"The clean sweep is definitely on" - Luke Littler braces for Players Championship return as he details Minehead qualifying plans

The bid for unprecedented darting history is still very much on. After undergoing a Players Championship hiatus all year, Luke Littler is set to make a return to the ProTour in Leicester for events 27 and 28 with time running out to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead.

The 19-year-old is having a season for the ages with no one able to keep up with him. His recent World Matchplay run was the most dominant and ominous display as he mustered up a tournament average of 111.04, smashing the record books in the Winter Gardens.

In 2026, he has so far won the PDC World Darts Championship, Winmau World Masters, UK Open, Premier League Darts, World Cup of Darts and the World Matchplay. He has suffered just one ranking loss at the Belgian Darts Open against Niels Zonneveld after winning the Poland Darts Open in his two European Tour appearances.

However, he is still yet to get his Players Championship campaign up and running, and is leaving it very late to qualify. This could prevent him from competing the clean sweep of major titles in 2026. With just six events left, Littler is in desperate need of some very deep runs to keep his chances alive. Something that he is very capable of.

'The Nuke' will return to the Mattioli Arena in Leicester to challenge for the titles on offer. In his time on the PDC Tour, Littler has competed in just 29 floor events in three years, winning four of them while never playing outside of England.

Littler will be hoping for a victorious return to the ProTour. "Obviously there have been crucial moments in tournaments that I’ve gone on to win where, in the first round, players have missed one dart at double to beat me," he said.

“Then I go on to win the game. Sometimes it can get really, really close. Last-leg deciders, winning by two clear legs. Everyone knows I’ve got to go to the Leicester ProTours. The next one to look for is the World Series in Amsterdam."

Following the World Series of Darts Finals tournament, Littler will then have the option of sticking around in the Netherlands with another brace of events occurring in Den Bosch after the tournaments. The 19-year-old has shared his intention of competing in them, but on one condition.

“If I win that, then it’s Monday and Tuesday in Den Bosch for more ProTours. We’re looking further into it," he confirmed. "The clean sweep is definitely on.”

There will be another two events in Den Bosch if Littler feels like he needs to feature in them before Players Championship events 33 and 34 take place in Leicester to conclude the floor events in 2026.

Littler has a lot of work to do to get into the top 64 in the Players Championship Order of Merit. Martin Schindler sits in that 64th and final qualifying spot with £25,500 earned. That tally will obviously continue to go up with each tournament handing out £15,000 for the title. Littler, still on zero, begins the charge in his return to action on Tuesday 25th August in Leicester.