said 'Duzza' sent him a message after the line-up was announced and hopes he can win to "get Glen off my back!"
Dobey is particularly looking forward to returning to Newcastle Arena. The Toon fan said playing in front of a home crowd was "unbelievable" and he could not wait to get back there. "It's something special, and something I'm definitely looking forward to," he said.
Dobey plans to change his walk-on song back to Geordie anthem 'Local Hero,' which he used in previous appearances at Newcastle Premier League nights. A lover of Newcastle United, Dobey is willing to swap out his usual song by two other Geordie legends, Ant and Dec, to make the night even more special.
Of course, sporting events are not without controversy and the announcement of the line-up has caused concern with some darts fans who were unhappy players like World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker and UK Open champion Dimitri van den Berg were left out. "It is a hard one to take. I was in [this] situation last year where I felt I played pretty well consistently and was just overlooked. But they make their decisions for their own reasons. I thought Mike was in with a good shout, but I think if he would have gone a couple of steps farther in the World Championships then he would have been involved. But I'm sure they'll be back tougher and stronger than ever and wanting to get back there," Dobey remarked.
The Premier League kicks off with a trip to Belfast on February 6. Littler, the reigning Premier League champion, is excited to compete against world number one Luke Humphries, Rob Cross, and Michael van Gerwen—his opponent during his historic win at Alexandra Palace earlier.
Littler, Humphries, Cross, and van Gerwen earned automatic entry based on their top-four ranking in the PDC’s Order of Merit, with Price, Bunting, Dobey, and Aspinall securing wildcard entries.
Matches will take place every Thursday evening between February and May across various cities around the UK, Ireland, and Europe. The tournament will kick off at the SSE Arena, Belfast, on February 6, concluding at The O2 Arena, London, on May 29.
The schedule includes nights at OVO Hydro, Glasgow (February 13), 3Arena, Dublin (February 20), and Utilita Arena, Newcastle (March 27). Every night features an eight-player knockout tournament, with all players competing across weeks 1-7 and 9-15, and semi-finals and finals taking place at The O2, London.
PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter said they aim to create exciting shows: "Obviously with Price, Dobey, and Aspinall, there are players above them who haven't been selected, but we've looked at it by considering big stage presence, popularity, and how they can attract crowds every Thursday. We want people on the edge of their seats. It's all about creating entertainment for darts fans across platforms."