LUKE LITTLER is set to skip the chance to compete in the PDC World Youth Championship.
The Warrington-thrower won the tournament back in 2023 and has already qualified for it.
Shutterstock EditorialLuke Littler will skip the World Youth Championship[/caption]
Littler, 18, was just 16 years old when he won the title as he beat Gian van Veen in Minehead.
He pocketed £10,000 from being victorious in the final but did not return to defend his title last year.
The World Youth Championship is made up of 128 players and has boasted some huge names as previous winners.
This includes the likes of previous world champions Luke Humphries and Michael Smith.
Belgian ace Dimitri van den Bergh is the only star to win the title twice as he went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
Littler automatically qualifies for the tournament as he is a PDC player and within the 16-24 age limit.
This means he could compete among the sports’ youngest stars until 2031.
However, he has opted to skip it for a second consecutive year, as confirmed last week.
The tournament is set to begin in October with the opening rounds in Wigan.
Once the competitors have been whittled down to just two, they will then face off in a final at Minehead in November.
Littler is expected to be competing in the Players Championship instead.
He was beaten in the final last year by Humphries as he settled for the runner-up position.
The Nuke recently tasted success in the World Series of Darts as he won it for the third time in his career.
He also won the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongong by beating Mike De Decker in the final.
PDC World Youth Champions
Here are the previous winners of the PDC World Youth Championship…
2011 – Arron Monk
2012 – James Hubbard
2013 – Michael Smith
2014 – Keegan Brown
2015 – Max Hopp
2016 – Corey Cadby
2017 – Dimitri van den Bergh
2018 – Dimitri van den Bergh
2019 – Luke Humphries
2020 – Bradley Brooks
2021 – Ted Evetts
2022 – Josh Rock
2023 – Luke Littler*
2024 – Gian van Veen
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