Luke Littler has accepted an offer to play in darts’ Premier League for 2024. The 16-year-old sensation came within a whisker of becoming the youngest world champion in the history of the sport on Wednesday night in his Alexandra Palace debut as he was beaten 7-4 in the final by pre-tournament favourite Luke Humphries.
But he has plenty of reasons to celebrate after being named in the line-up for the upcoming Premier League season. Matches are played on a weekly basis – every Thursday – from the start of February until the end of May at renowned venues in England and across Europe.
The top four players in the PDC Order of Merit – based on prize money won over the last two years by players in ranking tournaments – are joined by four wildcard selections to make up the eight-person field. Alongside the World Championship and the World Matchplay, the 17-week event is considered part of darts’ Triple Crown.
Michael van Gerwen is the reigning champion and won a record-breaking seventh Premier League title by beating Gerwyn Price in the play-off final at the O2 Arena, London in May of last year. Van Gerwen won £275,000 as a result.
New world champion Humphries and Littler will join Van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Rob Cross for the tournament. They will compete at 16 different mini-tournaments, all at different arenas, to form a league table from which the top four in the rankings will compete in the play-offs.
Many had called for Littler to be included in this year’s line-up after a fairytale run at the World Championship that saw the teenager overcome childhood hero Raymond van Barneveld, former world champion Rob Cross and UK Open winner Andrew Gilding en route to the final.
Nearly five million spectators tuned in to the £500,000 World Championship showpiece in midweek. And eventual winner Humphries was among those who pushed for the Nuke’s inclusion in the Premier League.
“I really hope he’s in the Premier League because, if he doesn’t want to play in it fair enough, but I think he’d be a pleasure to play alongside this year,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s one of the best players in the world, there is no doubt about that.”
The PDC had previously shut down questions about Littler featuring. “There’s all sorts of things to consider for Luke going forward and it has to be at the right place for him and his development,” PDC chief executive Matt Porter told Sky Sports.
“In the same vein, you have to be careful not to hold somebody back if they’re ready. We’re talking to his management, we’re talking to his parents, and we’ll make sure we do what’s right for Luke.”
Nevertheless, Littler has been invited to the tournament and has accepted the offer to take part in the event which will begin on Thursday February 1 at the Utility Arena in Cardiff, Wales. New world champion Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross and Littler make up the eight-player line-up for the 2024 Premier League campaign.
