Luke Littler has confirmed he will be at the World Cup of Darts next week, insisting he never considered pulling out despite barely playing in Germany and not featuring on the European Tour for the past year or so. The teenage sensation, who suffered a second-round exit 12 months ago, said his decision was made weeks ago and he never thought of following Gerwyn Price in withdrawing.
Speaking after his opening-round win over Cor Dekker at the Nordic Darts Masters, Littler said: “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.” The PDC had asked him in Berlin whether he was going, and he confirmed it was already decided.
Littler is aiming to add an elusive piece of his darting puzzle in Copenhagen this weekend before heading to Frankfurt for the World Cup and then New York for the US Darts Masters. “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,” he said. “I’ll definitely put some more practice in tomorrow and see if I can pick up the trophy.”
Reflecting on his 6-0 win over Dekker, Littler admitted he hadn’t thrown a dart since last Thursday. “A win’s a win. If you win 6-0, it’s always nice, but I wasn’t expecting anything. It was just about getting past the first round and coming back tomorrow.” He also explained a quirky moment when he didn’t try to hit 129: “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.”
Littler admitted he has enjoyed a relaxed week off since winning the Premier League, spending time at home buying and selling football cards. “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.” But he knows the intensity is back: “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.”
