Sport

Luke Littler will come to Dublin on March 21

Luke Littler is heading to Dublin (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Darting phenom Luke Littler will come to Dublin on March 21. The 16-year-old, who took the sport by storm at the PDC World Championship, has been selected alongside the world's best for the Darts Premier League in 2024.

Littler, who made global headlines with his performances at Alexandra Palace in the past three weeks, lost out in the final against eventual winner Luke Humphries last Wednesday. The Warrington teenager lost 7-4 in one of the most-watched finals ever.

Luke Littler of England reacts during the 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship Final between Luke Littler of England and Luke Humphries of England on Day Sixteen of the 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on January 03, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

The final between the pair was watched by a total of 4.8 million viewers on Sky Sports, with a peak of 3.68 million—the largest audience for a non-football event in the broadcaster’s history—outstripping the Ryder Cup and the men’s Ashes. This was also the biggest figure the PDC has ever seen.

There had been several rumours around the potential Premier League lineup and whether that would include the rising star.

On Thursday at 4 p.m., the lineup was announced, and Littler was announced alongside the likes of Humphries, Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, and Nathan Aspinall.

The world's best players will now go head-to-head over 17 nights of action from February to May every Thursday.

Since 2022, each Premier League night has become a mini-tournament where the eight players compete in four quarterfinals.

The winners progress to the semi-finals, with the last four winners reaching the final, where the winner of the night will be declared.

Every match is best-of-11, and the winner gets five points, the runner-up three points, and the two losing semi-finalists two points.

The top four players on the Premier League table at the end of Night 16 in Sheffield will advance to the play-offs in London on May 23 at the O2 Arena.

The player who is at the top of the table will play the fourth-placed player in second place, taking on third place in two semi-finals, which are best-of-19 legs.

The winner of those semi-finals will go head-to-head in the final, which is best-of-21, and the Premier League champion will be crowned.

Teenage sensation Luke Littler has been handed a Premier League debut after his sensational run to the World Darts Championship final! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/EV2zNLGAlN

— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 4, 2024

"It’s unbelievable," said Littler. "No more development tours. This is it. Playing in the Premier League and comfortably in the world's top 32.

"As soon as I came off the stage, did the media and saw the family, my manager pulled me aside and said, "Do you want to do the Premier League?"

"I said, "Let's do it; it might not happen again." This is just going to be an incredible experience."

Littler will now head to the likes of Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool, London, and other cities during the darts format. The Dublin date will take place on March 21 in the 3Arena, but unfortunately and not surprisingly, this has been completely sold out.

Humphries now believes that Littler made the right call and that he should use it to grow as a player.

“Luke did make the right decision. He’s a top talent in darts now and these are the sort of things you want to be playing in. How talented he is already, he will grow to even greater heights,” added Humphries.

Here's a full list of the Premier League schedule: