The teenage sensation was crowned the youngest-ever World Championship winner (Image: Getty)
No sportsman has had a greater, more immediate impact on their discipline than and darts.
Littler’s emergence has put darts in the spotlight and returned it to the sporting mainstream. Everybody wants a piece of him.
Just weeks after his run to the final of the 2024 last year, The Nuke was appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show. A brand deal with Xbox and Boohooman quickly followed.
It’s unfair to dub Littler the face of darts. Right now, he’s the face of British sport altogether.
The best bit about it? He’s got the performances and swagger to back it up.
Hitting a nine-darter in the Premier League final, a 140-set average in his opening match of this year’s World Championship, nailing the ‘Big Fish’ finish and bringing out his now iconic : all just some of Littler’s best moments from a show-stopping 12 months as a professional darts player.
Then there are the titles from his debut campaign. Bahrain Darts Masters, Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts and, of course, World Darts Championship.
But for Littler to be considered the best player in the world – PDC Order of Merit rankings notwithstanding – he’s still got one hurdle to overcome.
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Luke Littler paraded his World Championship trophy at Warrington Wolves on Friday night (Image: Getty)
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For all of Littler’s achievements over the last year, he’s yet to do one thing… defend one of his titles.
Granted, he hasn’t exactly had too many opportunities to do so, with the Bahrain Masters the only title he’s had the chance to retain so far in 2025.
However, the sign of a true champion is one that can not only win the first time, but come back and do it time after time after time. It’s a different type of challenge when you’ve got a target on your back.
It almost goes without saying there’s no rush to achieve this. With a bit of luck, he’ll still be chucking arrows for the next 20 years, if not longer.
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Defending a tournament win was something Humphries managed to do in the year that followed his World Championship victory, with Cool Hand triumphing at back-to-back Players Championship Finals.
And almost every single one of darts’ legendary figures have achieved it in the past.
Only a fool would bet against Littler winning back-to-back events, but until he does, it remains one to tick off the list for the teenage sensation.