The young star beat 14-time world champion Phil Taylor and was tipped for the top of darts alongside Luke Littler before it all came crashing down
Jonny Lambe and Chris Burns Senior Sports Writer
07:00, 15 Dec 2025
Leighton Bennett was expected to be Luke Littler’s biggest rival(Image: Getty)
Leighton Bennett became the youngest BDO youth champion at just 13 in 2019. He even defeated 14-time world champion Phil Taylor and was once tipped for darts greatness.
However, fast forward to 2025, and the now 19-year-old is serving an eight-year ban, forced to watch as his former rival Luke Littler defends his PDC World Championship title and becomes a certified superstar.
In 2024, Bennett was found guilty by the Darts Regulation Authority of rigging four games at the Modus Super Series, among other charges. These included signing a contract with an unregistered manager, failing to assist the investigation, and providing inside information about the tournament fixtures.
Luke Littler was set to rival Leighton Bennett(Image: Getty Images)
The player from Lincoln had secured a card on the professional PDC tour and hoped to replicate his youthful rivalry with Littler on the grandest stage before his ban came into effect.
Bennett won’t be eligible to play darts again until 2032 and was also slapped with a fine of £8,100.23 for his involvement in the offences.
He’s also been barred from participating in any DRA-organised events. The young player once boasted that he had a better record against Littler in their youth.
Leighton Bennett was tipped for stardom(Image: PA)
Bennett was a year older and dreamt of dominating the sport together, much like Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld did in their time.
Bennett had previously said: “I’d love for Luke and I to be the next big thing of darts. At our ages we could seriously be winning titles for the next 30 years.”
The teenager will be 27 years old when his ban is eventually lifted and given Littler’s current form, their potential rivalry would be heavily weighted in favour of the Warrington-born sensation.
Luke Littler won the 2025 World Darts Championship(Image: James Fearn, Getty Images)
With the World Championships now under way, Bennett’s rival Littler began his title defence at Alexandra Palace in the opening round against unseeded Lithuanian Darius Labanauskas.
The world number one has set his sights on matching Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson by becoming just the fourth player to successfully defend the World Darts Championship crown.
Following his triple crown triumph in July, Littler joined an exclusive group of just five players in history to have claimed the World Matchplay, World Championship and Premier League, joining the ranks of Taylor, Anderson, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries.
