Luke Littler

Luke Littler (born 21 January 2007) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is the current Premier League Darts champion, the current Junior and World Youth Champion, the current Bahrain and Poland Darts Masters champion, and the current Belgian and Austrian Darts Open champion.

Littler is also the youngest player to have won a match in the WDF World Darts Championship and PDC World Darts Championship. Additionally, he is the youngest player to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final, aged 16 years, and both the youngest ever player to hit a televised nine-dart finish and the youngest to hit 2 televised nine darters; the first one he achieved, at the 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters aged 16, and the second, he achieved in the 2024 Premier League Darts final aged 17. Littler is also the youngest ever player to hit a broadcast nine-darter. He achieved the feat at the age of 14 in 2021.

Early life
Littler was born on 21 January 2007 in Runcorn and grew up in nearby Warrington. He began playing darts when he was 18 months old, after his father bought him a magnetic dart board from a pound shop. He scored his first 180 at the age of six and a nine-dart finish at the age of 13. When he was 10, he joined the St Helens Darts Academy and began playing in under-21 leagues. He was educated at Padgate Academy.

Early career
In 2019, Littler won the England Youth Grand Prix and the Isle of Man Masters youth competition, where he was able to defend his title in 2020. The 2020 JDC tour featured two titles from Littler, who is also signed to partners program "Elite1" organised by Target. Littler won the youth title at the England Open in September 2021 and finished second in the British Pentathlon.

In November 2021, Littler won his first seniors title at the Irish Open defeating Barry Copeland 6–2 in legs. This qualified Littler for the 2022 WDF World Darts Championship, at the age of 14. At the end of November, during the JDC MVG Masters tournament, he hit a nine-dart finish.

2022
Littler won the JDC Super 16 in Milton Keynes at the end of January 2022, beating Eleanor Cairns in the final. In March 2022, he won the youth competition at the Isle Of Man Open and advanced to the finals of the Isle of Man Classic. At the 2022 WDF World Darts Championship, Littler started as a seeded player from second round and won his first match against Ben Hazel 3–2 in sets. He was then beaten 3–0 in sets by Richard Veenstra, who set a record average for a World Championship match at Lakeside.

During the Welsh Open warm-up tournament, Littler hit a 121.86 average in one of his matches. A day later, he won the final for another senior tournament win in his career. In June 2022, he also won the Romanian Classic, beating Jelle Klaasen in the final by 5–1 in legs. At the 2022 WDF Europe Cup Youth, he won the gold medal in three men's competitions (singles, team and overall). His best achievement was defeating Archie Self in the finals of the singles competition, 6–1 in legs. In the pair competition, together with Archie Self, he lost in the semi-finals, 4–1 in legs to Thomas Banks, and Charlie Manby.

At the end of September 2022, Littler was selected by the national federation to participate in the 2022 WDF Europe Cup. On the second day of the tournament, he advanced to the quarter-finals of the pairs competition where he played alongside James Hurrell. They lost to Sam Canket and Nick Kenny from Wales, 4–1 in legs. On the third day of the tournament, he advanced to the quarter-finals of the singles competition, where he lost to Andy Baetens 5–4 in legs. In the team competition, he won the gold medal. In the points classification, as a representative of England, he contributed to winning a gold medal.

Littler won the JDC World Darts Championship in London at the end of December 2022, beating Harry Gregory 5–0 in legs.

2023
Littler made his debut at a PDC major event at the 2023 UK Open, after qualifying to the tournament via an amateur qualifying event organized by Rileys Sports Bars. A first round 6–0 whitewash defeat of Nick Fullwell was followed by a 6–2 victory against Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in the second round and a 6–5 victory over Ritchie Edhouse in the third round. This meant that Littler had reached the fourth round at the tournament, the best showing of a Rileys qualifier alongside Thomas Banks. Littler lost his fourth round match to eventual semi-finalist Adam Gawlas 10–8. For his showing Littler acquired £2,500 in prize money, which ranked him on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time.

In May 2023, Littler won the third series of the MODUS Super Series, defeating Jacob Taylor 4–1 in the final. In August 2023, he won the title for the second time by defeating Colin Osborne by 4 legs to 2 in the final.

In November 2023, Littler beat Gian van Veen in the 2023 PDC World Youth Championship final. The game ended 6–4.

In December 2023, Littler retained his JDC World Darts Championship title, defeating Álmos Kovács 5–3 in the final.

2024
Littler made his debut at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship qualifying as a result of his placement in the PDC Development Tour, where he whitewashed former world champion Christian Kist in the first round. He also broke two records, one for the highest average for a debutant at the World Darts Championship with a 106.12 and the other for being the youngest winner. In the second round, he defeated 2023 UK Open champion Andrew Gilding 3–1;   in the third round, he defeated Matt Campbell 4–1. In the fourth round, he beat five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld 4–1 to enter his first PDC major quarter-final. Littler went on to beat Brendan Dolan 5–1 in the quarter-final before beating former world champion and 8th seed Rob Cross 6–2 in the semi-final. Littler lost 7–4 in the final against newly crowned world number one Luke Humphries. He is the youngest player to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final, aged 16 years and 347 days. Following the tournament, Littler was announced to be part of the 2024 Premier League Darts as one of the four chosen wildcards by the PDC.

