Luke Littler is now in the top 32 in the world and automatically qualifies for some majors; Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on May 23
Tuesday 9 January 2024 10:10, UK
Luke Littler is the name on everybody's lips and his run at the World Darts Championship means we are going to see a lot more of him on Sky Sports in 2024.
After a whirlwind six weeks, Littler will first jet off to the Bahrain Darts Masters from January 18-19 as eight of the top PDC players take on eight leading Asian Tour players in his final tournament as a 16-year-old.
Five days after his 17th birthday, he will compete at the Dutch Masters, which takes place from January 26-27.
The first time fans can see Littler on Sky Sports again is when he takes to the stage in the Premier League in Cardiff on Thursday February 1, kicking off a 17-week extravaganza that ends in the O2 in London on Thursday May 23.
This means Littler will take to the stage in front of tens of thousands of darts fans in the likes of Berlin, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Dublin.
Although he won't be taking part in this year's Cazoo Masters that sees the top 24 battle it out, the 16-year-old sensation can play in the UK Open on March 1-3 due to entering the top 32 in the world.
In June, the World Cup of Darts will take place but Littler will have competition from current world champion Luke Humphries and former world champion Michael Smith to represent England.
Then, if still in the top 32 by July, the Warrington youngster could head to the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool for the World Matchplay.
Only the top 24 in the world qualify for the World Series Of Darts Finals in September so Littler could be slightly outside of making that draw.
However, if his top 32 spot is still intact, the World Grand Prix from October 7 could see Littler try to follow in Humphries' footsteps with a huge major win as the run into the World Darts Championship takes place.
The Grand Slam of Darts is then the next big opportunity for Littler from November 9 as the top players head to Wolverhampton.
Throughout the year, Littler's Tour Card means he can take part in Players Championship events, which run from February 12 right through to October 31.
European Tour events, which occur throughout the year such as the Belgian Darts Open on March 8-10 and Austrian Darts Open on April 26-28, have a new qualifying format for 2024.
In a change to the qualifying format from previous years, the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit will now qualify by right for each event.
They will be joined by the top 16 non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit at the entry deadline.
The final 16 players will be determined as follows:
- Ten players from the PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifier
- Four players from the Host Nation Qualifier
- One Nordic & Baltic Qualifier
- One East Europe Qualifier
If Littler enters the PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifier, he can compete in these events.
Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday, February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on Thursday, May 23. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
