Birthday celebrations start early! Luke Littler enjoys time with family and friends between World Series events
PDCSunday, 18 January 2026 at 09:30
Luke Littler, who earlier this month became world champion for the second year running, did not dwell long on his 6-2 defeat to Gerwyn Price in the quarterfinals of the Bahrain Darts Masters 2026. “The Nuke” will soon turn 19, but already marked the occasion with an early birthday celebration.
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Littler, alongside his family and friends and filmed by one of the new ITV darts commentators Mark Wilson, enjoyed a moment of celebration away from oche, partaking in some slightly premature birthday drinks.
At the Bahrain Darts Masters, Littler saw an extraordinary run of 21 consecutive televised match wins come to an end. He started superbly in Sakhir, cruising past the legendary Paul Lim 6-1 on opening night with the help of a 106 average.
The quarterfinals proved his ceiling this time. Against Price, Littler never found his usual gear and ultimately went down 6-2. So no second title at this event for Littler, who won it in 2024 on his World Series of Darts debut. The tournament was eventually won by Michael van Gerwen, who was too strong for compatriot Gian van Veen in the final, 8-6.
This has no bearing on the world rankings, as World Series of Darts events do not count toward the PDC Order of Merit. In the meantime, Littler has built a substantial lead over the world number two, Luke Humphries.
Luke Littler won the PDC World Darts Championship 2026 and £1 million in prize money
A quick shot at redemption
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Littler will not have long to brood, as he gets another crack next week at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters. This second World Series of Darts 2026 event takes place on Monday, January 19th and Tuesday, January 20th in Riyadh.
In the meantime, Littler took the opportunity to celebrate his 19th birthday early with a few family members and friends. It may have been slightly premature, as his actual birthday is on January 21st, exactly one day after the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
- It's great to see Mark Webster looking well,he's a top ladrick6715-08-2026
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