“I can sort of take that step back and not go chasing every single tournament” – Luke Littler responds after Barry Hearn’s warning
PDCTuesday, 15 September 2026 at 19:00
Luke Littler believes his position as world number one gives him the freedom to choose which tournaments he does and doesn’t play. The 19-year-old Englishman has deliberately scaled back his schedule this season and has no plans to change that as long as his world ranking allows it.
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So far in 2026, Littler has played only two Players Championships and entered just three events on the European Tour. He also skipped the recent World Series events in Australia and New Zealand, despite being the reigning world champion.
That marks a clear shift from many of his peers. Rather than taking every opportunity to compete, he is building in rest periods by design. According to the Englishman, that is necessary to balance an increasingly crowded darts calendar with his private life.
PDC president Barry Hearn recently warned top players about regularly skipping tournaments. Littler, however, sees no reason to adjust his current approach. He says his large lead as world number one gives him the scope to be more selective with his schedule.
"I think obviously it's just what's best for me and my family,” Littler told the Press Association. “Just having those crucial days off. I think we're going to see more days off just to rest.”
"That's all I'm doing. I'm obviously world number one, and there's a massive gap between myself and world number two. I can sort of take that step back and not go chasing every single tournament. It allows me to have, obviously, days off and weeks off, and yeah, just about balancing the schedule."
Littler still has a chance in 2026 to win every major on the PDC calendar.
Chasing a unique clean sweep
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Littler’s return to the Players Championship is driven by an exceptional target. The Englishman is attempting to win all ten of the PDC’s major tournaments this season.
He has won the first six majors of 2026. To keep that perfect run alive later this year, however, Littler must also qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.
There is still work to do. Littler skipped the first 26 Players Championship events of the season and only began his catch-up bid on the Players Championship Order of Merit two weeks ago in Leicester.
Whether he continues that chase may depend entirely on what happens this week at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. That event also forms part of his bid to collect every major title of the year.
Should Littler miss out on the title in Amsterdam, his chance of a clean sweep disappears. In that case, the need to play extra Players Championships and still qualify for Minehead would also largely fade.
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"That's all you can do. I can't be looking forward any more than what's next, which is the World Series in Amsterdam," said Littler, speaking as part of his partnership with KP Nuts.
"If I hopefully do win the World Series, then Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be in Den Bosch for the Pro Tours, try and qualify for Minehead. We've just got to see what happens in Amsterdam this weekend."
The World Series of Darts Finals could therefore shape not only Littler’s pursuit of a unique run of major titles, but also the rest of his schedule. If he wins in Amsterdam, the chase continues. If not, the world number one seems set to prioritise rest and a leaner programme again.
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- What a nice comment by Wade. Top bloke.BandB15-09-2026
- He wasn't "offered £501,000 to face Luke Littler". He was allowed to audition for the chance. That's not the same. Literally like saying I was offered a no.1 single, when actually I decided not to attend an open casting for the X factor.BandB13-09-2026
- I loved Jan and loved his walk on music "Explode" by Jordan & Baker. I think if he stuck around the BDO he definitely would have been World Champion, should have won in 2014, he never really showed any of his talent in the PDC. I remembered he worked in a bank or in finance and maybe that was his priority, he was also a fan and interested in magic. Definitely should have achieved much more in darts than he did. Wherever you are nowadays Jan, hope all is well and I was always a fan.richieburnettrocks11-09-2026
- Not much of a tournament really,is it? Now they've all pulled out,it's open for everyone. I'm sure if you bought tickets,you'd be disappointed. Doesn't that seem to bother the withdrawals? Not at all!!rick6710-09-2026
- Need to see her take part in the womens tour. She'll break the inernet.medinabello08-09-2026
- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
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