Luke Littler withdraws from event before Premier League Darts night gets underway | Other | Sport

Luke Littler has pulled out of this weekend’s European Darts Grand Prix, vowing not to return to Germany until October. This decision comes after a series of hostile receptions from German crowds.

His withdrawal from the tournament is hardly surprising, given the negative reception he received in Berlin during the Premier League and again in Munich for the German Darts Grand Prix last month. Littler will be the only top 20 player not participating in the European Darts Grand Prix, scheduled to take place in Sindelfingen from May 2-4. He expressed relief at not having to return to Germany until the European Championship. He took to social media to voice his displeasure after the recent event, stating: “Shouldn’t have been in Munich but had to play anyway. Next one in Germany for me is Dortmund and I am glad to say that.”

If Littler stays true to his word, he will miss the World Cup of Darts, set to take place in Germany in June. This could also affect Luke Humphries, who was expected to partner with the 18-year-old sensation.

Littler’s immediate attention now turns to Thursday night’s Premier League outing in Birmingham. Last week saw him narrowly defeated by Michael van Gerwen in a thrilling match, before Gerwyn Price emerged as the winner of the evening.

Littler continues to impress in the Premier League table, topping the eight-man field with four nightly victories under his belt. He holds a six-point lead over Humphries, while Stephen Bunting languishes at the bottom.

Littler is set to face Bunting in Birmingham, where the Liverpool supporter has promised not to tease the Manchester United fan before their duel.

Bunting expressed his strategy saying: “I don’t want to wind him up too much because I’ve got him that first game! I’ll probably leave it until after the game and hopefully I can get a result against them but he’s such a fantastic player, he’s brought a new breath of air to darts and you see it now with the demographic of the fans that are following our sport.”

“He’s brought it right down to young kids getting involved. I’ve done a bullseye math session the other day and the teacher at the start of the session asked how many people had picked up darts.”

“This was an age group of between eight and nine and everyone – apart from one person – had picked up a set of darts, so it goes to show how far our sport’s come in such a little time.”