LUKE LITTLER won’t be starring in the 2026 Sidemen Charity Match after having his plea to play rejected by KSI.
Darts world champion Littler has collaborated with content creator group Sidemen – who have 23 million subscribers on their YouTube page – in the past, teaming up for a cereal brand in 2024.
The group are once again hosting a charity match at Wembley, which sold out within hours of going live.
Littler, 19, openly expressed his desire to take part, tagging the group by saying: “Get me in the team Sidemen.”
However, his plea to join pal Anrgyginge in the match looks set to have fallen on deaf ears after YouTuber-turned-boxer-turned-music star KSI rejected the request.
During an appearance on Capital FM, KSI – real name Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji – was asked about Littler’s potential appearance in the April 18 sell-out match.
He said: “I have not responded, and he’s not in.”
Explaining the reason for the decision, KSI said it was down to a simple rule for this year’s game: content creators ONLY.
KSI, who has also appeared as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, 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.
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“That’s more for like Soccer Aid.
“You never know, maybe one day we’ll have Soccer Aid versus Sidemen.”
He 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!”
The 2025 Sidemen Charity Match welcomed a host of content creators from around the world, raising more than £4.7million for charities BBC Children in Need, Bright Side and M7 Education.
IShowSpeed, Mr Beast, Kai Cenat, Max Fosh, Niko Omilana, Chris MD, Theo Baker, Manny and George Clarke were all involved as Team Sidemen drew with YouTube AllStars in an 18-goal thriller.
However, this year will mark the first time that the seven-strong Sidemen group will be divided across the teams.
The group – officially formed in 2016 – is British collective consisting of KSI, Zerkaa, Miniminter, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and Wroetoshaw and has an estimated net worth of £50m.
They recently teamed up with Manchester City ace Erling Haaland as part of their “Sidemen Sunday” series, racking up almost two million views within 12 hours of being posted.
