Just over 12 months ago nobody outside the world of darts, by which we mean the hardcore fans of the game who follow results weekly rather than once a year through a hail of beer at Alexandra Palace, had ever heard of Luke Littler. Now, with 2025 upon us, Littler is one of the brightest young talents in any sport, a two-time PDC World Darts Championship finalist, boasting a £500,000 winner’s cheque from the 2025 World Championship and drawing comparisons with Tiger Woods no less!
Since well and truly bursting onto the scene at the 2024 PDC World Championship, Littler has rapidly established himself as a generational talent. He is now ranked number two in the official rankings but most accept that he is the best in the world right now after a stunning 2024 and an even better start to 2025.
In 2024 he won an incredible 10 PDC titles, including some of the biggest going, chiefly the Premier League (in his debut season), the World Series of Darts and the Grand Slam of Darts. He headed into the 2025 World Championship as the favourite at odds of 2/1, slightly shorter than namesake Luke Humphries (10/3), the man who had beaten him in the 2024 final.
It should have been a lot of pressure for an unassuming and down-to-earth 17-year-old from Warrington but Littler wore it well. He didn’t produce his best darts early in the tournament and was very emotional upon winning his first-round clash. However, he grew into the tournament, producing plenty of magical moments along the way, and appearing in the final for a second year in a row he proved too good for Michael van Gerwen.
Littler Takes MVG’s Record
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Not yet 18 until the 21st of January, “The Nuke” has broken so many records and re-written the history books. Indeed, during his romp to victory at the 2025 PDC World Championship, he set a new benchmark for the highest set average when he racked up a hard-to-believe 140.91 in the fourth set of his second-round clash. His scoring power is legendary, and he also won the somewhat naffly named Ballon d’Art, awarded to the player who hit the most maximums during the tournament. His tally of 76 was well clear of Van Gerwen’s 56 but it was another record of the Dutchman’s that fell to Littler that attracted the most attention.
In winning the 2025 event the Warrington lad became the youngest ever winner of this tournament. He was a mere 17 years and 347 days old when he beat Michael van Gerwen, also known as MVG, the Dutch ace having previously been the youngest champion. However, Mighty Mike was virtually a pensioner in comparison when he made history in 2014 by winning at the age of 24. That was the first of his three world championship wins and Littler will be targeting a defence of his title next year to move one step closer to Van Gerwen.
Having made the final on his tournament debut in 2024 it always seemed likely that Littler would claim the title before turning 24 to create history. That he did this whilst still not legally allowed to drink shows just how good he is and can be, and that he did it whilst the favourite further enhances his reputation.
Littler’s Run to Glory
As said, The Nuke struggled a little in the early stages of the competition. In the second round, his first of the tournament, he saw off Ryan Meikle 3-1. Whilst he averaged just over 100 (100.85), that tally was hugely boosted by his incredible average in the final set of the clash and for much of the match he was nowhere near his best.
In the third round he faced Ian White and again was unable to produce the sort of darts we all by now know he is capable of. Whilst he won 4-1, his average was just 97.84, only a fraction better than his opponent’s (96.40). In the fourth round, he could have exited the tournament and was taken to a deciding set by Ryan Joyce. Whilst his average was impressive at more than 103, he only won 4-3 in the end and was made to work hard for it.
Nathan Aspinall was Littler’s opponent in the quarter-finals and whilst Littler yet again produced a three-figure three-dart average, he dropped two more sets. He played better in this match though and at times was unplayable, producing a number of sub-12-dart legs. He won the first and last sets 3-0 to set up a semi final with Stephen Bunting.
Bunting, the 2014 BDO world champion, had been in excellent form throughout the tournament. The eighth seed only lost four sets en route to the semis but, despite averaging over 100 against Littler he was blown away 6-1. He had no answer to the youngster’s firepower and ability to produce the big darts when it mattered. Littler averaged 105.48 but it was his ability to win the close sets that told as he won all three that went to a deciding leg.
The Final
A dream come true🤯❤️ WORLD CHAMPION🏆💥 pic.twitter.com/o7PXzI3uwm
— Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) January 4, 2025
MVG also won his semi 6-1, against Chris Dobey, but knew he would need to produce a better performance to stay with Littler. In the end both players would average over 100 in what was a high-class final but we saw a nervous start from both. MVG had chances early on but missed some important darts and Littler punished him savagely at times.
The young pretender, if we can even call him that, raced into a 4-0 lead, none of those sets going to a decider. From there the match was all but over and whilst Mighty Mike showed real character to fight back, the next four sets went 4-3 in Littler’s favour, seeing him take the trophy – and half a million quid – 7-3.
The new world champ boasted a checkout percentage of over 55% and was almost flawless when it came to tops and his favoured 10. He boasted the second, fifth and seventh-highest match averages in the tournament, only failing to average over 100 in a single clash. He is now the youngest world champ the sport has ever seen and amazingly only seven men have had more 100+ averages in PDC World Championship matches than his 10. Phil Taylor has 56, ahead of Van Gerwen’s 42 but they have played in 25 and 17 respectively: Littler has featured in just two!
The comparisons with golf legend Woods may be premature but they are certainly valid. If Littler keeps his head down, many, many more records will come his way and it will be a privilege to watch him.