- Leighton Bennett has had a rapid rise since winning the BDO World Junior Championship in 2019
- He is now accused of violations dating back to last September.
- A video has emerged showing him missing numerous darts by some distance.
Leighton Bennett, once hailed as the next Phil Taylor, has been banned from darts after “suspicious betting” was detected in four of his matches – and now footage has emerged that has convinced fans he is guilty.
The 18-year-old darts prodigy has had a rapid rise within the sport since winning the British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Junior Darts Championship in 2019 and securing his Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tour card earlier this year.
In a successful 2024, Bennett reached the fourth round of Players Championships 3 and 6, and landed nine darts at Players Championships 1.
But today the teenager was suspended from the sport after the Darts Regulation Authority decided he had a “case to answer for a number of serious breaches” involving “suspicious betting”, all between September 6 and 8, 2023.
Now footage has revealed one of the alleged infringements in question, which took place during a match against Ryan Harrington on September 8, leaving many fans certain that the darts player is guilty.
Leighton Bennett (left, 13), once hailed as the next Phil Taylor (right), has been banned from darts after “suspicious betting” was detected in four of his matches.
Now footage has revealed one of the alleged breaches, which took place during a match against Ryan Harrington on September 8, leaving many fans certain the darts player is guilty.
He steps back to make a practice throw before missing again by quite a distance.
Bennett’s ability has drawn comparisons to that of Taylor, who has won more world titles than anyone else in the sport.
The clip from the Modus Super Series match shows Bennett on 164 with darts in hand while Harrington still requires 189.
The teenager, from Lincoln, then hits two perfect darts, a triple 20 and a triple 18, leaving him with a bullseye to win the stage.
Bennett then opts to avoid the bull, perhaps understandable with his opponent so far back, but instead hits the triple, leaving him with a tough finish.
On his next visit, with Harrington now on 104, Bennett hits the single 15 before missing the entire board when attempting the double 16.
He then steps back to make a practice throw before missing again by a considerable distance.
The next time he goes up to the eight, he goes deep to hit the single 16 before doing the same on the eight and four segments.
The inaccurate dart display has left some fans on social media with little doubt that the teenager is guilty.
Josh, who posted the video and list of “shady betting” allegations on X, formerly of Twitter, said: “Yes, he is guilty.”
Meanwhile Kurt replied: ‘I didn’t even see the other two attempts after that 164.’
Another user said: “Yeah, this looks really bad and it’s really obvious.”
The inaccurate dart display has left some fans on social media with little doubt that the teenager is guilty.
A fourth added: “Throwing one into the environment at least makes it a little less obvious.”
In addition to the match against Harrington, Bennett is also accused of “suspicious betting” against Mindaugas Barauskas and Benjamin Drue-Reus on September 6, 2023, and against Barauskas on September 8.
Following a “thorough investigation”, DRA chairman Nigel Mawer decided that Bennett, as well as fellow player Billy Warriner, “both have a case to answer for a number of serious breaches of DRA rules”.