Luke Littler has issued a statement after he crashing out of the Hungarian Darts Trophy.
The teenager looked on course to win his sixth Euro Tour crown in Budapest, especially with his biggest rival Luke Humphries already out in the quarter-finals.
But Littler's run came to an end in the semi-finals, losing 7-4 to Danny Noppert. The tournament came just days after Littler had shocked darts fans by revealing he would be taking time away from the sport to focus on other things.
The announcement shocked supporters, especially with the reigning world champion closing in on the world number one ranking.
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After his exit in Hungary, Littler once again took to Instagram to share a message with his fans.
He wrote: "Another weekend on the road and made it to the semi finals.
"Want to thank everyone who came to Budapest to support time to head home."
Will Luke Littler step back from darts?
At just 18, Littler has already become one of the biggest names in darts. He burst onto the scene aged 16 at the World Championships, reaching the final before losing to Humphries, and he has since continued to win the sport's most prestigious prizes.
In less than a year, he won the Premier League at the first attempt, before lifting the World Championship and World Matchplay titles.
That treble of trophies secured him a place in history as he became just the fifth player to achieve the darts Triple Crown.
He joins legends Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Humphries.
With Humphries needing a strong finish to the season to hold onto top spot, many believe Littler is on track to become world number one this year.
But his surprise statement caused confusion among darts fans.
He wrote: "I've had an awesome career, couldn't ask for much better for myself. It's been full on for two years, I've done many great things, the Premier League at the age of 17 on debut.
"The nine darters on telly, winning the World Championship at 18, the youngest to ever do it. I just want to say thanks to all my fans, the support over the past two years has been phenomenal
"It'll shock some people that I'm taking a step back. It's not been an easy decision, now I want to focus and do something that I really really love."
It turns out that Littler is not planning to step back from darts at all.
Instead, his post was a promotional announcement, confirming his partnership with Xbox and FC26 ahead of the game's release.
Topics: Luke Littler, Darts, Luke Humphries, World Darts Championship
James Taylor