Luke Littler snubs chance to defend title as darts star, 17, pulls out of tournament despite competition loophole
LUKE LITTLER has snubbed the chance to defend one of his many titles despite a competition loophole.
The darts sensation, 17, burst onto the scene with an incredible run to the final of the World Darts Championship.
Littler has since bagged a host of trophies while competing against the seniors, including the Premier League title.
But before he joined the likes of Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen, Littler was competing against players his own age.
The slinger quickly forged a reputation as a prodigy.
And Littler ended up dominating the world of young darts players.
It culminated with victory in last year’s PDC World Youth Championship.
The win allowed Littler to make the step up into the senior World Championship as a wild card.
And the rest is history as he produced an incredible run that left a nation glued to their TVs.
But despite victory in the World Youth Championship setting Littler on his way to stardom, he has decided not to defend his title this year.
He has instead pulled out of the tournament.
And Littler has cited a busy schedule as the reason why he will not be featuring.
Because he now competes as a top senior, it would be fair to think Littler wouldn’t even qualify for youth events any more.
But because the star is still just 17 years old, he can still play at the tournament.
The World Youth Championship is part of the Development Tour, which is open to players 23 years old and under.
However, slingers who turn 24 during the season are able to continue for the remainder of the campaign.
And that would mean Littler remains eligible to play at the World Youth Championship all the way until 2031.
Meanwhile, Littler’s next event is likely to be the Grand Slam of Darts, which begins on November 9 and runs through to the 17th.
Inside Littler's massive rise
LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.
The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.
He has then gone on to win a host of PDC events and the Premier League title – which he claimed at the O2 Arena by beating world champion Luke Humphries in May.
He also finished his first season in the World Series as the No1 ranked player.
He has joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.
And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.
He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.
And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.
But he is newly single after splitting from girlfriend Eloise Milburn following a 10-month relationship.
Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.