To casual darts fans who only tune into the big events or follow the sport in the news, it may seem strange that the game’s biggest phenomenon, Luke Littler, has not been the number one player in the world for some time. Barely a month passes without the Warrington youngster seeming to win another trophy.
What’s more, he has won just about all of the game’s biggest prizes since well and truly bursting onto the scene, Micah Richards style(!), when he made the final of the 2024 PDC World Championship when still just 16 years old. He was the youngest player ever to make it to the final, and by some distance.
He made it back to the final 12 months later and went one better, easily smashing the record of Michael van Gerwen (who was 24) as the youngest winner of the PDC title at the age of 17. Since then he has only improved, and yet it is only this weekend that the inspirational prodigy has a chance to move to the summit of the sport’s rankings.
Two-Year Ranking System Explains All
Littler is the best player in the world in the eyes of most fans and pundits and has been for some time. Winning the world title is a good way to prove that, and while outsiders have triumphed who have clearly not been the top player, Littler has won so much since his PDC World Championship that his superiority is hard to argue against.
However, Littler is currently the number two in the world and has been for a while. This is because darts uses a rolling two-year ranking system. The world rankings are decided on prize money won over the past two years. Winnings are not weighted, as is the case in some sports, so a tournament victory 23 months ago is worth the same as one won last week.
Littler will not turn 19 until January 2026 and has not even been a professional darts player for a full two years yet. As such, for much of the time, the rankings have reflected his earnings over a year or even less, as compared to established pros who have been playing for decades in some cases and certainly have a full two years of earnings to contribute towards their ranking.
Current Standings
Littler has been sensational since his stunning run to the final of his first PDC World Championship. He has amassed huge winnings and raised the profile of the sport. As things stand, he is a long way clear of Van Gerwen in second place in the rankings and just a fraction behind Luke Humphries, the long-time world number one.
- Luke Humphries – £1.73m
- Luke Litler – £1.68
- Michael van Gerwen – £0.76m
- Stephen Bunting – £0.66
- James Wade – £0.62
If, or rather when, Littler ascends to the top of the rankings, he will easily become the youngest world number one the sport of darts has ever seen. Once again, it will be MVG from whom the Nuke takes the record, with the Dutch ace having made it to the top at the age of 24.
Littler’s Time Is Coming
World grand prix🏆✅ on to the european championship with the same goal🫡 pic.twitter.com/uITlJYxRDr
— Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) October 23, 2025
The European Championship got underway on Thursday, the 23rd of October and Littler has a real chance to overtake his namesake Humphries. He is currently £52,500 behind, but victory in the event in Germany, which is set to conclude on Sunday, would see the youngster become officially the game’s top dog.
Littler stated that “… until I get that world number one spot, I will never call myself the best in the world.” He went on to add that he didn’t “want to think about it too much, but I could be world number one before that World Championship,” and that he had to “keep chucking away and put as much pressure as I can on Luke (Humphries).”
The current world champ can also overtake Humphries without winning, depending on how his rival fares in Germany. The two could well meet in the quarters and that promises to be such an important match. However, all that said, even if Litler does not manage to get the job done this weekend, it is surely only a matter of time.