From prodigy to legend status: Luke Littler closes in on Gary Anderson as astonishing 105+ average milestone looms
PDC
Luke Littler continues to marvel in darts, as he puts his name among the greats in all sorts of accomplished accolades. After producing some electric displays enroute to clinching a maiden Winmau World Masters title, he has put his name further up a prestigious list of players who have thrown 105+ averages in TV ranking events since the birth of the PDC, closing in on the legendary Gary Anderson.
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Despite only going into his third full season as a member of the PDC, the 19-year-old has already achieved so much in such a short space of time. The Masters triumph was a ninth ranking major title, 11th major triumph in total, and it has extended his gap at the top of the PDC Order of Merit.
No one looks to be catching him any time soon not just in the rankings, but on the oche as he continues to defeat the world's best with some scintillating performances. On Sunday night, he averaged 104,72 to just about fend off Luke Humphries to claim the title in Milton Keynes.
Unfortunately, this is just off the 105 average mark he has reached so many times already. In total, he has averaged over 105 in 31 separate matches in TV ranking tournaments, an incredible feat which showcases the talent he possesses.
The most significant factor is how close he is to two-time world champion Anderson. The Scot has been a full-fledged member of the PDC since 2009 and has enjoyed countless success, which includes big performances on stage. He has racked up 32 105+ averages, just one ahead of Littler despite having a huge head start on 'The Nuke.'
Taylor and Van Gerwen lead the way
While Anderson's tally is almost inevitably going to be past by the reigning world champion, it will take some time before he catches up to the big two in the list: Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
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Taylor racked up 96, which will not be improved due to him having retired from competing on the PDC Tour after the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. However, van Gerwen's 73 is not only an enormous way ahead of the chasing pack, he will still have many chances to add to this as the years go by.
However, he may be caught up by Littler quicker than many expect. The trajectory the English darter is going at in this specific area means that he may be on par with the Dutchman in just a few years, if he continues this rampant form and even gets better and more dominant, a scary thought.
Behind these four sees a four-way tie for fifth. Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Adrian Lews and Humphries all queue up behind. The world number two added three more 105+ averages just this weekend, defeating Luke Woodhouse (105) and Gian van Veen (107.8) before mustering up a huge 105.51 in the painful loss to Littler.
Most 105+ averages in TV Ranking events since start of PDC
| Rank | Player(s) | 105+ Averages |
| 1 | Phil Taylor | 96 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | 73 |
| 3 | Gary Anderson | 32 |
| 4 | Luke Littler | 31 |
| 5 | Peter Wright / Gerwyn Price / Adrian Lewis / Luke Humphries | 12 |
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Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026