This is just the start for Warrington's new megastar

WHO is Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler?

It is a question you may have asked this time last year, but not anymore.

Regular Warrington Guardian readers would have noted him as one to watch for a big future in darts after retaining the JDC World Junior Champion title in 2023 and becoming the youngest PDC World Youth Champion at the age of 16 at the back end of last year.

Luke Littler with the JDC World Junior Champion silverware he retained in December, 2023 (Image: PDC/X)

But nobody could have predicted what was coming next as that youth crown earned him a maiden shot at the greatest event of them all – the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in London.

Quite simply, the button was pressed for ‘The Nuke’ to explode, watched by millions on their televisions in homes and favourite bars across the world over the festive period.

While telling gobsmacked observers that he was just having fun throwing arrows at a board – something he had amazingly been doing since he was 18 months old – he sent packing opponent after opponent, including former world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross, to become the youngest ever finalist.

Raymond van Barneveld congratulates Luke Littler after the young pretender overturned his idol in the 2023/24 World Darts Championship (Image: PA Wire)

Although he lost a close final 7-4 against world number one Luke Humphries, ‘The Nuke’ was suddenly the new darts sensation everyone was talking about.

Thrust into the spotlight, he went viral on social media channels in conversations and debates that transcended the sport, from how somebody with his facial hair growth could be the age he was, to his love for a kebab after playing matches.

A Luke Littler post-match press conference during the 2023/24 World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in London (Image: PA Wire)

His catalytic success sparked a mainstream media frenzy of astronomical proportions, with the former Padgate Academy student and his family commanding a presence at the front and back of newspapers on a global scale.

Almost overnight, this incredible prodigy was singlehandedly attracting a whole new audience to the sport.

And then Littler, £200,000 richer from his Ally Pally adventure and suddenly having to deal with his life-changing experiences, proved his breakout was no fluke, dominating chunks of 2024 to firmly establish himself as the world number four – a leap of 160 ranking places inside 12 months.

He went on to win 10 titles in his first year as a professional, a feat only matched by Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright, and took his earnings beyond the £1million mark with his growing army of fans in arenas across the planet serenading him with his signature anthem “Walking in a Littler Wonderland.”

The way he responded to being defeated at Alexandra Palace had everyone gasping again a few weeks later, and also played a huge part in how his momentous first year on the circuit kicked on.

Not only did he triumph in the next big tournament, his first shot at a World Series of Darts event – the Bahrain Masters – he did so in style, becoming the youngest player to achieve a magical nine-dart leg on the senior tour and in a televised match when he defeated Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals before going on to beat Van Gerwen 8-5 in the title showdown.

Luke Littler celebrates his nine-darter in the Bahrain Darts Masters (Image: PDC)

He had audiences out of their seats and going bananas again with three more nine-darters during his storming 2024, including another televised one against Humphries on his way to glorious Premier League Final success at The 02 Arena in May.

February brought another debut win, this time claiming the Players Championship One title in Wigan where he hit another nine-darter in the last 32.

His monthly winning habit continued, landing another perfect leg in nine darts en route to lifting the Belgian Open title on his European Tour debut.

In April, he triumphed again on the European Tour, securing the Austrian Open.

May brought his glorious Premier League championship silverware salvo, culminating from a maiden campaign which included victories on night nine in Belfast, night 10 in Manchester, night 13 in Liverpool and night 14 in Aberdeen as he went into the play-offs top of the table.

In becoming the youngest ever winner of a PDC major, he described the occasion as the “best night of his life.”

His second World Series win of the year at the Polish Darts Masters ensured June did not pass by without another pay day.

In July he won his second Players Championship honour.

While many of his friends were heading back to school or college in September, Littler came out on top in the World Series of Darts in Amsterdam and two days later added his third Players Championship crown for good measure.

And to cap it all going into this year’s World Darts Championship, Littler was like an unstoppable juggernaut as he engineered his first major ranking title success in November’s Grand Slam of Darts.

Luke Littler enjoying the moment as he lifts the trophy after winning November's Grand Slam of Darts (Image: PDC)

On top of that there were near misses, finishing runner-up in the Players Championship Finals, the German Darts Championship, the Dutch Masters and the Australian Masters.

Along the way he has supported a number of worthy causes, including Prostate Cancer UK, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Luke Littler showing support for Prostate Cancer UK on his shirt (Image: PDC)

Littler, who has adopted Greenlight by megastar rapper Pitbull as his walk-on song, has made appearances on The Jonathan Ross Show and the Fantasy Football League Show as a result of his new-found fame, and will feature in the festive remake of Bullseye alongside Freddie Flintoff on December 22.

He has been a guest at Premier League football matches or training sessions staged by Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, while he played a central role in his beloved Warrington Wolves’ 2024 kit reveal as well as meeting head coach Sam Burgess and the players at training.

Littler also hit the headlines for being named on the Forbes ‘30 under 30’ rich list, and he took a break from the oche to teach F1 superstar Lando Norris “how to drive.”

The summer saw Littler trademark his name for beers, non-alcoholic and energy drinks, just one of many moves the youngster made this year to capitalise on his amazing success story.

Incredibly, this is just the start for Warrington’s new megastar.