Littler made his World Series of Darts debut at the second staging of the Bahrain Darts Masters, where he defeated Man Lok Leung 6–3 in the first round. In the quarter-finals of the event, he beat Nathan Aspinall 6–3, hitting his first televised nine-dart finish en route, becoming the youngest player to ever do so. In the semi-finals, Littler defeated Gerwyn Price 7–3 to be in his first World Series of Darts final on debut, which he won 8–5 against.

Littler made a consecutive world series final at the Dutch Darts Masters by defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 6–2, Luke Humphries 6–5, and Gerwyn Price 7–4 before losing in a world series final rematch to Michael van Gerwen 8–6.

As he had gained a PDC Tour Card for 2024, Littler played at his debut 2024 PDC Players Championship series. In Players Championship 1, he defeated Jim Williams 6–1 in legs in the first round, winning the match with an 11-darter to finish. In the second round, he defeated Luke Woodhouse 6–3. In the third round, Littler won 6–1 against Michele Turetta, hitting a nine-darter in the final leg. In the fourth round, Littler beat Cameron Menzies 6–2 to enter his first pro-tour quarter-final. In the quarter-finals, Littler defeated James Hurrell 6–3. In the semi-finals, Littler won 7–6 in his match against Alan Soutar. Having reached the final of a Players Championship event the first time, Littler averaged 109.64 to defeat Ryan Searle 8–7, who averaged 111.71 in the process, to win his first Players Championship on his debut. Before the second event, Littler was awarded a silver pin for his nine-darter against Michele Turetta; he was also awarded a gold pin for his televised nine-darter against Nathan Aspinall at the Bahrain Darts Masters. In Players Championship 2, Littler continued his winning streak with a 6–4 win over Danny Noppert before losing to Radek Szagański 6–5. In Players Championship 3, Littler defeated Keane Barry 6–5, Cameron Menzies 6–3, Kevin Doets 6–2 and Dirk van Duijvenbode 6–4 before losing to Callan Rydz 6–4 in the quarter-finals. In Players Championship 4, Littler lost 6–5 to James Wade in the first round.

In the fourth round of the 2024 UK Open, Littler was drawn against three-time UK Open champion James Wade. Littler defeated Wade 10–7, hitting a 170 checkout en route. Littler was drawn against Martin Schindler in the fifth round, where he won 10–8, beating his personal best result at the event to reach the sixth round for the first time. In the sixth round, Littler was drawn to play Dave Chisnall. Littler won the match 10–5 to reach his second PDC major quarter-final. He lost there 10–8 to Damon Heta.

European Tour
Littler qualified for the 2024 Belgian Darts Open (ET1) at the Tour Card Holder qualifiers, which was thus his first European Tour event, surpassing Radek Szagański 6–0, Mervyn King 6–3, and Maik Kuivenhoven 6–5. Littler was drawn against José de Sousa in the event’s first round. Littler defeated de Sousa 6–5. Littler beat Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round 6–3. After the match, he accused Ratajski of sly gamesmanship after he sipped from his drink twice. In a rematch from the UK Open, Littler defeated Damon Heta 6–3 to reach the quarter-finals. Littler averaged 110.06 to defeat Jermaine Wattimena 6–2. Littler beat Ricardo Pietreczko to reach his first final on the European Tour, 7–3. After the match, Pietreczko lashed out against Littler on the stage and on social media, posting, "Hope his arrogance is punished". Littler defeated Rob Cross 8–7 in the final, to win his first PDC European Tour event on debut. Littler hit third nine-dart finish of the year en-route to his victory.

Littler failed to qualify for the 2024 German Darts Grand Prix (ET2) after he defeated Christian Perez 6–4 but lost to Jim Williams 6–5 in the Tour Card Holder qualifiers.

Littler qualified for the 2024 European Darts Grand Prix (ET4) at the Card Holder qualifiers, defeating George Killington 6–1 in the first round before beating Simon Whitlock, despite Whitlock hitting a nine-dart finish, Danny van Trijp and Ian White with 6–5 victories. At ET4, Littler whitewashed 6–0 in the first round. In the second round Littler lost to Luke Humphries 6–5 in a deciding leg.

At the 2024 Austrian Darts Open (ET5) Littler achieved 6–2 wins in matches against Zoran Lerchbacher and Damon Heta, and defeated Krzysztof Ratajski 6–3 to reach the quarter-final stage. In his quarter-final match Littler triumphed over Danny Noppert 6–5 in a deciding leg. Littler defeated 7–2 in the semi-finals. In the final Littler won 8–4 against, meaning Littler claimed his second European Tour title.

Nights 1–8: Picking up points by winning quarter-finals
Littler started his 2024 Premier League Darts campaign at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff, Wales. He went on to win his debut match, beating Luke Humphries 6–2. After the match, Humphries wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he felt "gutted" with the constant whistling and heckling at him during the match. Littler lost his semi-final match narrowly against Michael Smith, 6–5.

