Luke Littler's three-word reason for pulling out of darts tournament makes priorities clear

Luke Littler amazed darts fans by withdrawing from appearing astatine the Hungarian Darts Trophy successful Budapest - and radical couldn't assistance but announcement a blessed coincidence

Luke Littler has hinted that helium pulled retired of a darts tourney to play machine games with a cheeky station connected societal media.

Littler decided not to vie astatine the Hungarian Darts Trophy successful Budapest, with his lack from the tourney that runs from Friday to Sunday lone announced connected Thursday. The 17-year-old has been successful superb signifier of late, further cementing his spot astatine the apical of the athletics by winning the World Series finals and Players Championship 20.

But helium saw his tally of 15 consecutive victories ended by world No.70 Maik Kuivenhoven successful the past 16 successful Wigan connected Wednesday night. And that decision seems to person prompted a determination to instrumentality a well-earned interruption from the PDC circuit schedule.

A station connected his Instagram connected Thursday work simply: “Enjoyed the past fewer days for sure” alongside 2 trophy emojis. But others couldn’t assistance announcement that his play disconnected from darts happened to coincide with the aboriginal entree release of the latest FIFA game, EA FC 25.

Littler is simply a immense instrumentality of gaming and of FIFA’s Ultimate Team crippled mode successful particular. He has antecedently opened UT packs during his walk-on astatine a Premier League lucifer successful February and has not tried to fell that helium prefers gaming to playing darts successful his spare time.

A SportsBible Instagram station noted that Littler had pulled retired of playing successful Budapest the time earlier the aboriginal merchandise of EA FC 25. The teen was blessed to substance the speculation, penning nether the post: "What a coincidence” with a tongue-out emoji.

His remark has attracted astir 12,000 likes, but his enactment connected Instagram suggests helium is conscionable taking immoderate clip off. On Thursday nighttime his communicative contained a video of him climbing into a mate’s car followed by a representation of a Selfridges’ container to the tune of Hypnotize by Notorious B.I.G.

Nevertheless, it is precise apt that Littler volition beryllium dipping into the caller FIFA game, fixed his erstwhile comments astir his emotion of gaming. Appearing connected This Morning aft his tally to the last of the World Championship successful January, helium joked astir spending immoderate of his £200,000 prize wealth connected FIFA points earlier explaining his attack to practising.

“Believe it oregon not, astir fractional an hour, 45 minutes,” helium said. “I conscionable practise connected my ain and it gets boring. I’m conscionable bored. My Xbox is adjacent to me, there’s a committee there, truthful I conscionable spell connected my Xbox.”

He had brought his Xbox down from his location successful Warrington to northbound London for the tourney and added that helium couldn’t hold to get backmost playing. Having earned a whopping £625,000 successful prize wealth since his breakthrough successful January, helium deserves immoderate clip off.