Luke Littler has been rewarded for his remarkable run to the World Championship final with a spot in the 2024 Premier League.
The 16-year-old - already the world youth champion - has just enjoyed one of the most high-profile performances in the history of sport in finishing as runner-up in the World Championship.
On Wednesday night, Littler was denied by Luke Humphries in a breathtaking final, with the latter coming from 4-2 down to record a 7-4 victory at Alexandra Palace.
With Littler having yet to officially play on the PDC Pro Tour and concerns over the hectic schedule that would follow, there were no guarantees that he would accept any opportunity to participate in the Premier League, which begins next month.
However, the teenager has accepted the opportunity, telling Sky Sports News that he was offered the chance in the hours after his defeat on Wednesday.
Littler, the new world number 31, is joined in the eight-player tournament by world number one Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall, who all qualified due to being ranked in the top four of the PDC Order of Merit.
As well as Littler, the remaining three wildcards have been handed to Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross and Peter Wright, with Chris Dobey perceived to be the one to miss out courtesy of Littler's emergence on the global scene.
There was no surprise over Price's selection, with the Welshman having reached last year's Premier League final and also the World Grand Prix.
The Class of 2024 🎓
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 4, 2024
Here's the 2024 @BetMGMUK Premier League Darts line-up... 🙌
All gets underway on Feb 1 in Cardiff!
👉 https://t.co/Ngl6SNkmIs pic.twitter.com/PkmzH4pLfG
While Cross has been rewarded for making the World Championship semi-finals, the former world champion is also one of the form players in the world having reached the Grand Slam of Darts final in November.
The selection of Wright will divide opinion based on the Scot finishing last in the 2023 Premier League, not making the playoffs for three successive years and losing his first match at the World Championship.
On the flip side, though, the two-time world champion won the European Championship in October, lifted a Euro Tour trophy in 2023 and also had deep runs at the UK Open and World Grand Prix.
