Luke Littler will not form part of team England at the World Cup of Darts this weekend.
‘The Nuke’ has single-handedly transformed the sport of darts, bringing in huge new audience figures and lighting up the oche on the biggest of stages since his debut at the 2023 World Darts Championship.
Littler has continued his fine form in 2024, and earned a Premier League spot, which he has capitalised on by topping the league format at just 17 years old.
And Littler went one further by becoming the youngest ever winner of the Premier League, beating Luke Humphries in the final at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday.
But it will still not be enough to earn him a spot in the World Cup of Darts representing England in Frankfurt, given he is not ranked as the top two English players on the PDC Order of Merit.
Humphries, who beat Littler in the world championship final at the start of the year, sits at the top of the rankings system which is based on the tournament earnings of a player over a two-year period.
He has pocketed £1,496,500 during his remarkable streak, while Smith sits second with earnings of £1,059,250.
It will instead see the two ranked leaders take to the stage, with the PDC confirming the news when releasing the official teams.
Given the PDC’s traditional rules for the competition, it has been announced that it will be Humphries and Smith who will represent England in the tournament at the end of June.
The pair have been drawn to face France in the Round of 16 in the competition today, having received a bye through the group stage as one of the seeded teams.
Littler finds himself far behind the top five ranked players, given he has only just picked up a permanent tour card on the back of his success on the world stage.
He will likely come close to topping the charts when he successfully completes an 18-month period on the PDC tour, but the organisation will not break their rules to include him despite his superstar draw.
Littler’s monumental triumph in the Premier League could place him above Dave Chisnall in seventh, and just below Rob Cross at a pivotal time with competitors looking to cement their spot at the World Matchplay in Blackpool in July.
Despite being set to be absent from the latest instalment of the event that commences on June 27, the schedule will not let up for the teenage sensation.
And the tungsten magician’s manager Martin Foulds has warned his playing time must be tailored to avoid burnout.
“He’s pretty much in every TV event for the rest of the year without throwing another dart,” he said.
“There’s no off-season in darts. You’ve got to travel to these events – you don’t just time-warp and you’re in Belfast, Graz, Munich, Rotterdam.
“It’s unsustainable for any player to travel and play all of those events.
“When you’re playing in the Premier League especially, travelling can take its toll on anybody.
“He’s still a teenager, still 17 – if he wasn’t playing darts, he’d be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school.
“So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can.”