Luke Littler has decided not to compete in this year's PDC World Youth Championship. The PDC reports that in addition to Littler, Josh Rock, Pascal Rupprecht and Leighton Bennett will not compete in the event.
ADVERTISEMENT
The PDC World Youth Championship is open to the best darters in the under-23 category. Players who turn 24 during the season are allowed to finish the year. When a player enters the top-32 of the PDC Order of Merit, they may no longer compete on the Development Tour, but will still receive an invitation to the PDC World Youth Championship.
Littler won the World Youth last year at the age of 16 by defeating Gian van Veen 6-4 in the final. Because of his young age, Littler is theoretically allowed to compete in the PDC World Youth Championship until 2031, but because of his busy schedule, "The Nuke" has decided to skip at least this year.
Due to the withdrawals of Littler and Rock, Van Veen will lead the field of competitors at the youth event. The Dutchman will face competition from Wessel Nijman, Niko Springer, Keane Barry, Nathan Rafferty, Sebastian Bialecki, Danny Jansen, Jurjen van der Velde, Thomas Banks and Dylan Slevin, among others.
In addition to the 10 Tour Card holders who are guaranteed to participate, there are also 21 international qualifiers. Rounding out the 128-player field are 107 players who qualified through the PDC Development Tour Order of Merit. The final four Development Tour tournaments of the season will be played on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13.
The 2024 PDC World Youth Championship will then take place on Monday, Oct. 14. Games will be played until the two finalists are known. The final will traditionally be played on the final night of the Players Championship Finals (Nov. 24).
Qualified PDC Tour Card holders.
ADVERTISEMENT
Keane Barry, Owen Bates, Adam Gawlas, Paul Krohne, Wessel Nijman, Nathan Rafferty, Owen Roelofs, Dylan Slevin, Jurjen van der Velde, Gian van Veen
International Qualifiers
Ryan Branley, Douglas DiMichele, Craig Galliano, Desiree Geel, Jonas Graversen, Ishimori Hidehiko, Jaymie Hilton-Jones, Bailey Jacobs, Kendrick Koordom, Almos Kovacs, Kayden Milne, Anton Östlund, Donovan Pilon, Kianu Rawiri, Hayden Scott, Katie Sheldon, Cayden Smith, Mason Taylor, Pavarith Thiamchivasin, Kieran Thompson, Connor Watt
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026