Darts star once compared to Luke Littler was banned from World Championship after being handed huge suspension

A darts player once compared to Luke Littler was banned from competing at this year's World Championship after receiving a huge eight-year suspension from the sport.

A total of 96 players entered the first round of the World Championship at the Alexandra Palace, with the 64 players outside of the top 32 in the rankings competing in round one.

Leighton Bennett, 18, could have been among them had he not been suspended from darts back in August.

Bennett was the youngest winner of the BDO World Youth Championship at the age of 13 and was tipped to be a future star of the sport.

While that did not transpire in the way that Littler's rise has, Bennett did win a PDC Tour Card at the beginning of 2024 and vowed to compete for top honours.

Leighton Bennett won the 2019 BDO World Youth Championship at the age of 13 (Image: Getty)

On the day that Littler won his first Players Championship event in Wigan in February, Bennett hit a nine-darter on his way to the last 32 round.

He reached the last 16 at Players Championship 3 and 6 as his solid early-season form continued, and while he had no realistic chance of making it into the top 64 by the end of the year, he was at least trending on an upward trajectory.

But his form quickly faltered, and the 18-year-old was knocked out in the first round in five consecutive ProTour events.

Then, in August, he was provisionally suspended by the PDC after suspicious betting patterns were reported in four of his matches.

The matches in question took place in 2023, when Bennett was competing in the Modus Super Series.

Earlier this month, he - along with another player, Billy Warriner - were handed significant bans from the sport.

Bennett was banned for a total of eight years - meaning he cannot play in PDC events until August 2032, pending an appeal - and was ordered to pay £8,100 in costs. Warriner received a 10-year ban, also pending appeal.

A statement from the Darts Regulation Authority read: "Bennett was found guilty of 10 charges of fixing the four matches, provided inside information on the matches, of failing to assist an investigation and for signing a contract with an unregistered agent."