SOME of the world’s best return to the oche for this year’s European Darts Open – but Luke Littler will NOT feature.
Nathan Aspinall is the defending champion after defeating Damon Heta 8-6 in a thrilling 2025 final.
Luke Littler will not play at the European Darts Open Credit: PA
And he’ll be desperate to defend his title against the likes of top seeds Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen.
But one competitor, Aspinall won’t have to worry about is world champion Luke Littler.
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The Nuke has snubbed the tournament which comes as another huge blow to the PDC bosses.
JattvibeSport can reveal the reason why Littler is missing out on this year’s tournament.
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Why is Luke Littler not playing at the European Darts Open 2026?
Luke Littler has opted to skip the European Darts Open 2026 due to having such a busy schedule.
The Nuke is keen to cut down on long-distance travel where possible, given he is on the World Series of Darts circuit.
Littler, who was in New Jersey to watch England’s 2-0 World Cup win over Panama, claimed last month that he takes about “30-40 flights” a year.
Next week, Littler will head to Blackpool for the World Matchplay – he lifted the Phil Taylor Trophy in Blackpool a year ago.
So far the 19-year-old has had a clean sweep of TV majors.
What other European tournaments has Luke Littler missed?
Littler, 19, snubbed the European Darts Trophy, German Darts Grand Prix, European Darts Grand Prix, Austrian Darts Open, International Darts Open, Baltic Sea Darts Open and Slovak Darts Open.
Given his comfortable position on the Euros rankings list, there is little danger of him not qualifying for the European Championship in Dortmund in October, the one TV title he has yet to claim.
Though he was successful with world No.2 Luke Humphries at the PDC World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, Littler has had a habit of not travelling to Germany unless it is essential.
This is a throwback to the boos he experienced last year when he competed in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt.
