Luke Littler 'banned' from defending darts championship he currently holds in huge blow

Luke Littler has been banned from defending his PDC Development Tour title this weekend.

Littler propelled himself to national attention in January when aged just 16, he made it to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship on his tournament debut.

Though he went on to lose 7-4 to Luke Humphries in the Alexandra Palace final, Littler has continued making waves in the world of darts.

The teenager, who recently celebrated his 17th birthday, beat Michael van Gerwen to win the Bahrain Masters in January, while he went on to beat Humphries in the semi-finals of the Dutch Masters.

Littler, who has also made his Premier League bow in the past month, has already earned some £250,000 in prize money in 2024, while also forming lucrative partnerships with Target Darts and fashion retailer boohooMAN.

However, Littler’s exploits mean he will not be able to participate in the first tournament of the PDC Development Tour this weekend.

The series is for players aged 16 to 23 and leads up to the PDC World Youth Championship, which Littler won last year.

Indeed, Littler’s win in the 2023 World Youth Championships is what earned him a place in the World Darts Championship where he made his name.

Luke Littler has become one of the biggest names in darts (Getty)

However, the Development Tour doesn’t let players ranked in the top 32 enter. That rules Littler out, with the youngster now sitting 30th in the PDC Order of Merit rankings.

Nevertheless, Littler can still enter the World Youth Championship at the end of the season.

Littler’s exclusion is unlikely to bother him, given he is set to continue his Premier League campaign in Exeter next Thursday for Nigh Five of the tournament.

There, he will try to win his first nightly title as he takes on former world champion Michael Smith in the quarter-final.