Luke Littler: The complete roadmap of what 'The Nuke' needs to achieve before reaching the pinnacle of the PDC Order Of Merit

Teenage sensation Luke Littler has been one of Darts leading stars since his arrival into the PDC at the UK Open in 2023. Having amassed Eight televised titles and Six non televised titles so far in his career, the Dart player from Warrington has been a major player in every event he's played so far.

Having already influenced a new generation of Darts players, young and old, Littler's fluent and flashy style of playing has garnered praise at every turn up to this point in his budding career. Sitting at number Two in the current Professional Darts Corporation's Order of Merit there is only one man in his way, Luke Humphries.

Born in Runcorn, just outside of Liverpool on the 21st of January 2007, 'The Nuke' would soon move to his beloved town of Warrington at an early age. Luke would grow up playing both Darts and Football, but it would be after a conversation with his father that they decided the former was the correct choice for him as the need to travel to play in events all across the country would mean one or the other had to be left behind. Since an early age his darting ability was present, hitting his first 180 at just Six years old and often competing against and beating competitors that were much older, the rise to stardom was always apparent. After being introduced to Darts by his father at the age of 18 months on a magnetic board, Luke was eventually playing on a proper board by the age of Four and even throwing from the correct distance and height by the time he had turned Eight. At the age of 10, Littler would start attending the St Helens Darts academy and regularly competing in tournaments with other people under the age of 21. This Darts academy has helped produce talents such as David Chisnall and Michael Smith so to say there is proof of the system working would be an understatement.

Luke Littler would begin to compete at events on a regular basis from the age 12 in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the World Darts Federation (WDF). Notably in his first year competing he would win the England Youth Grand Prix and The Isle of Man Youth Masters at 12 years old in 2019, which put him in good stead to achieve further accolades later down the line. In 2021 at 14 years old, 'The Nuke' would see more progress as he he won the England Open youth title and his first senior title at the Irish Open, qualifying for the Lakeside World Championship at 14, a monumental achievement. Also at 14 years old, Littler would achieve the best feat possible in Darts by pinning a 9 darter whilst at an event in Gibraltar.

As the career of Littler would progress, it would be 2022 when he really began to up the ante and start throwing the Darts we all see today. At the age of 15 Littler would win The Isle of Man Open, The Romanian Classic, The WDF Europe Youth Cup and the Junior World Darts Championship. By the end of September 2022 he was then selected by the National Federation to compete in the Senior WDF Europe Cup where he managed to reach the quarter finals within the singles competition and ultimately achieve a gold in the team event. Further successes would not be too far away either, in 2023 Littler would win the third series of The Modus Super Series in May and then managed to retain the title for a second time in August. Littler would then go on to regain his World Youth Title in November by defeating Dutch superstar Gian Van Veen 6-4 in a match befitting the highest standard of professional Darts, qualifying Luke for his first ever appearance at the World Darts Championship, the pinnacle of the Darting calendar.

The World Darts Championship in 2024 was one of the most transformative events in recent memory, not only because of the size that the event has, high prize money or even the cacophony of noise inside Alexandra Palace, but instead as it was a changing of the guard. New players such as Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Scott Williams and Chris Dobey all made a charge to at least the quarter finals proving that the standard has never been higher and now more than ever, anyone can win.

Littler would begin his campaign against Dutch opponent Christian Kist (3-0, 3-1, 3-1) (R1), winning comfortably in the end and putting others on high alert after a sensational display on debut. Up next came a stern test against a winner of a major title in Andrew Gilding but once more this proved no match for 'The Nuke', Luke Littler 3-1 Andrew Gilding (3-2, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1) (R2). After advancing Two games it was already a dream start for the young star but as we know it didn't end there, Luke Littler 4-1 Matt Campbell (3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1) (R3). Littlers Fourth round tie wouldn't be much easier on paper as he faced one of the best players ever in Raymond Van Barneveld, Luke Littler 4-1 Raymond van Barneveld (3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2), but once more navigated a difficult task with relative ease. Luke would be up against another old face next up as he took on Brendan Dolan from Northern Ireland but once more he carried on performing exceptionally well on the biggest stage of them all. Luke Littler 5-1 Brendan Dolan (3-2, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1, 1-3, 3-0), a victory that signalled the intent for his career from this point on. Now in the semi finals, Littler had proven everything he needed to but standing in his way from a place in the final was another former World Champion in Rob Cross. In an intense fixture Luke would once again take everything in his stride and prove he doesn't fear anything or anyone as he defeated Rob Cross, Luke Littler 6-2 Rob Cross (2-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-2). Setting up a final that now we're used to seeing regularly throughout both the Premier League and other televised events.

