Sky Sports star says PDC were right to give Premier League snub after ‘terrible’ display
Mark Webster admits the PDC had no choice but to leave him out of the Premier League.
The former Lakeside world champion had a chastening experience as he made his debut in the 2011 darting roadshow. His wildcard selection was understandable following his run to the semi-finals of the previous PDC World Championship, where he knocked out the sport’s GOAT, Phil Taylor.
But playing the best in the world on a weekly basis for almost four months took its toll on Webster. By his own admission, he was “terrible” as he finished at the foot of the table with just two wins in 14 matches. It was a stark realisation for the Welshman that he wasn’t quite among the top tier of players.
“My memories of it obviously aren’t great,” he said in an interview for Reach’s 2025 darts preview publication. “I probably wasn’t ready to go in the Premier League, but I’d had a little spell [of good form]. There’s a real risk of picking a player on a spell, and I was a classic example of that.
“But if you get asked, you’re not going to say no. It’s a tough learning curve, and it’s probably when I realised that I wasn’t going to compete at the elite end of the game, although I still had a good career.
“Playing elite players week in, week out, I got found out. So, it was a bit early for me. If I’d been in it a year after – I’m not saying I’d have pulled up any trees – I wouldn’t have been as bad.
“But I was terrible, and they couldn’t give me another go. They [the PDC] were looking out for me [by not picking him for 2012], not being detrimental. It was a great experience but a tough one.”
GET INVOLVED! What do you think of this year’s Premier League line-up? Tell us in the comments section.
Experiences like Webster’s have made the PDC careful over selection in recent years, and there isn’t one debutant in the 2025 line-up. World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker took his snub particularly badly, insisting Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall didn’t deserve to be picked.
Speaking before the Premier League line-up announcement, Webster said: “It’s about doing something here [at Alexandra Palace], this is the big one. If you can handle the pressure of being in the World Championship and get to the back end of it, you’ve got something about you.
“It’s such a competitive field. Chris Dobey finished seventh in a couple of years ago but was brilliant. Someone’s got to finish seventh and eighth.”
Webster, still only 41, no longer looks at today’s stars with envy, having stepped away from the pro game in early 2020. “I don’t really [miss playing],” he insisted. “Sometimes, when you watch, there’s a little buzz. When I first stopped, I was a bit envious of the players when I was commentating here.
“But the last time I qualified was 2018. I’m used to it now, and I’m enjoying it [commentating]. As long as my bosses want me, I’ll keep doing it.
“It’s good being part of these events and it takes me around the world. It came along at the right time for me while my playing career was tailing off.”
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories
