Darts star Luke Littler banned from PDC occasion he has already received 4 instances
Luke Littler cannot compete in the PDC Development Tour for the third consecutive year due to ranking restrictions, as the world No. 1 darts prodigy is barred from the event he won four times
World champion Luke Littler is the highest ranked player in the world currently(Image: Getty)
Luke Littler has been barred from competing in the PDC Development Tour for the third consecutive year.
The 19-year-old darts sensation has experienced a remarkable ascent in the sport since reaching the World Darts Championship final just over two years ago.
The Englishman’s displays at Alexandra Palace in December 2023 propelled him to 31st in the world rankings, with Littler subsequently claiming Premier League Darts, Grand Slam of Darts and two World Championship titles, amongst numerous others.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Accumulating over £3million in career prize money and achieving world No. 1 status means the teenager has already scaled the sport’s summit. However, that very success has excluded him from competing against his peers at the forthcoming 2026 PDC Winmau Development Tour.
The Development Tour, which features players aged 16-24, commences on February 20 in Leicester. It will encompass 24 events across five weekends, with a £20,000 prize fund available for each event and £3,000 awarded to winners.
Yet PDC regulations prohibit players within the Order of Merit’s top 32 from participating, excluding Littler from contention, reports the Express.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings
He claimed four events on the tour in 2023, when he was still establishing his reputation on the darts circuit. Littler couldn’t defend those victories in 2024, though he was occupied competing amongst the sport’s elite.
His extraordinary showing at the 2024 World Darts Championship, where he fell to Luke Humphries in the final, launched him to 31st in the world rankings. This resulted in his ranking being too high to compete in the Development Tour for both 2024 and 2025.
He will be ineligible again this year and in the foreseeable future, unless there’s a dramatic drop in his performance causing him to plummet down the rankings.
The PDC’s Order of Merit is calculated based on the prize money a player has won in ranking tournaments over a two-year rolling period. Currently, Littler is leading the pack with an impressive total of £2.85m.
He is set to participate in the upcoming PDC European Tour events, where he hopes to increase his substantial earnings at the Poland Darts Open from February 20 to 22. Prior to that, he’ll be taking part in Night 3 of Premier League Darts in Glasgow on Thursday, February 19.