Littler would ultimately lose out on winning the World Championships on debut after falling to defeat against the inform Luke Humphries, Luke Humphries 7-4 Luke Littler (3-1, 2-3, 3-2, 1-3, 1-3, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2). But by all accounts the praise and recognition 'The Nuke' had earned from this run would send him on the right path to achieve this ultimate victory the very next year.

Over the course of the next year Littler would be rampant, winning the Poland Darts Masters, Bahrain Darts Masters, Grand Slam of Darts, World Series of Darts Finals, The Premier League, The UK Open and finally completing his masterpiece with a World Championship victory.

Littler would similarly race through the field at the World Championships this year just gone as he dispatched Ryan Meikle, Ian White, Ryan Joyce, Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting before finally defeating another legend of the game Micheal Van Gerwen 7-3 in the final to crown himself the youngest ever World Champion.

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn speaking before the World Championship last year said "I think basically, he's having fun you know youngsters are so dangerous in professional sports because they don't have the pressures that established players have. They don't have Wives, Mortgages, Kids, whatever. I spoke to him for about 15 minutes after his semi final yesterday and I was absolutely amazed, not a trace of nerves just an absolute really looking forward to going out there and entertaining the people and I think I can win, but if I don't I'll just win it next year. He wasn't putting any pressure on himself".

The Chairman would then go on to say this "I can see more similarities with Steve Davis yes, a little bit but someone like Tiger Woods who came along after everyone already knew he was a good player and he suddenly arrived on the scene and dominated and completely elevated the sport to a new level... People like Luke Littler are capable of doing what Tiger Woods did for Golf in my view".

So as mentioned how can Luke Littler get himself to top the PDC Order of Merit by potentially the end of the World Darts Championships this year. As it stands currently Littler is £573.25K behind Luke Humphries who sits at the top but this doesn't mean that the gap is insurmountable in such a short space of time. In fact it's quite the opposite due to the fact that Luke Humphries is defending such a large amount of money as all of his prize money earned in 2023 could be wiped off should he not achieve the same results as he did in that year. These major wins include The World Grand Prix of Darts (£150k), The Grand Slam of Darts (£200k) and the World Darts Championship (£500k), so straight away if Humphries was to lose in the first round of these events Littler would go top without even playing given the fact that Littler isn't defending any money this time around.

Another way Littler could get ahead of Humphries is simply by performing to his best and achieving better finishes in most events, especially major events where prize money is suitably increased. The World Championships this year could play a big part in this as the recent prize money increase has lead to the winner now receiving £1 million for the first time ever and as such Littler can close by £500k just by winning the biggest event of them all.

On average 'The Nuke' would need to out earn the current World number One Luke Humphries by £16k per tournament across the remaining 36 events eligible to play adding even more emphasis to the importance of major tournaments in Littler's quest for the top spot in the rankings.

However after withdrawing from every single euro tour event in Germany and staying firm to that until the World Cup where he will be partnered with Luke Humphries himself. This could lead to Littler missing out on potentially crucial money in a race for the top spot. It remains to be seen when or if the player will stand firm on his comments forever or if it's just something temporary whilst the dust settles on the backlash, but for now it will only harm his chances of reaching the top.

Former 16 time World Champion Phil Taylor has heaped praise on Littler with many just like Taylor suggesting that despite the rankings Littler is the cream of the crop when it comes to Darting ability "I'm predicting he will be one of the best players ever. But when you're 17 or 18 and you're a multi-millionare it's difficult to stay in and stay focused on the task at hand"

Speaking again about Littler whilst on TalkSport Taylor had more to say about the current World Champion "he's not bothered about money, which is a great thing because once you start earning good money you wanna go out and spend. Buy flash cars and Rolex's and stuff like this, but he's not bothered".

With all things considered Luke "The Nuke' Littler should be aiming to top the Order of Merit, but it won't be easy as Luke Humphries will once again hope to achieve similar successes this season and hold on to his prize money in the rankings. After a loss to Humphries in the recent Premier League of Darts final it's clear that this is a rivalry for the ages, I can see these Two players that are top of the rankings battling it out for years to come. If Littler isn't able to reach the number One spot by the end of the year then it shouldn't be seen as a failure, but a measure of success for Humphries who will have once again proven his dominance in an era that has so many talented players.

Keep an eye out towards the end of this season to find out if 'The Nuke' can explode onto the top spot and firmly keep hold of that place for a long time to come.