Luke Littler may be one of the sport’s biggest superstars – but he has not done enough to be selected by England for the World Cup of Darts.
The 17-year-old sensation became a household name with his phenomenal run to the World Championship final at the turn of the year, where he lost out to Luke Humphries. Littler was rewarded with a PDC tour card, as well as a place in the Premier League, and did not waste time making his mark.
The Nuke won four of 16 Premier League events and avenged his defeat to Humphries on finals night. Despite his astonishing success, Littler will not be one of the two players representing England at the World Cup this month, with Humphries and Michael Smith being given that honour.
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This is because selection for seeded nations is decided based on the PDC Order of Merit, which details players’ earnings over a two-year period. World number one Humphries tops the list with £1,492,250, while Smith is in third place with £1,031,500.
Littler is currently a long way off overtaking the top two English players, with the teenager sitting 25th in the Order of Merit. That is because he only became a permanent touring player six months ago, with his run to the World Championship final and successes in various other events earning him a total of £303,500 in winnings. Importantly, the prize money he won for lifting the Premier League title does not count towards his ranking as it is an invitational event.
The absence of Littler means that the World Cup of Darts will not feature the player who many casual darts fans would class as the sport’s star attraction. It also could result in Littler missing out on a potential £40,000 payday, with the winners collecting a combined £80,000 and the runners-up sharing £50k.
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(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
England are top seeds for the tournament at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, which runs between Thursday 27th and Sunday 30th June. It will be the fourteenth annual World Cup of Darts, but there has been a pivotal format change, with every round now being a doubles match.
Humphries and Smith have secured one of four automatic byes to the second round, skipping the group stage. They are joined by reigning champions Wales (Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton), Netherlands (Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert) and Scotland (Peter Wright and Gary Anderson) in the round of 16.
Group stage matches between the other 36 nations will be decided by best of seven legs. This will increase to best of 15 legs for the knockout rounds up until the final, with a best of 19 legs match crowning the World Cup winner.
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