This is why Luke Littler is not competing in the World Cup of Darts

The Eissporthalle in Frankfurt will host the 2024 World Cup of Darts from Thursday, June 27 to Sunday, June 30. Forty international teams will participate in this tournament. Luke Littler, arguably the biggest name in darts at the moment, will not be there however. In this article, we explain why 'The Nuke' will be absent.

Littler is without question one of the two best players at the moment. There can be no doubt about that after the teenage sensation was in the World Darts Championship final in January and won the Premier League Darts in May. Furthermore, Littler already wrote two Euro Tour titles to his name, as well as a Pro Tour tournament and a World Series of Darts event. Still, Littler did not receive an invitation to participate in the World Cup of Darts on behalf of England. Luke Humphries and Michael Smith will take the colours for England at this year's Nations Tournament. For reigning world champion Humphries, it will be his debut at the World Cup of Darts. The qualifying criteria for this event ensured that Smith was favoured over Littler.

Selection for the World Cup of Darts is based on the current PDC Order of Merit. This includes all prize money won in ranking tournaments over the past two years. Because Littler has only been raking in the big money for just seven months and had no earnings relevant to the world rankings in the 17 months before that, he missed out on an invitation.

Littler is currently in 25th place on the PDC Order of Merit with £303,500 in prize money. Luke Humphries (£1,492,250) and Michael Smith (£1,031,500) are well above that, occupying the first and third spots. They are the two highest-ranked Englishmen in the world rankings, making Humphries and Smith designated by the PDC to participate in Frankfurt.

A total of 12 English compatriots are currently ahead of Littler in the world rankings. Participation in the World Cup of Darts in 2025 is a realistic possibility for "The Nuke," though. In the virtual rankings for after the upcoming World Cup of Darts, Littler is already in tenth place, still only 112,250 pounds behind the second Englishman (in this case Rob Cross). If Littler wins one or more more ranking majors in the coming months, there is a good chance he will represent the England team next year with Humphries.