Littler reached the final in week two at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany. He defeated Rob Cross 6–5 and Luke Humphries 6–5 before losing to Michael van Gerwen 6–5. During night three, Littler lost in the quarter-final stages at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, to Gerwyn Price 6–5. Littler showed his first burst of frustration since becoming a professional, where fans speculated he swore at himself after the defeat. On night four at the Newcastle Arena, Littler hit a 170 checkout en route to a 6–5 victory over Peter Wright in the quarter-finals, before losing to Michael van Gerwen 6–5 in the semi-finals.

Just before the 2024 UK Open weekend, Littler played at Premier League event five at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter. In the quarter-finals he defeated Michael Smith 6–2, before losing 6–3 to Rob Cross in the semi-finals. On night six at Brighton Centre, Littler won 6–3 against Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals, but lost to Michael Smith 6–3 in the semi-final. On night seven at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, Littler averaged 114.00 to defeat Michael van Gerwen, who averaged 110.94, 6–2. In the semi-final, Littler lost 6–3 to Nathan Aspinall. On night eight at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, Littler lost to Michael Smith 6–4.

Nights 9–14: Picking up four night wins and making another night final
Night nine at the SSE Arena, Belfast saw Luke Littler win a Premier League for the first time in his career. Littler beat Luke Humphries 6–5 in a deciding leg in the quarter-finals, Michael van Gerwen 6–3 in the semi-finals and Nathan Aspinall 6–4 in the night's final. Littler then won night ten at the Manchester Arena, again defeating Van Gerwen and Aspinall 6–3 and 6–4 respectively before achieving a 6–3 victory over Gerwyn Price in the final for back to-back night wins. Littler made a third consecutive night final on night eleven at Arena Birmingham, defeating Rob Cross and Luke Humphries each 6–5, in deciding legs before only averaging 88.12 in a 6–3 loss to Michael van Gerwen in the night final, with Van Gerwen only averaging 90.38 himself. On night twelve at Rotterdam Ahoy Littler was defeated 6–3 by in his quarter-final match.

Littler picked up his third night win in the Premier League on night thirteen at the Liverpool Arena, defeating Gerwyn Price 6–3 at the quarter-final stage before coming back from 5–2 down to defeat Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals, with Aspinall missing five match darts. Littler secured the night win with a 6–2 victory over Rob Cross. This saw him finish night thirteen top of the table on 31 points, five points clear of second place Luke Humphries. Littler won Night 14 at P&J Live, Aberdeen. Littler defeated Nathan Aspinall 6–5 again and Michael Smith 6–1, averaging 110.1, to reach the final where he beat Rob Cross 6–4.

Personal life
Littler and his ex-girlfriend Eloise Milburn, who plays darts on the 2024 PDC Women's Series, received backlash for their age difference in January 2024, as he was 16 and she was 21. Milburn's mother defended her after she received abuse online and was called a "gold digger". Littler told The Daily Telegraph that he would "stick with [Milburn] whether people like it or not".

Littler is a supporter of Manchester United FC and the Warrington Wolves, and planned to go on a stadium tour of Old Trafford after the World Championship final.

Prior to the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, Littler had won a total of £2,500 in prize money at ranking tournaments and was ranked 164th in the world. As runner-up in the 2024 Championship, he won £200,000. With his winnings he planned to pay for his friends to go with him to Blackpool or Alton Towers.

After his victory over Raymond van Barneveld he was invited to watch Tottenham Hotspur play AFC Bournemouth in a Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, by Spurs player James Maddison.

Littler announced on BBC Radio 1 that he gained inspiration for his walk-on song from his time with his dad at Wrestlemania 33. WWE later reached out on social media platform X, inviting him to a non-televised live event at the O2 Arena in April, where Littler accepted the invitation, saying "sounds good with me". Multi-time world champion John Cena posted a cryptic picture of Littler on his Instagram, honouring him after Littler admitted to being a fan.

Littler signed a deal with fashion brand BoohooMAN, allowing him to help promote the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

In February 2024, Littler also signed a multi-year professional contact with Target Darts.

Littler made an appearance on the 232nd episode of The Jonathan Ross Show alongside comedian Rob Beckett, singer-songwriter Raye, and actress Millie Bobby Brown. He was involved in a darts challenge where he played Brown, Raye, and Beckett in a three-on-one scoring challenge. The three celebrities scored a total of 83, while Littler hit a score of 140. The clip went viral after viewers of the show were amused by Littler's nonchalant reaction to Millie Bobby Brown admitting to being a huge fan of him.

Also in March 2024, Littler made an appearance on Fantasy Football League, alongside former England cricketer Stuart Broad.

WDF

 * 2022: Third round (lost to Richard Veenstra 0–3) (sets)

PDC

 * 2024: Runner-up (lost to Luke Humphries 4–7)

Performance timeline
PDC Premier League Darts

PDC European Tour

PDC Players Championships

PDC World Series of Darts

PDC Development Tour