“The face of a growing game” - Luke Littler named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports after record-shattering darts rise

Luke Littler has been named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports for 2026, another major sign of how far his profile has travelled beyond the regular darts circuit.

The 19-year-old is already the dominant force in the sport, a two-time world champion and the youngest player to reach world No.1. His rise has now been placed on one of sport’s most prominent global lists, with TIME describing him as “the face of a growing game.”

Littler’s place on the list follows a run that has redrawn the sport’s recent landscape. He reached the PDC World Championship final at 16, won his first world title the following year, climbed to world No.1 and then successfully defended his crown.

TIME’s profile captured the speed and scale of that breakthrough, saying: “Luke Littler, the 19-year-old darts player from England, has shaken the foundation of his sport, shattering records and exploding to global fame. “It’s no wonder his nickname is ‘the Nuke’.”

Littler’s dominance on the oche has been matched by a profile rare for a darts player at any age, let alone one still in his teens.

TIME referenced his visibility away from the stage too, from an Xbox commercial to an MBE ceremony at Windsor Castle, while also noting the sport’s rising viewership and growing commercial pull.

“Coming off those back-to-back triumphs, Littler is the face of a growing game, featured everywhere from an Xbox commercial to an MBE ceremony at Windsor Castle,” TIME said.

His 2026 World Championship defence also came with the first £1 million winner’s prize in PDC history, giving the sport’s biggest title another landmark moment during Littler’s era at the front of the game.

The TIME recognition adds a mainstream global marker to a darts career already moving at extraordinary speed. Littler is no longer only the sport’s record-breaking teenage champion. He is now being positioned among the most influential athletes in world sport.