Australian darts ace Damon Heta has missed out on a place in the eight-man Premier League despite being ranked the eighth best player in the world.
The former roofer from Perth has been soaring in the sport which has taken lift off, particularly in the UK, following the startling world championship triumph of 17-year-old phenomenon Luke Littler last week.
On Monday, the organising Professional Darts Corporation named the eight players who will battle in the three-month long tournament event that features 17 weekly events played across Britain, Ireland Germany and the Netherlands between February and May and a Stg 1 million ($A2.0 million) prize pot.
Heta, the No.8 in the PDC rankings had staked his claim with a stunning 2024 season capped by a spectacular nine-dart finish in the world championships, but ultimately the 37-year-old's third-round exit worked against him securing a place among the elite.
Her was in prestigious company, though, with former world champions Michael Smith and Peter Wright also not earning a place.
Smith was a semi-finalist last season after winning the worlds but has dropped to 16th, while former Premier League runner-up Wright has also struggled for form.
Littler will be joined by former PDC world champions Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price, with Nathan Aspinall and world championship semi-finalists Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey making up the field.
But Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton and Heta - sixth, seventh and eighth in the rankings - all miss out.
PDC chief executive Matt Porter explained: "With Price, Dobey and Aspinall, there are players above them in the rankings who haven't been selected but we have looked at it in terms of big-stage presence, popularity, and the way they can get a 10,000-person crowd every Thursday going.
"We want people on the edge of their seats. We want people up and enjoying their darts. That isn't to say other players can't do that. You have to make decisions on who is right at the time."
