Luke Littler: World champion suffers shock defeat to Richie Edhouse in ProTour, dealing blow to Player’s Championship Finals hopes | Arrows News

Newly crowned World Grand Prix champion Luke Littler has suffered a major blow to his hopes of qualifying for the Players Championship Finals in November after a shock first-round exit in the ProTour at the hands of Richie Edhouse.

Littler continued his dominance of the match, defeating his opponent Luke Humphries in the World Grand Prix Final on Sunday.

It was the 18-year-old’s fourth major title this year following successes at the World Championship, UK Open and World Match Championship.

However, he saw that his winning streak had come to a halt Lost by Beau Greaves in the deciding first leg of the semi-final of the PDC World Youth Championship in Wigan on monday.

He suffered his second loss in a row, despite averaging 106.45, at the 31st Players Championship to defending European champion Edhouse, who won 6-4 in Wigan.

It’s a huge blow for ‘The Nuke’, who is still fighting for a place at Minehead next month with just three events remaining.

Could Littler fail to qualify for the Players Championship Finals?

There are just three of the 34 Players Championship events remaining in the PDC ProTour season, with the Players Championship Order of Merit – based on prize money earned from those one-day tournaments – determining which players are eligible to appear at Butlin’s Minehead Resort on November 21-23.

The events will take place at Robin Park Leisure Center in Wigan on Wednesday, ahead of the final Players Championship events at the same venue on October 29 and 30, with only the top 64 players on the seeding list then qualifying to compete in the finals.

Each Players Championship event receives a first prize of £15,000 and a £10,000 advance to the runner-up, with the semi-finalists receiving £5,000, the quarter-finalists receiving £3,500 and £2,500 available to those losers in the last 16.

Those eliminated in the last 32 earn £1,500 and a second-round exit earns £1,000, while those who are eliminated in the first round – or choose not to appear – earn no money and risk falling further down the rankings.

Gerwyn Price tops the Order of Merit having won four Players Championship titles already in 2025, but Littler falls outside the top 64 with £17,500 ahead of Tuesday’s match and is in danger of failing to qualify.

Keane Barry currently sits in 64th place with £22,000 meaning Littler needs to make up £5,500 in the remaining events.

First prize or second place in the remaining events will secure his place at Minehead.

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