“The headlines are just getting sillier” – Luke Littler learning to laugh off online noise as he becomes walking media storm

Luke Littler admits he’s had to get used to life under a microscope. Since bursting onto the scene, the 18-year-old has become one of the most talked about names in world sport — and he’s learning to take the madness in his stride.

“At the start, I sat down with Gary from Target and he said, ‘ignore it or just laugh at it,’” Littler reflected recently in conversation with Online Darts. “Now the stories are getting more silly, stupid. It’s just laughing at them.”

Littler has become a headline machine in 2025, but it’s the way he’s handled the attention that’s perhaps most impressive. Currently ranked world number two, just £75,000 behind Luke Humphries in the PDC Order of Merit, the teenager could make darting history as the youngest world number one if results go his way this week at the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts. Yet behind the noise, he remains refreshingly grounded.

As one of the sport’s most in-demand players, Littler now spends countless weekends on the road, juggling tournaments with exhibition events across the country. The crowds are louder, the expectations higher — but he’s learning to embrace it all.

“Yeah, this is my first proper year doing exhibitions,” he said. “Every weekend, every exhibition — the crowd, they always bring the atmosphere. It’s just a bit of fun. You don’t have to play your best; you just do the fancy trick shots.”

That humility runs through every answer. Even as fans of all ages turn up wearing his shirt, Littler speaks with genuine disbelief. “Seeing older people, younger kids with my new shirts on — my very first shirt — it’s just brilliant. The support is up and down the country.”

Despite his age, Littler has quickly learned how brutal elite darts can be. Every opponent wants a shot at the young phenom, and he knows it. “It’s just everyone wants to beat the world champion,” he said. “They’re going to put in the 104s, 105s, and they’re going to beat me. So I’ve always got to be on it.”

That drive is part of what’s made his rise so relentless. When John McDonald introduces him on stage as “the world champion,” Littler admits it still catches him off guard. “You’re like, ‘Wow, this is you.’”

The sense of wonder hasn’t worn off — but the ambition hasn’t dulled either. Littler knows exactly what’s at stake in the coming months. Another big title, and he could overtake Humphries to become world number one before the year is out.

The rise of Littler, Josh Rock and Gian van Veen has underlined a generational shift in darts, but the teenager is quick to acknowledge that the established stars remain as dangerous as ever. “Michael [van Gerwen], Luke [Humphries], Stephen [Bunting] – they’re still in the top four, so they’re going to get in,” Littler said. “It’s a young man’s sport now, but the experienced ones aren’t going anywhere.”

He’s respectful of those who’ve dominated for so long — and he knows the scale of the legacy left by Phil Taylor and others. Asked whether he could one day challenge those kinds of records, Littler’s answer was honest.

"I know the records, yeah. I’ve already broken loads – youngest world champion, highest set average. That’ll never get broken, and if it does, fair play. People talk about the 16 titles, but with how much prize money there is now, who knows if I’ll be around that long."

It was said with a smile — part humility, part awareness that what Taylor achieved might never be matched.

Next up is Wolverhampton, where Littler begins his Grand Slam of Darts campaign later tonight. He’s drawn in Group H alongside Karel Sedlacek, Daryl Gurney and Connor Scutt — with the Czech ace his first opponent.

It’s a tricky group on paper, but Littler’s not one for overthinking. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s just what happens on a day, and you can never know what’s around the corner.”

Win this title, and the gap to Humphries could shrink even further. Lose, and the questions will inevitably return — though he’s already shown how little that noise bothers him these days.