‘Luke Littler was bred for the job’, says BBC icon Des Lynam as he hails teenager’s World Darts Championship charge
FORMER BBC presenter Des Lynam claims Luke Littler was “bred for the job” amid his incredible sporting rise.
Littler burst onto the scene at the 2023-24 Word Darts Championship aged just 16 and made it to the final on his first attempt.
Despite losing out to Luke Humphries on the Ally Pally stage, he earned a spot in the Premier League Darts line-up alongside some of Europe’s top stars.
And at the end of his debut campaign, he got revenge on Humphries to win the title.
Littler also won several other accolades in 2024 – including the World Series of Darts.
He ended the year by winning the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award.
But the 17-year-old is now eyeing the biggest prize in darts – the World Championship title.
Littler faces Stephen Bunting tonight in the semi-finals.
The Nuke has remained the favourite throughout the competition.
And former Match of the Day host Lynam has praised him for his incredible influence on the sport.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
World Darts Championship - top stories
READ MORE on all the build-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza...
All the info:
- All the action as it happens in our LIVE BLOG
- Everything you need to know about the Ally Pally extravaganza
- How much prize money can be won?
- What is the format for the tournament?
- Who are the Sky Sports presenters and pundits?
- How much do players and crowd win for a nine-darter?
- Gerwyn Price’s tattoos
- The Ally Pally wasp
News, features and interviews:
- Mardle to take step back after tragic death of wife Donna
- Emma Paton reveals rise as Queen of Darts
- Kyle Walker has a night at the darts
- Callan Rydz laughs off fans’ mean song about hair
- Bobby ‘Dazzler’ George: ‘Today’s players are wrapped in cotton wool’
- Luke Littler ‘hasn’t got many mates on the tour’
- Peter Wright ‘talks crap,’ says rival MVG
In a column for The Telegraph, he wrote: “Darts has now become a masterpiece of sports TV, benefiting from some excellent players from around the world and, in particular, the superstardom of Luke Littler, recently voted second in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.
“He had a tricky passage against Ryan Joyce to reach Wednesday’s quarter-finals.”
He added: “If Littler does win the title, he will earn £500,000.
“He was bred for the job; his parents introduced him to the game when he was just a toddler but it has become clear that the competition is getting tougher.”
Should he beat Bunting tonight, Littler will face either Chris Dobey or Michael van Gerwen in Friday’s final.
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of Darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once – Barney also won four BDO titles – and none of Eric Bristow’s five BDO titles are included.
- 1994 – Dennis Priestley
- 1995 – Phil Taylor
- 1996 – Phil Taylor (2)
- 1997 – Phil Taylor (3)
- 1998 – Phil Taylor (4)
- 1999 – Phil Taylor (5)
- 2000 – Phil Taylor (6)
- 2001 – Phil Taylor (7)
- 2002 – Phil Taylor (8)
- 2003 – John Part
- 2004 – Phil Taylor (9)
- 2005 – Phil Taylor (10)
- 2006 – Phil Taylor (11)
- 2007 – Raymond van Barneveld
- 2008 – John Part (2)
- 2009 – Phil Taylor (12)
- 2010 – Phil Taylor (13)
- 2011 – Adrian Lewis
- 2012 – Adrian Lewis (2)
- 2013 – Phil Taylor (14)
- 2014 – Michael van Gerwen
- 2015 – Gary Anderson
- 2016 – Gary Anderson (2)
- 2017 – Michael van Gerwen (2)
- 2018 – Rob Cross
- 2019 – Michael van Gerwen (3)
- 2020 – Peter Wright
- 2021 – Gerwyn Price
- 2022 – Peter Wright (2)
- 2023 – Michael Smith
- 2024 – Luke Humphries
Most World Titles
- 14 – Phil Taylor
- 3 – Michael van Gerwen
- 2 – John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
- 1 – Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries