Dutch Darts Championship 2026: Luke Littler missing in Maastricht – Den Bosch also without the superstar

Luke Littler is missing from the Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht and the Players Championships in Den Bosch. So far there is no official reason.

It's official: Luke Littler will miss the upcoming PDC tournaments in the Netherlands. The published entry lists do not feature the 19-year-old Englishman for the Dutch Darts Championship from 16 to 18 October at the MECC Maastricht, nor for Players Championships 29 and 30 this Tuesday and Wednesday at the Maaspoort in Den Bosch. The threat made at the weekend has become reality – but an official reason is still missing.

Three tournaments, no Littler

Players Championship 29 – Tuesday, 22 September 2026, Maaspoort, Den Bosch
Players Championship 30 – Wednesday, 23 September 2026, Maaspoort, Den Bosch
Dutch Darts Championship – 16 to 18 October 2026, MECC Maastricht

The Den Bosch case is particularly striking: Littler was on the originally published entry list for both floor events. He no longer appears on the final line-up. For Maastricht, meanwhile, he is not listed in the official European Tour field.

Neither the PDC nor Littler are commenting

So far there has been no explanation for the withdrawals. Neither the PDC nor Littler himself have commented. Whether there is any connection with his remarks in Amsterdam is therefore expressly open – no proven causal link exists.

The background: a turbulent weekend in Amsterdam

At the World Series of Darts Finals at the AFAS Live, Littler was whistled and booed throughout by parts of the Dutch crowd – most fiercely during his 10-9 win over Nathan Aspinall on Saturday, 19 September, when the referee had to step in. Littler then left the stage without thanking the crowd.

Afterwards he was blunt: "If the Dutch stay like this, then I'm not going to do any Euro tours over there." There was no point in travelling and wasting time while he was being whistled at, he said. He also took aim at Germany: "With the Germans, I haven't been for a long time, we will have to see in Dortmund whether it changes or stays the same." He said he was 100 per cent ready to take the same line there.

On the board, the weekend ended with a 4-10 defeat to Jonny Clayton. That ended his dream of becoming the first player ever to win all the PDC majors within a single calendar year. Littler had previously said he would only play the Players Championships in Den Bosch if he took the title in Amsterdam.

The Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht

The Dutch Darts Championship 2026 is the European Tour's annual stop in the Netherlands and is played over three days at the MECC Maastricht.

Friday, 16 October: round 1 (afternoon and evening session)
Saturday, 17 October: round 2 (afternoon and evening session)
Sunday, 18 October: last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (afternoon and evening session)

Rounds one to four are played as Best of 11, the semi-finals go to Best of 13 and the final to Best of 15. Total prize money is 230,000 pounds, with 35,000 pounds for the winner. The defending champion is Jonny Clayton. Coverage is on PDC TV, with DAZN showing the tournament in German-speaking countries.

The draw with the first-round ties is still to come. The field is made up of the top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit (automatically qualified for round 2 on Saturday), the top 16 of the ProTour Order of Merit, Tour Card holders plus Dutch and regional qualifiers.

Den Bosch: Littler isn't the only withdrawal

Players Championships 29 and 30 at the Maaspoort each carry 150,000 pounds in prize money, with 15,000 pounds for each winner. Alongside Littler, other big names are missing:

Gary Anderson
Stephen Bunting
Jonny Clayton
Luke Humphries
Ryan Searle
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Yorick Hofkens
Niko Springer

Moving up are players from the Challenge Tour and from the ranks of the Associate Members, among them Henry Coates, Joe Hunt, Daniel Klose, Steve Lennon, Tommy Lishman, Tommy Morris, Nathan Potter and Archie Self. Those taking part include Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock and James Wade.

What this means for Minehead

The two floor events would also have mattered to Littler in sporting terms: reports say he is currently 125th in the ProTour Order of Merit, and the top 64 are needed for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead in November. By skipping Den Bosch, his chances of qualifying shrink further. Whether the PDC or Littler himself will yet explain the withdrawals remains to be seen.