Teenage darts prodigy Luke Littler has been forced to pull out of a major tournament.
The 17-year-old - who won the first senior title of his short career at the start of 2024 - won't be competing this June.
Littler burst onto the scene after narrowly missing out to Luke Humphries in the World Darts Championship final.
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He then bounced back in a big way, claiming his first senior PDC title at the Bahrain Masters on 19 January.
No one saw Littler's rise to fame coming, from having a kebab named after him to smashing Millie Bobby Brown at darts on The Jonathan Ross Show, it has certainly been a busy few months for the youngster.
For those who haven't seen, the Warrington lad appeared alongside Brown, Liam Gallagher, John Squire, Rob Beckett and Raye, playing and winning a short round of darts.
He unsurprisingly beat their combined score of 83 - between Brown, Beckett and Raye - by scoring an impressive 140.
Now, ever since his pro debut, the only way has been up for Littler.
But it seems that the darts prodigy will be forced to miss the upcoming Nordic Darts Masters in June.
The Professional Darts Corporation said he will miss the event due to family commitments and won't be attending the tournament in Copenhagen on June 7-8.
As a result, newly crowned UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will take his place.
Matt Porter, Professional Darts Corporation chief executive, has said Littler's busy schedule is being monitored daily.
Speaking on the Love The Darts podcast, he explained: “The media demands are high, still getting a lot of requests for high-end content.
"We saw him on The Jonathan Ross Show, he's doing Comic Relief, there are a lot of A-list people that want to speak to Luke which is great for him and great for darts and it's important that is managed properly.
“His manager Martin (Foulds) is excellent, his family are very supportive, we're involved and it's a team effort really just to make sure everything is geared around giving him the optimal opportunity to be the best he can on the oche and just get enough rest and time to himself to be a normal 17-year-old as best he can away from that.
“It's early days, it's hard to think we're only three months into the Luke Littler story but who knows how long it might last?”
We wish Littler all the best as his love the game is something that has inspired sports fans across the globe.
Topics: Luke Littler, Sport
Anish Vij