Luke Littler has set his sights on breaking more records, even Phil Taylor’s; the next live darts on Sky Sports is the World Darts Championship, which starts on Sunday December 15 with every dart live on Sky Sports Darts through to the final on Friday January 3.
Luke Littler picked up his first major TV ranking title on debut at the Grand Slam of Darts 2024 and has no intention of slowing down on his quest to put his name in the history books.
It was a sensational display from Littler on finals Sunday in Wolverhampton, beating Gary Anderson 16-15 in an all-time classic semi-final before reeling in 15 legs in a row in a 16-3 domination of Martin Lukeman in the final.
The victory moves Littler up to fifth in the world on the PDC Order of Merit and the favourite for the World Darts Championship on just his debut year as a professional.
His fellow Grand Slam finalist Lukeman was waxing lyrical about him after their encounter and believes he has the talent to surpass the achievements of Michael van Gerwen and even Phil Taylor.
When asked if he can become the new history maker, Littler was full of belief that he could one day match two of darts’ greats.
“If I want it, then I should get it,” Littler said. “But it’s going to take quite some years to pick up the amount of trophies, not only what Michael has got, but also Phil Taylor.” The first target for Littler is those rankings and he has his eye on being even higher than fifth in the world come the end of the year.
“I knew coming into the tournament, if I do get my hands on the trophy, which is a long way away, I’ll be up to No 5 in the world… No 5 in the space of 10 months. “There’s still another two more ranking tournaments to go so hopefully I can go a bit higher than five.”
Since going on his mind-boggling run at the Worlds last December, Littler’s life has changed dramatically in every single aspect and he is now a recognised celebrity wherever he goes.
But for the 17-year-old, moments like the Grand Slam make it all worthwhile.”I was just very happy with my performance,” he added.
“The best feeling was when the ball of confetti came out. This is what we play for and the big titles we collect.
“The World Championship changed me, changed my family, but now the months have gone on and I’m just getting used to it all. “I’m going to have to get used to it for a very long time.
“This is one of the ones I wanted to win. Obviously my major record isn’t the best so it’s OK now. I just wanted to come here, go deep and it just shows them I’m still here.
“How will I celebrate? I’ll probably just go home, play on my Xbox.”
A new era for the sport
Littler’s extraordinary rise is spearheading a new era for the sport.
“People look at the likes of me and Luke [Humphries] but you’ve got to look at all the other players,” Littler told Sky Sports News. “You’ve got to look at what Martin Lukeman’s just done on his debut, got to the final.
“Obviously for myself, I’ve got my hands on the trophy. If someone told me earlier this year, ‘you’re going to be world No 5 with two major titles to your name’, I’d have said, ‘you’re lying’.” His life has “changed massively”, Littler added.
“The popularity I’ve got now, I’m just enjoying this first year as a professional,” he continued. “Warrington’s only a small town, you’ll get spotted everywhere, but I don’t mind taking pictures and seeing all the fans.
“I’ve just grown into a better person. Obviously I’m more mature. You’ve just got always to be yourself. “He has two tournaments left in 2024, the Players Championship in Minehead and then the World Darts Championship.
“Early on in the year it’s absolute chaos. So it’s all calming down now, only two big tournaments left. I want to win them both. But obviously it’s all eyes on the Players Championship first,” Littler said. “I’ve just got to regroup,” he continued. “It’s just about resetting and starting from round one again.
