Luke Littler's shock World Youth Championship defeat opens up dream scenario for two darts stars

Luke Littler's shock defeat to Cam Crabtree in the World Youth Championship semi-finals has boosted the hopes of one player in their attempts to qualify for the World Darts Championship - while another can secure his spot by winning the final in Minehead.

Littler suffered a 6-5 defeat to Crabtree, who is currently in the second year of his PDC tour card.

'Shazam' checked out inside 16 darts in the final leg, hitting double six to secure a dramatic victory in Wigan, and will now play Germany's Jan Schmidt in the final in Minehead on November 22. And his victory creates even more intrigue when it comes to qualifying for the World Championship.

How two players can reach World Championship after Luke Littler defeat

Crabtree is provisionally secured a place at Alexandra Palace through his performances on this season's Development Tour.

But the winner of the World Youth Championship automatically qualifies for the World Championship, which would pass the qualification spot down to the next highest-ranked player in the Development Tour standings.

That position is held by Owen Bates, who collected £12,200 in ranking points over the 24 Development Tour events that were held this year.

But Bates could secure his spot via another route. The top 40 on the ProTour Order of Merit - largely based upon Players Championship events, of which there are four still to play - qualify for the World Championship. Crabtree is currently ranked 41st but is level with Raymond van Barneveld in 40th.

Having heard that victory in Minehead would secure his friend Bates a qualification place, Crabtree posted to Twitter: "Job's not done yet boys and girls."

Then there is Crabtree's final opponent Schmidt, who is not a PDC tour card holder but has competed in various European Tour events. His run to the World Youth Championship final has qualified him for the Grand Slam of Darts, but the German will need to win in Minehead to secure a spot at Ally Pally.

And as per darts analyst Tom Nankivell, Henry Coates will secure qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time unless all six remaining ProTour events are won by a currently unqualified player. Coates won his maiden Players Championship tournament earlier this year.

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Luke Littler's World Youth Championship defeat denies him surreal appearance

The World Youth Championship final is traditionally played at the same venue as the Players Championship Finals, which also take place in November.

Littler lost to Beau Greaves in the semi-final of the World Youth Championship in 2025, denying him the rare opportunity to effectively play in two tournaments at once.

READ MORE: Beau Greaves interview: 'I want young girls to know they can have a career in darts'

This time around, 'The Nuke' is set to miss the Players Championship Finals, having opted against playing in the majority of the regular Players Championship events this year to reduce his schedule.

The prospect of Littler playing in a youth tournament at the same as his top darts rivals such as Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall play in the more senior event, therefore, now won't be realised.

The reigning two-time world champion could still play in the Players Championship Finals, but would need to participate in the final two qualifying events later this month and realistically win one and finish as runner-up in the other.