"I said yeah, we're definitely going, that was settled weeks ago": Luke Littler never thought of withdrawing from World Cup of Darts despite German boycott

Luke Littler will be at the World Cup of Darts next week. This is despite Littler barely playing in Germany and not at all on the European Tour for the past year or so and also the heartbreak of a second round loss 12 months ago.

But Littler who took down Cor Dekker in his opener at the Nordic Darts Masters said he decided weeks ago and never thought of doing a Gerwyn Price and pulling out. He is now aiming this weekend to add an elusive piece of his darting puzzle in Copenhagen as he looks to complete darts and will look to add two of those in the next two weeks before he then plays in New York where he will also see England play.

"I mean, a win's a win. If you win 6-0, it's always nice, but I wasn't expecting anything. I hadn't thrown a dart since last Thursday. It was just about getting past the first round and coming back tomorrow," he said as per Online Darts.

He also had an interesting quirk during the match that was picked up on as he didn't try to hit the 129 and bust it to check it out on his next visit. "Obviously, I wanted to leave myself on a finish. As soon as I hit the treble 20, I bust it, and then I had to go over to the 19s. I couldn't really see the board, so I just floated it over and it went in."

But while he perhaps hasn't picked up a dart in anger since his Premier League triumph, he is gunning to try and win one of the only pieces of his puzzle he is yet to accrue. "Everyone knows I want to tick off every major title. To tick off everything, including the World Series events, is what I'm going to try and do. I'll definitely put some more practice in tomorrow and see if I can pick up the trophy."

But while he has chilled out by his own admission since winning the Premier League, he said that in reality he was back to focus as soon as he knew he was playing again and switched it on despite the fact that his display vs Cor Dekker wasn't 100%.

"I've definitely had one of the best weeks off, just relaxing, chilling out and not thinking about darts. But I knew this morning that I was back to work. A few hours before the game I had a little practice session. It's just about getting past the first round in these competitions and coming back tomorrow."

But for Littler, he spoke on the lifestyle and the need for that time after Phil Taylor said that he had sympathy for players dealing with the busy schedule and Littler was asked what the main toughest part is of said schedule.

"It's just been non-stop since my first World Championship. Travelling every weekend, playing competitions. We've got this weekend, then the World Cup, then New York. That's three back-to-back weekends of pure darts.

"Obviously I try to enjoy myself, but it has been tough. Like I said, this past week was really good because I didn't have to think about darts. Downtime for us players is really crucial."

But also in these events, Littler also said that the pressure is on to perform due to their name value and also going from a packed out O2 to Copenhagen for a World Series is also a different kettle of fish.

"It's always about getting through that first round. Obviously us Premier League players, plus James, are expected to come through, but you've got players from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and elsewhere who see it as a great opportunity. It's a challenge for us as well, and we've got to get past that first round. That's what I've done."

"Like I said, it's a great opportunity for the players we play against, but it's also a challenge for us. We saw Stephen Bunting not get over the line tonight, and I think that puts pressure on us in the practice room to get our win and make sure we're back tomorrow."

But while he did have some downtime between the Premier League, he admitted that he just did what he finds time to relax with instead of jetting off.

"I just stayed at home. I spent more money on football cards, sold football cards, went to the post office every day sending them off, and really just chilled out."

"I was on the road so much during the Premier League, and while I'm glad that's finished, it's only going to get busy again from now on."

But he will be in Frankfurt next week for the World Cup and said that the PDC asked whether he was going, and he said it was settled weeks ago before also touching on why he thinks it went wrong last year. "I think it was in Berlin when I tried my England shirt on and someone from the PDC said, "You're definitely going?"

"I said, 'Yeah, we're definitely going." That was settled weeks ago. Me and Luke had a few good moments, but we just didn't really bond on that stage. Hopefully this year it's a lot different."

Littler openly admitted that he wants the darts team to win the World Cup over the football picking flaws in the selection for the football despite the fact he will stay up.

"It was very strange. Everyone knows there are players who should be in and players who shouldn't be in, but I'm not going to name names.

"Harry Maguire should have been in there, though. But it is what it is, and hopefully it does come home."

"Me and my friend have already been talking about it, so I think there'll be some late nights.

"I'll definitely be watching, and I'll actually be at the final group game against Panama because I'll be in New York for the US Darts Masters."