NOPPERT BACKED FOR PREMIER LEAGUE RESERVE SPOT
21/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
DANNY NOPPERT should have been kept on standby for this year’s Premier League campaign, according to ex-pro Matt Edgar.
World No.4 Michael van Gerwen was forced to pull out in Glasgow on Night Three due to illness, handing Luke Littler a bye straight into the semi-finals.
Edgar believes the PDC missed a trick by not naming a ninth player ready to step in as a reserve if required.
The former Tour Card holder argues a standby system would have avoided the awkward scenario and ensured a full competitive line-up on the night.
He told OLBG: “The Premier League in Covid times, there was a ninth player in Milton Keynes ready should anyone fail their test.
“It happened down in the World Championships as well — there were reserve players there just in case.
“There is always a next in line, but I think once the Premier League starts that is always ignored. It is 16 weeks or nothing.
“I’m sure at the start of the campaign when they were saying, ‘Is it Stephen Bunting or Danny Noppert?’
“If they told Danny Noppert, ‘You are number nine on the list, but if there is ever a week, just be ready.’
“Because if someone pulls out, we will pull you in and you might get four weeks or nothing.
“That would have been a good option. Yes, they have given him World Series events, but I think that would have blooded him into what the Premier League is to see if he is ready for that campaign in the future.”
Noppert returns to action on Saturday afternoon, where he takes on Jermaine Wattimena in the second round of the Poland Masters.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
