Luke Littler will not be allowed to take part in the opening tournament of the PDC Development Tour this weekend, with the teenager’s recent exploits disqualifying him from the event. The series is open to players aged 16-23 and builds up to the PDC World Youth Championship, which Littler won last year.
The series, which acted as the springboard for Littler’s professional career, started on Friday. His victory at the 2023 World Youth Championship earned him a spot in the World Darts Championship, where he made a shock run to the final at Ally Pally.
A win at the Bahrain Masters, where Littler saw off Michael van Gerwen with a nine-darter in the final, is one of many strong results that place him 30th in the PDC Order of Merit rankings. Since the Development Tour doesn’t allow players ranked in the top 32 to enter, the 17-year-old cannot compete in the series that paved his path to the World Darts Championship.
He will still be able to enter the World Youth Championship at the end of the season, however.
Littler’s exclusion will matter little to the young star, who remains focused on his Premier League campaign. The teenager and his rivals travel to Exeter on Thursday, where he will aim to win his first Premier League tournament.
World No. 3 Michael Smith suggested earlier this week that Littler has what it takes to beat Phil Taylor’s records. Taylor won 16 world titles – eight of which were consecutive – while accumulating a massive 85 tournament wins before his retirement. Littler was quick to play down these comments, saying: “I don’t think anyone’s beating that record. It’s just crazy, crazy to think of me being bigger than Phil.
“I just love playing in front of a crowd. I enjoy trying my best to put on a performance and I know I can play against the best. I’ve broken into the top 32, so hopefully I’m here for many years to come.”
Littler qualified on Wednesday for his first European Darts Grand Prix. Littler beat Simon Whitlock in the qualifier, surviving a nine-darter by the Australian, before going on to dispatch Danny van Trijp and Ian White in 6-5 victories.
The teenager will travel to Sindelfingen, Germany, for the European Tour event that will run from April 19-21. Luke Littler will next play at Night Five of the Premier League in Exeter, which will be shown live on Sky Sports Darts.
