Inside Luke Littler’s incredible year, as 17-year-old wins £1m, buys parents a house and rubs shoulders with celeb pals
WHAT a year Luke Littler has had in 2024.
The darts sensation, 17, exploded onto the scene at the World Darts Championship in 2023.
An incredible run at Ally Pally has since propelled him to incredible success on the oche, a rivalry with world No1 Luke Humphries, and huge riches boosted by incredible sponsorship deals
Unlikely friendships have been struck up with sports icons, including David Beckham and Lando Norris.
While he’s even introduced himself to prime time TV audiences, appearing on Bullseye’s Christmas special and sitting on Jonathan Ross’s sofa for a chat show interview.
Better still, he’s gone up in the world – splashing his cash on a mansion with a pool to live in with his parents.
And he’s been recognised at the SPOTY Awards for his astonishing rise.
SunSport looks at Littler’s whirlwind year – starting with success on the stage.
Prize money
Despite losing to Humphries in last year’s showpiece at the World Darts Championship, Littler banked a cool £200,000 for his work.
Currently, his prize money stands at £1,028,500 – but expect that to rise as he gets going at the Palace.
£633,500 of those earnings came from ranking events, while winning the invitational Premier League and World Series of Darts earned a whopping £395,000.
His domination has seen him win 146 of his 190 matches this season.
And his matches have not been short of entertainment.
A natural showman, there have been five nine-darters along the way, as well as over 800 maximums.
It was inevitable that his efforts would be recognised at the SPOTY Awards.
Although he lost out on the main prize to Kelly Hodgkinson, his tux was put to good use as he scooped the Young Sports Personality of the Year Award.
Deals
Littler’s earnings have been boosted by his new found celebrity status.
The sponsors have queued up to throw money at the teenager whose limits know no bounds.
When Littler emerged on the scene, Target Darts signed him up on a bumper contract.
Reports claimed it was the biggest darts sponsorship the game has ever seen.
Then, boohooMAN got in touch and had Littler doing a bit of modelling of their latest clothing range.
If that wasn’t enough, YouTubers Sidemen jumped on the Littler bandwagon – signing him up to promote their brand new cereal, BEST.
In recent weeks, KP Nuts have joined the party by signing him up to a deal that sees their name emblazoned on his shirt when he throws the arrows.
And one that’s close to his heart, being the avid gamer he is, Xbox also partnered with him.
Celebrity mates
Littler’s rise has got him closer to some of his heroes.
After scoring huge success at the Worlds, he was invited to Old Trafford to watch his beloved Manchester United play Spurs.
There, he posed for a snap with legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson and was greeted by Bruno Fernandes.
He even got to walk the hallowed turf at Old Trafford.
While this was all going on, David Beckham had slid into his DMs as the two stuck up an unlikely friendship. Becks is now following him on social media and they have exchanged messages.
Football’s elite also want a piece of Littler.
When Arsenal were staying in the same hotel as the youngster, Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale reportedly asked security for a picture with Littler.
“Shouldn’t it be the other way around,” Littler joked.
F1 ace Lando Norris and Littler also got together to throw some darts and take a spin around the track in a racing car on a tour of Silverstone.
TV stardom
Because he has become so bankable and popular, TV execs now can’t get enough of Littler.
An appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show saw Littler share the sofa with Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown and Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher.
Despite being surrounded by those A-listers, it was Littler who was the top draw.
He even got to give actress Brown a lesson in how to throw darts – who could have foreseen Hollywood and darts crossing over so seamlessly?
Such was Littler’s rise in popular culture, it also spawned a reboot of cult game show Bullseye.
And of course, he wowed the audience and host Freddie Flintoff with a trademark maximum during his cameo.
Living in luxury
Back in June, he teased that he would get a new car after he passed his driving test – a modest Volkswagen.
However, it was then revealed he moved his parents from their £180,000 two-bed semi to a £6,000-a-month flashy property on “Millionaires Row” in Warrington.
The five-bedroom detached pad is in a leafy village on the outskirts of his hometown in Cheshire.
It was Littler’s parents who spilled the beans on their plush new rental home.
The dart’s star’s parents Anthony Buckley, 43, and Lisa Littler, 40 shared loved up snaps of themselves enjoying a swim in its private pool on Instagram.
Behind them, a projection screen showed they were keeping up with the darts, watching Littler’s rival Luke Humphries in action.
The family’s French bulldog Nala was also watching on from a blanket nearby.
Aside from the swimming pool, the property boasts a large garden and has six bathrooms.
In the past year, it’s some life Luke Littler has lived as he’s become a sporting phenomenon.