Darts prodigy, 18, who vowed to go toe-to-toe with Luke Littler is banned for EIGHT YEARS and told to pay back £8,000

DARTS star Leighton Bennett has been hit with an eight-year ban for match-fixing.

The 18-year-old once vowed to go toe-to-toe with Luke Littler after first making the headlines six years ago by beating legend Phil Taylor in an exhibition match aged 13.

Leighton Bennett has been banned for eight yearsRex

Bennett was initially suspended back in August once suspicious betting patterns were detected following his participation in the Modus Super Series last year.

The Lincoln-born thrower and fellow pro Billy Warriner have been under investigation by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) since.

At a hearing last month, Bennett was found guilty of ten counts of rigging four games.

He also provided inside information about the matches, failed to assist in an investigation and signed a contract with an unregistered manager.

Bennett has been slapped with an eight-year ban and ordered to pay a fine of £8,100.23.

His PDC Tour card has subsequently been revoked.

As for Warriner, he admitted to 19 of the 21 charges against him.

He pleaded guilty to his involvement in rigging the four matches, providing insider information and organising bets on the matches.

The 23-year-old also admitted four counts of failing to assist an investigation and two counts of acting as an unregistered intermediary and betting on darts.

Additionally, Warriner was found guilty of insulting an official and threatening an opponent.

He has been banned from darts for ten years and must pay the same fine given to Bennett.

Both have until December 14 to appeal the decision.

Warriner admitted at the hearing to convincing Bennett to fix matches for him amid a battle with a gambling addiction and spiralling debts.

The teenager is a former BDO World Youth Champion and was tipped as a future star.

He previously spoke about wanting his rivalry with Littler to be the “next Phil Taylor vs Raymond van Barneveld”.

Bennett said: “I’d love for Luke and I to be the next big thing of darts and I genuinely believe we can be.

“At our ages we could seriously be winning titles for the next 30 years.

“I’m looking forward to battling with Luke and players like Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross, who has been a mentor for me.

“I think I’ve played Luke 50 or 60 times. I’ve got a better record over him, only because I was a bit older probably.”

Bennett was seemingly aiming for the bullseye with this dart

He missed several chances to checkout