Luke Littler all smiles after his latest win. (Image: Getty)
It seems that ’s mum isn’t taking any notice of her son’s sponsorship deals if one of his Christmas presents was anything to go by. Once again, it’s been an anything but normal festive period for Littler, to secure his place in the last-16 of the World Championship.
That followed his pre-Christmas win over Ryan Meikle, where Littler was millimetres away from his first nine-dart leg at Ally Pally.
The emotion of that occasion appeared to get to him though, during his post-match interview before being consoled by his family.
The star was then back at his Cheshire home for the big day, with parents Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler. And he’s now revealed what presents he had to open before heading back to Ally Pally.
“Oh, some clothes,” he replied. “A new gaming chair. A headset. Some new shoes. An Xbox gift card from my mum – even though I am sponsored by them!”
Littler’s love of his Xbox became apparent on his debut World Championship appearance, revealing he used the gaming console to chill out between matches. After his fairytale run to the final, he also said he’s been spending some of his £200,000 runner-up prize on Xbox points.
Littler was emotional during his win over Ryan Meikle. (Image: Getty)
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fter the tournament, he signed a sponsorship deal with the company. And in a released statement, ‘The Nuke’ expressed his delight at combining two of his favourite pastimes.
“I’m looking forward to partnering with Xbox and bringing two of my biggest passions together – darts and gaming,” he said. “I hope I can provide fans with as many rewards as possible through my performances at the PDC World Darts Championship and help them score more with Xbox.”
Littler will now play Ryan Joyce on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals. Following his latest win, there was no repeat of the tears that followed his clash with Meikle, but he did make a sarcastic ‘boo hoo’ gesture towards his folks.
“I wouldn’t say I was taking the micky, but there was no emotion this time,” he said. “It was just all about getting the job done. Last week I showed that I was human. Things do happen. So I am human after all. It has only taken a year.”
Littler remains the favourite with the bookies to prevail in London. He’s never previously played Joyce, who overcame Ryan Searle to set-up a clash with the teenage sensation.