World Darts Championship Star Was Handed Five-Year Ban for Major Rule Breach

A darts star who is set to feature in next month's World Championships was once handed a five-year ban from the sport for a major rule breach.

The world's best players will return to the Alexandra Palace in December for the biggest tournament in darts.

World number one Luke Littler will be the favourite to defend his crown, but Luke Humphries will be desperate to regain the title after losing in the fourth round to Peter Wright last year.

The draw for the PDC competition was made on Monday, with Littler facing Darius Labanauskas in the opening round and Humphries set to take on Ted Evetts.

Beau Greaves, who recently defeated Littler at the World Youth Championship, will also be in action as she meets 22nd seed Daryl Gurney.

Greaves is one of five players from the Women's World Series competing at the Ally Pally this year, with all of them handed challenging draws.

Luke Littler won last year's World Championship (Image: Getty)

Another star set to play at the World Championships is Wessel Nijman, who was once handed a five-year ban from the sport.

In October 2020, he was found guilty of match-fixing during the amateur Modus Icons of Darts at Home series.

As per The Sun, someone from a "weird Instagram account" contacted him via a friend "to earn some easy money".

Nijman agreed not to win any legs in exchange for £8,300 and he went on to lose the match 4-0.

He later admitted deliberately losing to David Evans and claimed he had been "put under some pressure to lose a match."

However, two-and-a-half years of the ban were suspended on the condition that he completed player education and anti-corruption programmes.

Wessel Nijman at last year's World Championships (Image: Getty)

The Dutchman returned to competition in February 2023 and he went on to finish third on the PDC Development Tour that year.

That success earned him his World Championship debut, although he lost to Steve Beaton in the opening round.

Nijman enjoyed an impressive 2024 overall and entered last year's World Championships as the seventh favourite.

But his tournament run ended early once again, as he lost to James Wade in the second round.

While he is not among the favourites this year, Nijman has still had a strong season, including two runs to the semi-finals on the PDC European Tour.

Seeded 31st for this year's tournament, he will begin his campaign against Czech Karel Sedlacek.

Should he progress, his second round match would be against either Gabriel Clemens or Alex Spellman, who are both unseeded.

A major test is likely to follow in the third round, with Humphries the most likely opponent at that stage.