Luke Littler has revealed that he will miss the Dutch Darts Championships this month to watch his beloved Manchester United play in the FA Cup final at Wembley. The Red Devils face rivals Manchester City on May 25, which clashes with the Euro Tour event.
Littler has enjoyed a remarkable breakthrough year and won a fourth Premier League night on Thursday in his debut campaign. Qualification for World Matchplay, the World Grand Prix and other major television events has earned the 17-year-old sensation some well-deserved time off.
Martin Foulds, Littler’s meticulous manager, promised the World Championship runner-up some time off if he qualified for all the major events. Littler will seemingly miss the Dutch Championships, which are scheduled for May 24-26, to watch United at Wembley.
Asked if he will be attending the FA Cup final this month, the teenager beamed: “I’m in. I’m going to Wembley.
“Martin said if I do well and get myself into the Matchplay, Grand Prix and other majors, then he’ll pull me out of stuff so I get time. At the minute, I don’t have to do everything.”
Asked if he thinks Erik ten Hag’s players can make the trip worthwhile, Littler – who was invited to Carrington to meet the squad earlier this year – responded: “Hopefully!”
Littler triumphed on Premier League Darts night 14 in Aberdeen, beating Rob Cross 6-4 in the final. Prior to that, he angrily reacted to fans who attempted to put him off before a winning double against Nathan Aspinall.
It comes after Littler brushed off jeers from United’s rivals in Liverpool a week earlier. That time, he responded by gesturing ‘2-0’ in reference to Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat against Everton several days prior. Littler may expect fireworks in Leeds next week.
He said of responding to the crowd: “It’s what every player does. We’ve seen it with a few others this year, whistling. We win the game then just tell them to be quiet. Then go into the next game and if it happens again, it happens again.
“The other players don’t really mention it. I’ll just have to take anything on the chin. I’ve not really thought about what to expect in Leeds. But if anything happens I’ll block it out.
“Liverpool was a test but if Leeds is a test I’ve already qualified for the O2 so I’ll just go there and Sheffield without a fear of losing.”
