Luke Littler: What makes youngest world darts champion so special after Alexandra Palace win | Darts News

Luke Littler lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time on Friday evening in a moment we will surely look back on for years and decades to come.

After rising to the milestone during the 2024 World Darts Championship, Littler came under pressure last month to finish at 17 years, 11 months and 13 days. Become the youngest world champion in the history of the sport.

He knocked out a man who almost everyone would have in the top three dirt players of all time – and who at 24 was the former youngest world champion – on the biggest stage in Michael van Gerwen and the impact he had Pointed out that he had it at darts.

This effect is what makes Littler so special. How can a teenager pay so much attention to sports? Have we ever seen the same?

“He’s not just here to win darts, he’s an entertainer. He’s the complete package.” Sky Sports DartsMark Webster.

“Things have happened that feel like overnight. He’s now world number two and it feels like there’s more to come.

“He’s very smart, very focused for tournaments that’s the type of guy he is. He should celebrate it because of the win, but when the season comes, he’ll be ready.

“It’s not just about Luke, it’s also about his family. It’s just been an amazing journey.”

A special talent

Britain loves to support the underdog but there are a few sporting people who are better, and have that X-factor that gets people to their side, even if they win all the time.

Think of athlete Usain Bolt, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer or snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan. You’d struggle to name other people who have reigned for so long, yet have been loved.

Young’s age is a factor for his great support but he also has that flair on the dartboard, plays with speed, thinks quickly to put himself in the right end and has fun. Shoot for big scores or big checkouts.

“I’m probably the same guy (as last year) but this World Championship in particular, I let my emotions go after a 180 or a big checkout,” Littler said.

“Usually I’m pretty good on the board but it was nice to let my emotions out.”

That feeling was clear to see when he overcame his first hurdle for glory against Ryan Mikel before Christmas.

Littler was down 1-1 in the third set, and struggled, but he saved himself from trouble in the final set with something extraordinary to win 3-1.

You could see Littler go into ultra focus mode with maximum intensity, like he had the world on his shoulders.

He produced a winning set average of 140.91 in 32 darts, a figure that may not have been beaten by anyone except Littler.

His celebration was also huge as he stormed the stage and had fire in his eyes as he revealed that Eli Pali is the city of Littler and no one was allowed to enter.

“Since the Ryan Michaels game, I’ve settled down and feel like I’m at home,” said photographer Littler, who wants to put the Michaels game out of his mind.

“I adjusted very well throughout the tournament and in the final I didn’t feel any nervousness until the last leg (the final) and I said you didn’t shake the whole game, don’t do it now.

A kid who just likes darts

Littler handled the media attention incredibly well. It feels like nothing can hurt him, which is surprising to Warrington that he always has.

After his semi-final, someone asked him at the press conference about his lost D2 from his 2024 World Championship final. A loss to Humphreys, which would put him up 5-2 and two sets away from the championship.

He joked “cheer for that” and brushed the question right off. This is a great way to answer a question – coming from a journalist here, who has seen sports people lose it when asked about what hurts.

“When he had these little losses in the first round like at the World Games and people thought, ‘Is he the real deal?’ It’s his family that’s there to hold him,” Webster said.

Littler has grown up very well and remains humble, to the extent that he refuses to say that he is the best darts player in the world.

He has earned £1.3m on the PDC Tour in the past 12 months, with £500,000 for this year’s World Champion. That in itself is something to deal with but it feels like Littler doesn’t care.

“Maybe it will (sink in) when I get my head around the amount of money I’ve taken. But it’s about the trophy,” he said.

“I don’t like talking about money but it’s there.”

Ten PDC titles, including the Premier League, Grand Slam and World Series of Darts Finals, should not be underestimated for anyone in the tour’s first season.

Littler reads history books everywhere he goes and certainly lets his darts do the talking, lots of talking.

“Littler came under pressure here and he wasn’t a defensive champion. He had a bullseye on him and he definitely has a bullseye on him now,” Webster continued.

“They have to bring their A-game and more because we saw what he just did with Michael van Gerwen and what he’s done in this tournament.

“He’s not even two years into his career, now the challenge for him is to go and win the other big fights that he hasn’t won and then defend his title next year.

“There’s always something else to achieve. He’ll never think he’s accomplished something. You just admire his dedication, he’s been dedicated for so long.

“This whole tournament has been a bit of a show. He is a worthy champion and he will enjoy his moment.

“Michael had a real journey and never gave up but Luke has all the answers. He picked the big moments, he was the best player of the tournament.

“It’s over because you don’t give your opponent any hope. Every time he was at double 10 you felt it was going to go in and Michael knew what was going to happen.

“He said he felt nervous but he couldn’t see it. If you can do that to Michael van Gerwen in a world final, you’re doing something right.”

What else for Littler?

Littler will not train seriously for a week until the Bahrain Darts Masters in mid-January, which he did last year.

It seemed to work pretty well, to say the least, as he produced a nine-darter in his second match and went on to lift the title, defeating Van Gerwen in the final.

“I couldn’t win anything at all until the end of 2025 but I got the best (trophy),” Littler said shortly after his latest victory.

“I want to win more than 10 titles this year, but if I finish in 2025, then I chose the big one.”

After turning 18 later this month, Littler will defend his Premier League crown – with All 17 nights are live on Sky Sports, starting with Belfast on February 6.

Reaching Phil Taylor’s record-breaking 16 world titles seems impossible. But age is on the younger side, ‘The Nuke’ has bundles of talent, and above all, he is mentally strong and that is a weapon that will be hard for anyone to beat.

“If I want 16, I’m sure I can get it,” Littler said when asked about Taylor’s must-have question.

In that era, winning half a dozen world titles would be incredible. And this era may go down as the Luke Littler era, one that can continue to explode for a long time.

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Check out all the action Premier League on Sky Sports with Luke Littler defends his title. The new Premier League season will kick off in Belfast on Thursday, February 6, as the biggest darts party returns to an unchanged line-up of 17 venues across the UK and Europe.

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