The request from darts star Luke Littler was shot down by YouTube icon KSI
Darts icon Luke Littler has been ruled out of featuring in the annual Sidemen Charity Match after YouTube star KSI intervened. The fixture, which sees content creators and influencers take to the field, is set for today (Saturday, April 18) at a sold-out Wembley Stadium.
The 2025 edition of the match saw all seven Sidemen members compete against a YouTube Allstars XI, featuring AngryGinge, IShowSpeed, Logan Paul, Mr Beast, and several others.
But it appears two-time darts world champion Littler won’t be appearing for either team in this year’s event. In early February, the 19-year-old shared an Instagram post from the Sidemen, who had revealed to their 6.2million followers that tickets for the annual fixture had been snapped up within hours.
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Tagging the collective in the post, Littler wrote: “Get me in the team Sidemen.” Yet any hopes the lifelong Manchester United supporter had of featuring at Wembley were swiftly dashed by KSI, who is one of the group’s founders.
During an appearance on Capital FM in March, the 32-year-old was questioned whether he had replied to Littler’s appeal. The Britain’s Got Talent judge simply responded: “I have not responded and he’s not in.”
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However, the part-time boxer explained that his outright rejection stemmed from a strict principle the Sidemen have consistently maintained for the match. KSI said: “It sounds so bad, but we only have content creators on the Sidemen Charity Match.
“So we haven’t ever had a celebrity come on to play. That’s more for like Soccer Aid. You never know, maybe one day we’ll have Soccer Aid versus Sidemen.”
KSI even conceded that some of the biggest names on the planet could ask to get involved and the answer would still be an emphatic no, confirming that Littler’s rejection was nothing personal.
The YouTuber added: “I think for us we’re focusing more on just content creators. That’s how it’s always been, and even if Justin Bieber wanted to play, we’d go, ‘No! Content creators only.'”
This year, the Sidemen roster comprises several personalities who carry considerable weight in the online world. These include Jack Joseph, who is managing the team, Zerkaa, W2S, Vikkstar123, TBJZ, Deji, ChrisMD, and xQc.
The YouTube side will be managed by Calfreezy and feature stars such as Sketch, AngryGinge, KSI, Max Fosh, Mrwhosetheboss, NYKchazza, Danny Aarons and more.
The Sidemen Charity Match is scheduled to take place at Wembley on Saturday, April 18, with kick-off at 3pm. It will raise funds for charities Bright Side and M7 Education – the latter having been founded by Sidemen member Simon ‘Miniminter’ Minter and his brother Nick.
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Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
