Sports
PDC Confirm Rule Change That Could Impact Luke Littler’s Career
The Professional Darts Corporation, the PDC, are going ahead with a ‘controversial‘ rule change that could have a serious impact on Luke Littler‘s career choices moving forward.
The teenage starlet, who has quite simply skyrocketed the popularity of the sport, has just gone back-to-back in the World Darts Championship, defeating Gian van Veen this time around at Alexandra Palace. That impressive victory came just 12 months after he had defeated Michael van Gerwen on the very same stage.
If that wasn’t enough, however, the year before that, he was in the final again, but just fell short on that occasion, losing to fierce rival Luke Humphries.
However, three World Darts Championship finals in a row, and plenty of majors secured since his emergence, it’s no surprise that darts is booming in popularity.
PDC Shake-Up Could Change Littler’s Plans
Although it’s got nothing to do with Littler’s recent dominance, the PDC have made a major rule change with regards to the regulations surrounding the European Tour.
So what is the controversial rule change? Well, they have decided to scrap seeded players in the first round based on the Main Order of Merit. Instead, they have opted to first-round seed the top 16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
This essentially now means that Littler, and other highly ranked stars, won’t be protected from facing one another in the early stages of a tournament.
Why PDC Have Made Rule Change
The sudden change in regulations comes after the PDC wanted to start rewarding players for their performances in floor/untelevised tournaments, rather than simply televised events.
The rule change now means that big names who choose NOT to play regularly on the Pro Tour could face tougher draws from the very first round, rather than being protected due to their name and official ranking. There will now be a greater weight given to results on the European Tour.
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Before the rule change, a player could have next-to-no benefit from performing really strongly during floor tournaments should they buckle under the pressure on the biggest of stages. Whereas now, if they play well throughout the year, they will likely be rewarded, even if they don’t do as well during the televised events.
So, the biggest names in the sport will now have to perform regularly at their best level, otherwise they will risk losing their seeded advantage. It’s clear the PDC don’t want to solely consider performances in the big, televised events, which will come as a blow to the stars like Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.
