LUKE Littler’s clean-sweep dream died in Amsterdam on Sunday. Jonny Clayton’s 10-4 quarter-final thrashing at the World Series of Darts Finals ended ‘The Nuke’s run of six straight premier titles this year.
Soon after, the world No.1 confirmed he is out of this week’s Players Championship 29 and 30 at the Maaspoort in Den Bosch. That decision all but kills any realistic chance of reaching the Players Championship Finals in Minehead in November.
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Sitting 125th on the relevant PDC Order of Merit and £16,750 short of the top-64 cut-off, Littler needed big money from these two events. He had already signalled he would only turn up if the perfect year was still alive.
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Floor tournaments are behind closed doors, so the hostile Dutch crowds that booed and whistled him in Amsterdam aren’t the issue here. This is pure prioritisation: the 19-year-old has bigger fish to fry with the World Grand Prix, European Championship and Grand Slam still to come.
Right call? Plenty of fans will say yes – protect the body and the big stages. Others will argue the defending PCF champion should at least give Minehead a proper crack.
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Either way, Den Bosch goes on without its biggest name. The oche is set, the rest of the field is ready… and The Nuke is already looking ahead. Game on. Join our social media team for updates and results news.
Images: PDC
