Thursday 24 October 2019 13:40, UK
Thirteen-year-old teenage sensation Leighton Bennett will play in the Grand Slam of Darts in the future, according to PDC chief executive Matt Porter.
Bennett, nicknamed 'Boom Boom', has already made history earlier this year when he recorded a stunning victory in the BDO World Youth Championship.
Now the Lincolnshire thrower has been touted as a potential contender for the upcoming Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, with even the great Phil Taylor calling for Bennett to be included.
"I don't watch the darts on TV but if Leighton Bennett gets a wildcard, I'll watch it because he is exciting," the 16-time world champion told Sky Sports.
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PDC chairman Barry Hearn urged the BDO to include Bennett as one of their eight representatives for November's cross-code event, but despite being overlooked this time around, Porter believes his time will come.
I'm sure and no doubt one day, he will play in the Grand Slam.
"On balance, we felt it was [too early for him] and that was a unanimous view of everybody who was involved in that conversation - all the people that were around Leighton and everything like that," said Porter.
"There's no doubt that Leighton is a fantastic talent and a huge prospect but he's 13-years-old, so let's keep everything in perspective. There's no mileage in rushing it.
"Leighton needs to take his career one step at a time and learn to deal with everything in a mature manner and that will be difficult for him if he keeps on getting thrown in at the deep end all of the time.
"He's made huge progress this year and he'll keep making huge progress every year into the future I'm sure and no doubt one day, he will play in the Grand Slam."
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts - the action is back on your Sky Sports screens next month with the Grand Slam of Darts, nine days of coverage from the Aldersley Leisure Village gets underway on Saturday, November 9.
