Luke Littler, 16, to make first appearance since World Darts Championship heroics at World Series event in Middle East

LUKE LITTLER will throw his first competitive darts since the World Championship final in Bahrain next week.

The teen sensation – who lost to Luke Humphries in the Ally Pally extravaganza last Wednesday – will form part of the field for the two-day World Series of Darts event in the Middle East nation.

PA

Luke Littler will make his darts return in Bahrain[/caption]

Littler, 16, will join the likes of Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith in the January 18-19 event, which pits eight PDC superstars against eight Asian representatives.

The Warrington ace, who is part of the 16-week Premier League roadshow, will also figure in the 16-player Dutch Darts Masters in Maaspoort Den Bosch on January 26-27.

His involvement does raise concerns over possible burnout for the former schoolboy, who turns 17 on January 21.

It is also likely he will end up appearing in other World Series events – these are essentially glorified exhibitions – in the USA or Australasia in the summer of 2024.

Particularly as darts bosses are keen to maximise their Golden Child following record TV audiences on Sky Sports for his run to the final over Christmas.

World No.12 Joe Cullen – who missed out on a spot in the Premier League – feels the opportunities handed out to Littler are justified because the “global attention” his rise has attracted “is huge for darts”.

Meanwhile, the PDC have been criticised for changing the qualifying format for its European Tour events this year.

The top 16 from the PDC Order of Merit will qualify automatically for each of the 13 tournaments, which will have 48-player fields.

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Andy Boulton, the world No.107, is not a fan and believed this tinkering will hinder the lower-ranked pack and maintain a closed shop at the top.

The Scottish thrower said: “First thought, obviously a joke? Nope! Apparently not!

“Not sure how the chasing pack are supposed to catch players who are in every event.

“Getting to Blackpool (for the World Matchplay) was hard before but now nearly impossible!

“Reckon roughly the same 30 players will pretty much be in every tournament throughout the year? Not good to read ahead of Q School.”