“The worst thing that could have happened to his rivals” - Luke Littler debate intensifies after string of high-profile defeats

Luke Littler has spent most of 2026 making defeat look unusual. After exits in Amsterdam, Leicester and then Monday's World Youth Championship, however, the conversation around the world number one has shifted quickly.

Jonny Clayton ended his World Series of Darts Finals campaign, Luke Woodhouse then knocked the defending champion out in the opening round of the World Grand Prix before Cam Crabtree edged him 6-5 in the World Youth semi-finals.

That run has come after a season in which Littler successfully defended his world title and added the World Masters, UK Open, Premier League and World Matchplay, as well as winning the World Cup alongside Luke Humphries.

So when Nicolas Gayer was asked on the latest DartsNews Podcast whether the recent defeats should raise any fresh doubts, his answer went firmly the other way. “I absolutely don't think so,” Gayer said. “I think the last two or three weeks have been the worst thing that could have happened to any other darts player with some ambitions to maybe crown themselves world champion come January."

“There have already been voices after Amsterdam. Most people will say, ‘Okay, give him one tournament, that doesn't change anything.’ Now he lost first round in the Grand Prix, so that means there are even more voices, more people talking about him," the analyst added. “Now he can't even win the World Youth Championship, a tournament that he should be easily winning according to most people. So there is a lot of talk right now. There are a lot of people talking about him and a lot of people posting about him on social media.”

Littler has hardly hidden from what is said about him. He sees the social media posts, responds to stories and, as Gayer pointed out, has shown before that even relatively harmless comments can stick with him.

German darts expert Robert Marijanovic once compared him to an elephant for exactly that reason. “He doesn't forget anything,” Gayer said. “He sees everything that happens on social media, everything that experts and pundits say about him, everything the media posts about him."

“We had one of our articles where Martin Schindler said something in an interview that literally wasn't even bad. It was more respect. Littler had that on his Instagram story saying that he lives rent-free in Schindler's head," Gayer recalled. “So I think he will be seeing all of this and that will be even more motivation for him. I think we will probably be seeing an even more dominant Luke Littler at Ally Pally, maybe even already at the Grand Slam. I don't think any of that is good news for the others.”

The World Youth Championship only added more noise. Littler is still eligible at 19 and made the short trip to Wigan, where he won seven matches before Crabtree stopped him one victory short of the televised final.

Podcast host Kieran Wood felt that left him in a strange position from the start. “I just feel it's strange that he's going to the World Youth Championship because I feel like it's a no-win situation for him,” Wood said. “If he wins the World Youth Championship, everyone's just going to say, ‘Oh, he beat kids,’ even though he is a kid. If he loses, like he did yesterday to Cam Crabtree, there's a massive hysteria like Sam noted. So I don't see what the benefit of him going is other than to just throw some competitive darts.”

Littler had already explained on Instagram that there was little more to it than that: a short drive, some competitive practice and the chance to see familiar faces from his youth darts days.

“I think that shows again that Luke just has a different approach to all of this because he's so laid-back. He's so relaxed about everything,” Gayer said. “He pretty much confirmed that himself on his Instagram story yesterday, saying it was just good practice for him, a short car drive and seeing some old faces."

“I think many professional athletes would have a different approach and think, ‘I can't even win much there, and then there will be all the headlines if I don't win.’ I think he doesn't care," he added. “He just went there to see some old friends, had a good time, had some good practice and I think that's about it.”

DartsNews chief Samuel Gill was just as sceptical about the reaction to Littler’s recent defeats, particularly after the loss to Woodhouse in Leicester.

“I think Luke Woodhouse should have got his flowers, and even Crabtree as well,” Gill said, having spent the week inside the press room at the Mattioli Arena. “Stuart Pyke was comparing it to Andy Callaby and Adrian Gray when they beat Phil Taylor, and it was a load of rubbish in my opinion. Woodhouse is a top ProTour player and has been for quite a long time. He's won multiple titles this year. He was a massive sleeper in the draw. He could have beaten anybody. He could have beaten Humphries. He could have beaten anybody. So I wasn't a massive fan of that take. I think it's kind of disingenuous.”

