TEENAGE darts sensation Luke Littler from Warrington, has become the youngest player to reach the fourth round of the World Darts Championship and is now amongst the favourites to be crowned champion in his first appearance at the tournament aged just 16!
The youngster beat Canadian Matt Campbell four sets to one at Alexandra Palace in London, last night Wednesday, as he continued to re-write the record books.
He has already become a favourite with the vocal crowd who serenaded the teenager with chants of “You’ve got school in the morning”.
Nicknamed “The Nuke” he raced through the first two sets without losing a leg and, after losing the fourth, took the fifth to reach the next round.
He tearfully hugged his mum after the game, saying he “started crying when I saw my mum in the crowd. She was nervous. I said to her, ‘The dream continues’. She said the same thing.”
His form defies his tender age, averaging more than 97 per dart, throwing eight maximum 180s and producing three 100-plus checkouts, including a majestic 164 in the fifth set.
With the competition running over Christmas and into the New Year, Luke returned home for Christmas saying he sacrificed time on his Xbox after dinner in order to practise.
He is the current PDC World Youth Champion. He is the youngest player to have won a match in the WDF World Darts Championship and PDC World Darts Championship.
At the end of September 2022, he 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 together with James Hurrell. They lost to Sam Canket and Nick Kenny from Wales by 1–4 in legs.[12] On the third day of the tournament, he advanced to the quarter-finals of the singles competition and lost to Andy Baetens by 4–5 in legs.[13] In the team competition, he won the gold medal.[14] In the points classification, as a representative of England, he also contributed to winning a gold medal.
Littler won the JDC World Darts Championship in London at the end of December 2022, beating Harry Gregory by 5–0 in legs.
In May 2023, Littler won the 3rd series of the MODUS Super Series, defeating Jacob Taylor 4-1 in the final.[15] 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.
Littler made his debut at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, where he whitewashed former BDO 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.
He is now one of the favourites to be crowned world champion – and he could become another notable alumni from Padgate Academy, (formerly Padgate High School), alongside former Atomic Kitten pop star Kerry Katona and Radio DJ Chris Evans.
He is also growing a new fan base, including Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols, who is now becoming a huge darts fan, making all her family (including the dog) watch his progress over Christmas.
Absolutely phenomenal! Well in @LukeTheNuke180 – the youngest ever player to make it through to the final 16👏👏👏 https://t.co/Fij6G95MfB
— Charlotte Nichols (@charlotte2153) December 27, 2023
