Luke Littler breaks vow in painful blow to Premier League Darts rival Stephen Bunting

will go back on his vow to skip German events in order to compete at the World Cup of Darts this summer. commentator Stuart Pyke claims to have heard directly from 'The Nuke' that he intends to partner up with , landing a blow to , who was waiting in the wings for a call-up.

Littler pledged not to return to Germany until the end of the year after being booed at a European Tour event in Munich last month. Having crashed out against Gian van Veen in the semi-finals, he posted on social media: "Shouldn't have been in Munich but had to play anyway, next one in Germany for me is Dortmund [in October] and I am glad to say that."

With Frankfurt hosting the World Cup of Darts, which starts on June 12, Bunting interpreted Littler's message to mean he might be playing in his place. The 40-year-old is the next Englishman in the PDC Order of Merit behind world No. 1 Humphries and No. 2 Littler.

Bunting said: "He's put a few posts on socials about not going back to Germany. Well, if he doesn't go back to Germany, that means I'm in the World Cup, doesn't it?"

However, Pyke insists that Littler has gone back on his word, and he will be representing England next month. He told : "[Littler] is going to play the World Cup of Darts. You heard it here first.

"He is definitely going to play with Luke Humphries representing England in the middle of June. The reason he's pulled out of this weekend's Euro Tour is scheduling, nothing less. It's all a bit of fuss out of nothing. He said something, he didn't mean it. He will be playing in Germany and he will be playing the World Cup of Darts."

Littler and Bunting, who have a good relationship away from the oche, have been at each other over the past few weeks.

Littler is an outspoken Manchester United fan, and he has not been shy in needling supporters of Liverpool - Bunting's team - about various football matters. That saw 'The Nuke' given a hostile reception when Premier League Darts landed in Liverpool last week, while Bunting got a hero's welcome.

The pair had another chance to settle their differences on the Premier League stage in Birmingham this Thursday night. And it was Littler who secured bragging rights as he came away with a 6-4 win from their nightly quarter-final.