Luke Littler: From child prodigy to world title in 11 years

Luke Littler, born on January 21, 2007, is known for his extraordinary talent at an early age. He reached the final of the World Darts Championship in 2024 at the age of only 16, and one year later, he lived up to all expectations: he became the World Darts Champion in January 2025.

Luke Littler grew up in Warrington,a town in the northwest of England. At an early age he came in contact with darts. When he was six years old, his father put up a dartboard in the living room. From then on, Luke could be found with darts in his hand almost every day. His aptitude for the game was immediately noticed. At the age of six he threw his first 180 and at thirteen his first nine darter, and from then on he started to get noticed. He often played against older youth players, and even against adults he held his own surprisingly well.

At the age of ten he won all his first-regional titles. Two years later he entered national youth competitions,where he definitely established his name. He won tournaments such as the WDF Youth Cup and the England Youth Grand Prix. Because of his playing style, he was soon nicknamed "The Nuke". Within the darts world it soon became clear that a special talent was in the making.

Littler was already compared to Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen for the future, but even they did not achieve what Littler is doing now at his age. In 2023, Luke began his adventure within the PDC Development Tour, and there too he immediately made himself heard. He won several tournaments and threw averages that many adult darters could only dream of. That same summer, he crowned himself world junior champion by winning the PDC World Youth Championship, which earned him a ticket to the big PDC World Championship starting in late 2023.

At the 2024 World Darts Championship, he provided one of the most impressive stories in darts history. At only sixteen years of age, he managed to reach the final. Along the way he beat Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross, among others. Only in the final did he have to beat Luke Humphries, who was too strong 7-4 in sets. But the story of the tournament was not about the winner: it was largely just about the 16-year-old boy who changed the sport.

A year later, in January 2025, it was touch and go. Littler won the World Darts Championship, making history at the age of seventeen as one of the youngest world champions ever. In his way to the final, he first had to get past Ryan Meikle, Ian White, Ryan Joyce, Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting. These were certainly not easy opponents for Littler, but still he walked away with the victory. In the final he convincingly defeated Michael van Gerwen.

After his initial breakthrough at the World Championship the year prior, it quickly became clear that Luke was no one-hit wonder. In January 2024, he won his first major title at the Bahrain Darts Masters. A week later, he also took the win at the Dutch Darts Masters. Both tournaments were part of the World Series and he showed that he was a match for the world's best.

His greatest achievement after the World Darts Championship was in May 2024, when he won the Premier League Darts. He beat Michael Smith in the semifinals, and in the final this time he was too strong for Luke Humphries. He threw an average of 114.92 in this final, which is the highest ever thrown in a Premier League final.

After winning the 2025 World Championship, his status as an absolute world champion was officially confirmed. Luke was by now no longer a talent, but a big name in the darts world.

Littler is known for his highly controlled throwing. His technique is exceptionally clean and he has incredible scoring power. Especially on the treble 20 he really is a machine, throwing darts with a longer point that allows him to get his arrows closer together, which increases his accuracy. If Littler is at 185 and he has one arrow left, you can see him throwing a single 15 to leave the "Big Fish". And you don't blame him! When you hit the treble 20 so easily twice, you always get an dart at the bull.

You also see certain patterns in Littler's game. He almost always goes to the top, and if he misses it he can just go on to double 10, a double you rarely see him miss .It is certainly not that he throws less on a double 16, for example, he is effective there too.

In addition, he is exceptionally strong mentally for his age. On stage he rarely seems nervous and even in the biggest arenas he keeps calm. He is tactically smart and knows when he should accelerate or just slow down. Although you can see that Germany and Luke Littler are not the greatest of friends after seeming to boycott tournaments due to the crowd atmosphere.

The rivalry with Luke Humphries quickly grew into one of the most talked about in the darts world. After they met in the World Championship final, they met again in the finals of major tournaments. Their matches are attractive to the public and the media, attracting millions of viewers.

Littler also made an impression off the board. He was invited to talk shows and did interviews with major media at home and abroad. His achievements caused a huge increase in dartboard sales in the UK. He is a role model for young darts players, and his influence on the sport was unprecedented. Many young guys watching darts today all want to achieve the same as Luke. On television sometimes it looks pretty easy too, but how hard it really is to throw like that, they will find out for themselves.

Financially, things are rosy for Littler. For reaching the World Championship final in 2024, he received 200,000 pounds. His Premier League victory brought in another 275,000 pounds. Through his appearances on the Pro Tour, the European Tour and various World Series tournaments, his prize money that year quickly ran to more than 600,000 pounds. He also has sponsorship deals, with Target Darts and sports drink brands, among others. Clothing brands and gaming companies have also now managed to reach him. His total annual income is estimated at over 1 million pounds, and that amount will only continue to grow in the future. At the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, he received 500,000 pounds for his winnings alone. This amount is also equal to the highest ever awarded for a World Championship. Therefore, the estimation of his earnings from 2025 alone is already above million.

He still lives at home in Warrington,with his parents, who are a great support to him. His family plays an important role behind the scenes: they help him arrange flights, keep his schedule, and support him with interviews and media obligations.

In his free time, Luke likes to do things that many other young people his age also do. He is a gamer and enjoys playing games such as EA FC and Call of Duty He also regularly streams via platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. These online activities show that despite his status as a professional dart player, he is still an ordinary eighteen-year-old with the same interests as his peers.

Luke is a big fan of Manchester United, something that influences him in how the crowd reacts to him during matches in England. But he will always remain loyal to his club and expresses his love for the club with pride. For a time he had a relationship with darts player Eloise Milburn, with whom he was often seen together at events within the darts world. That relationship is now over.

It is clear that Littler's potential is unprecedented, but whether he will also become the Greatest Of All Time remains to be seen. Many darts fans think they know he will be better than Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen. Others think he will retire in 5 years. Who will prove him wrong? You have dominated for 7 years, tons of money and won everything. But what his future will look like remains to be seen, although everyone hopes to enjoy Luke The Nuke Littler for as long as possible.