Luke Littler missing darts tournament 'a blessing in disguise' as star to reap rewards

Littler has taken the darts world by storm in the last few months and has already won three PDC tournaments in 2024.

He also sits second in the Premier League table in his maiden campaign after winning night nine in Belfast on Thursday.

Seven of the eight players in the Premier League will head to Munich this weekend to play in the German Darts Grand Prix.

They all automatically qualified for the event due to their PDC ranking but Littler had to attempt to qualify.

He failed to do so in February and therefore will not be present after winning the first European Tour tournament of the season at the Belgian Darts Open.

The 2008 BDO world champion Webster was surprised that it took as long as it did for Littler to win a Premier League night.

And he reckons he can reap the rewards from a rest over the next week while his rivals fly across Europe.

Webster said on Sky Sports: "I can't believe it's taken until Week Nine because he's been that good. Credit to him.

"He's had a few setbacks and was disappointed last week but he's been working hard on his game, practising with Rob Cross and changing the style of the way he throws.

"He's such a mature player despite being 17. He's got a lot to juggle and is so early in his career where there's a lot happening.

"He's got a weekend off after not qualifying for Munich and that might be a blessing in disguise for next week in Manchester."

Littler admitted he was looking forward to the break after a full-on few months on the PDC Tour.

He said: "It's nice to have a rest. But also it could have helped my rankings a little bit more.

"But I'm just glad to have the rest this weekend."

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Littler's manager Martin Foulds said this week that the teenager's success means he doesn't have to enter every tournament.

Foulds told the BBC: "It's given him such an advantage [winning those events] - he's pretty much in every TV event for the rest of the year without throwing another dart.

"There's no off-season in darts. You've got to travel to these events - you don't just time-warp and you're in Belfast, Graz, Munich, Rotterdam.

"It's unsustainable for any player to travel and play all of those events. When you're playing in the Premier League especially, travelling can take its toll on anybody.

"He's still a teenager, still 17 - if he wasn't playing darts, he'd be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school.

"So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can."