PORTER BACKS LITTLER AND CO OVER PROTOUR SNUBS
02/06/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
MATT PORTER insists he has no concerns over leading stars such as Luke Littler skipping Players Championship events.
The PDC chief executive says he completely understands why the sport’s biggest names choose to manage their schedules carefully amid an increasingly demanding calendar.
World No.1 Littler is at risk of failing to qualify for the Players Championship Finals in Minehead after missing all 19 opening ProTour events this season.
The Nuke is the defending champion of the prestigious event but has prioritised major televised tournaments and lucrative exhibition appearances instead.
Porter believes top players have earned the right to pick and choose what they play in.
He told Oche180: “No, not really [a concern] if I’m honest. It’s up to these players to manage their diaries in a way that they see best for them.
“If I was a top ten player I don’t think I’d play in that many [Players Championship events] because why would I need to?
“I would use them for practice when I needed to as long as I won enough money in the early part of the season for the Players Championship Finals.
“I would rest and rotate those events as much as I could because my diary would be intense.”
Porter believes the end of the Premier League season could lead to more appearances from the sport’s elite on both the European Tour and ProTour circuits.
He added: “I think the Euro Tour you will see a big difference in the second half of the year now the Premier League’s coming to an end.
“It is difficult for players to play late on Thursday nights and then travel early on Friday morning. That is a lot to ask.
“I think you will see a change in the attendance ratio of the Premier League players for the second part of the year.”
Porter reckons the absence of some of the game’s biggest stars can actually benefit those lower down the rankings.
He said: “For the Players Championship events I totally understand why the top players only want to necessarily play in their local events that don’t involve too much travelling.
“If anything it opens up more opportunities for players lower down to earn more prize money out of it so good luck to them.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