Woodhouse was still responsible for a major upset given Littler's status as defending champion and tournament favourite, but the scale of the reaction risked making it sound as though the result had come from nowhere.

That has become part of the problem whenever Littler loses. “I think that's kind of the issue with Littler. People put too much stock on him getting defeated. He will lose,” Gill said. “James Wade even said it in his press conference the other day. He won't be as dominant all the time. He won't be winning every single tournament. Multiple players said that this past week. People need to get out of this thing of thinking that he's unbeatable, he's invincible.”

Gill recalled how it was much the same during Michael van Gerwen's most dominant years, when any rare defeat instantly carried extra weight simply because of how infrequently it happened.

“I grew up in the era of watching Michael van Gerwen and covering Michael van Gerwen when he was unbeatable and barely lost in a year,” Gill said. “The defeats were very minimal and a lot of stock was taken on them, but it did happen.”

Littler’s three recent losses also came in very different circumstances. Amsterdam ended his hopes of sweeping the year’s biggest individual titles, but the World Series Finals carries a different weight to the ranking majors still ahead.

“Amsterdam, of course, doesn't mean a lot in terms of a major anyway,” Gill said. “It's a bit like other tournaments, like the Masters used to be, where players use it for tinkering towards the latter end of the season. I don't think Littler would have been that bothered about it apart from maybe the crowd.”

The Grand Prix was different, but the short opening-round format has always left very little margin for error. “The World Grand Prix, sure it's bad, but it's a short format and big names could have got chipped,” Gill continued. “We could have had a situation where Littler, Humphries, van Gerwen, all of those big names, even Price, went out early.”

Woodhouse was exactly the kind of opponent capable of taking advantage. “Especially over such a short format against a player like Luke Woodhouse, who, like I say, is a top ProTour player, he's going to go up there with no fear and just do it,” Gill said. “And that's exactly what he did.”

Crabtree’s win followed only days later, although Gill again felt the name on the other side of the board had been overshadowed by the fact Littler had lost. “He's a player who got himself into the World Championship the day before through the Development Tour Order of Merit, he's a Tour Card holder and he's beaten big names on the ProTour as well,” he said. “I think the whole hysteria around that was a bit over the top as well.”

The next stretch of the calendar looks rather different. “With Littler, like you said, the long format, he's got a ridiculous record, hasn't he?” Wood said. “When it's like over 20 legs or something like that, he's only lost the one game, which is Luke Humphries in the world final. Something along those lines. So if he can get out of the group at the Grand Slam, which you would easily expect him to, the longer the format, the harder he is to beat.”

The Grand Slam gives Littler three group matches before the format lengthens through the knockout rounds, removing much of the danger that comes with one short match deciding an entire tournament.

“When he gets towards something like the Grand Slam, where it's a round-robin format, he showed yesterday in the round robin at the World Youth that he can roll off wins quite easily averaging 95,” Gill said. “I think he does the same at the Grand Slam. And then when the format gets bigger, easier for him. European Championship even, for me, those are the two tournaments. And then you're going into the World Championship.”

Gill expects the mood around Littler to change just as quickly if the wins return. “For me, it's all kind of hysteria,” he said. “He'll no doubt go on and win the European Championship in a few weeks' time and then people will all be quiet and not say as much as they've been saying."

“If he wins one of those two or both of them, he will still be the favourite no matter what. Even if he loses all of those tournaments, he will still be the favourite," Gill continued. “He'll still be the one that people talk about. I think he's fine. He'll get there.”

Luke Humphries offered a timely reminder in Leicester of how quickly those narratives can change. His own season had included several early exits before he left the World Grand Prix with his first televised title of 2026. “Humphries has lost multiple first rounds this year and he's just won a major,” Gill added. “So, who cares in the grand scheme of things?”

Littler still has the European Championship and Grand Slam ahead before another Alexandra Palace title defence. A few weeks ago, the conversation was about how much more he might win before the end of the year. Three defeats later, it has swung towards whether anything has changed at all.

Gayer suspects Littler will hear every bit of it.