Leighton Bennett, 18, is banned from darts and won’t be able to face Luke Littler anytime soon (Image: Getty)
Leighton Bennett once dreamed of dominating darts with as the sport’s ‘next big thing’ before being hit with an eight-year ban for match-fixing.
The former prodigy, 18, was at an event last year by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA).
The charges included providing inside information about the fixtures, failing to assist the investigation and signing a contract with an unregistered manager.
Bennett, who was also fined £8,100.23 for his offences, will not be eligible to play darts again until 2032 and cannot have any involvement in DRA-organised events.
The teenager had plans on himself and Littler enjoying a rivalry similar to that of Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld after coming up through the youth ranks.
“I’d love for Luke and I to be the next big thing of darts and I genuinely believe we can be,” Bennett said. “At our ages we could seriously be winning titles for the next 30 years.
“I’m looking forward to battling with Luke and players like Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross, who has been a mentor for me.”
Bennett even claimed that he had a better record when playing against Littler, who is one year younger than the Lincoln-born player.
Leighton Bennett was a nine-time winner at the youth level of darts (Image: Getty)
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“I think I’ve played Luke 50 or 60 times,” he added. “I’ve got a better record over him, only because I was a bit older probably.”
After bursting onto the scene at the age of 12 when he won the Cambridgeshire Open, Bennett became WDO youth world champion in 2019 by beating Nathan Girvan in the final.
He went on to add nine Junior Darts Championship titles before joining the senior PDC Players Championship series in 2024.
But he was caught by the authorities when suspicious betting patterns emerged in four matches at the Modus Super Series in 2023. The matches called into question were against Mindaugas Barauskas (twice), Benjamin Drue-Reus and Ryan Harrington across three days.
Luke Littler is on track to become one of darts’ most decorated players (Image: Getty)
He will be 27 years old when his suspension is lifted, by which point Littler could well be one of the most decorated darts players in history if he continues on his current trajectory.
Littler, 17, has already claimed 11 PDC titles including the , Grand Slam of Darts, World Series of Darts Finals, and Darts Masters in Bahrain and Poland.
He also reached the final of the World Darts Championship this year, only to be beaten by world No 1 Luke Humphries.
Littler has been tipped to chase down the record set by Taylor, who won 16 World Championship titles before his retirement in 2018. And while he competes around the world, Bennett will be left to reflect on where it all went wrong for him.