LITTLER LOSES WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL TO CRABTREE

Luke Littler was beaten 6-5 by Cam Crabtree in the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship, according to the BBC. Crabtree, ranked world number 68, will face Germany's Jan Schmidt in the final on 29 November. The defeat meant Littler, the senior world number one, missed the chance to hold the senior and youth world titles at the same time. The Daily Mail described the result as a surprise defeat at what it reported was a £15,000 tournament.

Littler won consecutive senior World Championships and took the youth title in 2023 at the age of 16, the BBC reported. His semi-final exit was his second in a row at that stage, having lost to Beau Greaves in 2025, though the tournament remains open to players aged 23 or under at the start of the season, meaning he could enter again. The BBC noted that Littler has yet to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead, where the youth final will be held on finals day, as he is currently ranked 126th in the Players Championship order of merit with only the top 64 qualifying. He has skipped the majority of Pro Tour events this season, including recent events in Den Bosch in the Netherlands, from which the BBC said he had withdrawn after being booed by crowds.

The BBC placed the result within a run of unexpected exits for Littler, who was knocked out of the World Grand Prix in the first round by Luke Woodhouse and lost to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals of the World Series of Darts finals. Four Players Championship events remain this season, two of which are scheduled to take place in Den Bosch. Littler's qualification status for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead remains unresolved.