‘That’s just not right’ – Luke Littler slammed by darts rival in rant over Premier League stars

Mensur Suljovic has blasted the biggest names in darts for skipping smaller tournaments, accusing top stars of damaging the sport’s rankings system.

Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting and Gerwyn Price are all absent from this weekend’s Austrian Darts Open in Graz despite featuring in the Premier League night in Leeds earlier this week.

Instead of taking time off, the quartet are set to appear at exhibition events in Middlesbrough, Leicester and Colchester.

Teen sensation Littler has competed in just two of the six European Tour events staged so far this year, although he did claim victory at the season-opening Poland Darts Open in Krakow.

With the demanding weekly schedule of the Premier League Darts continuing in Birmingham on Thursday, many of the sport’s elite are carefully managing their workload.

However, there has also been a growing trend of top names withdrawing from Players Championship events behind closed doors in the UK — tournaments considered crucial for lower-ranked Tour Card holders trying to climb the rankings.

Suljovic, 54, launched into a furious rant over the situation and urged the PDC to take action.

Speaking to Darts News, he said: “Players Championships — I don’t like this format. Because of the Premier League, the best players don’t come.

“A new winner every time — unfortunately, this is ruining our rankings. We need a shorter calendar, but the PDC isn’t doing anything about it.

“Our rankings are suffering because of this. They [top players] have to be there. They absolutely have to be.

“The European Tour is one of the most important tournaments — and the major ones. Now nobody’s coming. What’s the point of all this? What’s the point?

“Players Championships, okay, someone can always withdraw. But not the European Tour. Luke Littler isn’t coming to any tournament. That’s just not right.

“Our ranking is suffering because of this. We play in England and they don’t come to the Players Championships — how is that possible?

“I can win it. That can’t happen. It can’t happen.

“In my time, in 2017 and 2018, the top 16 always won. Now things are extreme.

“As a result, our rankings fluctuate — sometimes this player is on top, sometimes that one. I don’t accept that, honestly. The PDC needs to come up with something.”

In response, the Professional Darts Corporation defended its packed calendar and players’ freedom to choose their schedules.

A PDC spokesperson said they are “proud to offer a comprehensive global schedule which provides players with a wide range of playing and earning opportunities across the year”.

They added: “Ultimately it is up to individual players to decide how they manage their schedules and which events they choose to enter.”