World champion Luke Littler heads the Premier League Darts squad for 2025, with Stephen Ponting returning to the elite eight-man tournament after a 10-year absence.
Littler, 17, became the youngest ever PDC World Championship winner on Friday when he won He beat Michael van Gerwen in the final At Alexandra Palace.
The Warrington teenager is the defending Premier League champion, having beaten Luke Humphreys in the final last May when he produced a memorable nine-dart finish.
Former world champion Humphreys is making his second appearance in the tournament, having lifted the World Cup, World Match Championship and Players Championship titles in 2024.
Bunting was rewarded for his recent resurgence after being named as one of four wildcard entries into the tournament.
The 39-year-old reached the semi-finals of the World Championship, losing to Littler, and is ranked fifth in the world and is the highest-ranked player outside the top four qualifiers.
Ponting last participated in the English Premier League season in 2015, and participated as one of the competitive players in 2020.
Gerwen Price, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dube are the other wildcard selections alongside the other two automatic selections in Rob Cross and Van Gerwen, who is bidding for his eighth Premier League title.
World number six Dave Chisnall, former world champions Peter Wright and Michael Smith took part in the 2024 edition but were absent this time.
PDC chief executive Matt Porter told Sky Sports: “Clearly for Price, Dube and Aspinall, there are players above them in the rankings who have not been selected.
“But we looked at it in terms of the big stage presence, the popularity, the way they could attract a crowd of 10,000 people every Thursday.
“We want people on the edge of their seats. We want people to wake up and enjoy darts. That doesn't mean other players can't do it. You have to make decisions about who is right at that time.”
The Premier League takes place in stadiums across the UK and Europe and begins on February 6 in Belfast.