Luke Littler faces qualification challenge for Players Championship finals

Darts sensation Luke Littler's quest to qualify for the Players Championship finals has encountered another hurdle. He was defeated by Brendan Dolan in the semi-finals of the PC28 tournament held in Leicester, falling short of the title.

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Luke has been by far the best player in the last 18 months and he deserves the world number one spot.

While Littler advanced further than in the preceding PC27 event, his progress was halted by Dolan. The tournament title was ultimately claimed by fellow Englishman Luke Humphries, who secured an 8-6 victory over Dolan. Humphries acknowledged Littler's dominance, stating, "Luke has been by far the best player in the last 18 months and he deserves the world number one spot."

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He's won everything and I am going to be the only one who's trying to stop him.

Littler's semi-final exit saw him climb from 141st to 125th in the order of merit, accumulating £10,500 in prize money. He expressed optimism on Instagram, writing, "We are so on the move." However, the world number one still faces a considerable challenge to reach the finals in November, especially as he aims to complete a calendar sweep of ranking events in 2026.

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I want to go on and win a major this year. I don't want him to have a clean sweep - as much as everyone would love to see it.

Qualification for the Players Championship finals requires players to be among the top 64 in the standings. Littler, who opted to skip the first 26 events of the circuit, is currently £16,750 behind 64th-placed Shane McGuirk. With the projected cutoff expected to exceed £30,000 and only seven events remaining, Littler might consider participating in the upcoming Den Bosch tournament to bolster his chances, despite his previous preference for UK-based events.

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We are so on the move.