Luke Littler confirmed for World Grand Prix as full 32-man line-up revealed after Swiss Darts Trophy
LUKE LITTLER has been confirmed in the 32 entries for the World Grand Prix of darts.
The 17-year-old qualified after making it to the third round of the Swiss Darts trophy, where he was then eliminated by Luke Humphries.
The Nuke will make his debut at the event being held at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester between October 7-13.
There he will have the chance to land a major title.
However, current holder Humphries will be out to defend his crown.
As one of the top eight seeds in the PDC Order of Merit, Humphries receives protected status and cannot be drawn against another top eight player in the first round.
Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall, Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton make up the rest of the top eight.
Damon Heta, Ross Smith, Peter Wright, Chris Dobey, Dimitri van den Bergh, Stephen Bunting, Danny Noppert and Josh Rock also qualified through their world rankings.
That left Littler, sitting 21st on the list having won £368,500 in prize money so far this season, on the outside.
But he has been invited as one of the top 16 players on the Pro Tour this year.
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He was second on the list behind Ryan Searle, who lost 8-7 in the final of last week’s Swiss Darts Trophy to Martin Schindler – the third-place qualifier from the Pro Tour.
The top 16 in the Order of Merit will face the top 16 players in the Pro Tour in the tournament.
Full 32-player list of stars at the World Grand Prix of darts
Top-16 PDC Order of Merit
(1) Luke Humphries
(2) Michael Smith
(3) Michael van Gerwen
(4) Rob Cross
(5) Nathan Aspinall
(6) Dave Chisnall
(7) Gerwyn Price
(8) Jonny Clayton
Damon Heta
Ross Smith
Peter Wright
Chris Dobey
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Stephen Bunting
Danny Noppert
Josh Rock
Pro Tour Order of Merit Qualifiers.
Ryan Searle
Luke Littler
Martin Schindler
Gary Anderson
Gian van Veen
Daryl Gurney
Ricardo Pietreczko
Raymond van Barneveld
Ritchie Edhouse
Ryan Joyce
Cameron Menzies
James Wade
Mike De Decker
Joe Cullen
Brendan Dolan
Luke Woodhouse
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.
The winner will land a cool prize of £120,000.
Meanwhile, the losing finalist pockets £60,000, semi-finalists £40,000 and quarter-finalists £25,000.