Luke Littler banned from darts events as incredible rise stops him from defending titles

Luke Littler, the teenage darts superstar, was unable to defend his PDC Development Tour victories last year due to his high world ranking. The young prodigy shot up to 31st in the rankings following his run to the World Darts Championship final just over a year ago.

This impressive feat was followed by triumphs at the Premier League Darts, the Grand Slam of Darts and an overall victory at this year's worlds, which significantly boosted his prize money earnings. With the PDC's Order of Merit determined by the amount of prize money a player has won in ranking tournaments over a two-year period, Littler's total of more than £1.1million has propelled him to second place, behind Luke Humphries.

While Littler's string of victories have set him up for future success and guaranteed him entry into lucrative events like the Premier League, it has also disqualified him from competing in the PDC Development Tour. PDC rules prohibit players within the top 32 from participating in the Development Tour.

Having been catapulted to 31st immediately after the 2024 worlds, and then to second following his other achievements, Littler will not be returning to the tour anytime soon. The young star won four events on the tour in 2023, when he was still making a name for himself on the darts circuit.

He was unable to defend those wins in 2024, although he was otherwise engaged with competing amongst the sport's heavyweights, reports the Express.

Littler was back on the oche at the World Masters last weekend, wowing fans with his scintillating skills to breeze past Andy Baetens and James Wade in straight sets during the first two rounds. Known as 'The Nuke', he notched up a staggering average of 104.33 against Baetens followed by an even more