Luke Littler has the chance to claim the World Darts Championship title and the £500k jackpot tonight.

One year ago Littler announced himself to the world of darts with an emphatic run to the World Championships final, having only qualified due to his placement from the PDC Development Tour. He overcame the likes of childhood hero Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross, but the dream would be ended by Luke 'Cool Hand' Humphries at the last hurdle.

Little did Littler know - just 16 years of age at the time - of the doors that would be opened by the mere mention of his name throughout the 2024 season.

READ MORE: Man United transfer news LIVE - Deal confirmed, medical 'booked', Dani Olmo update

READ MORE: Luke Littler vs Michael van Gerwen reaction after The Nuke crowned world champion

After turning 17 on January 21 of last year, he acquired his PDC Tour Card and went on to play in seven more tournaments. The highlight was an invitation to the elite Premier League, touring the continent between February and May and eventually taking home the title and £275k prize money.

The winning didn't stop there, with victories at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton and Amsterdam's World Series of Darts Finals capping a fine 2024.

PDC's Order of Merit, calculated by prize money won over the past two seasons, saw Littler end the year as fourth in the world with earnings of £618k. Added to further bonuses and the numerous sponsorship deals, 'The Nuke' has a speculated net worth of over £1m - and that is only from one year's worth of darts.

His level of fame has skyrocketed, winning the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year awards in December, and during the same month the spotlight he has helped bring upon darts saw the cult TV game show Bullseye return to our screens for a Christmas special, featuring Littler alongside host Freddie Flintoff.

Tonight he hopes to claim the World Darts Championships title as he almost managed to one year ago. He faces 35-year-old Van Gerwen - who is almost 18 years his senior.

'Mighty Mike' was once the crown prince of the darts world, starting out as a 13-year-old in the Netherlands, joining the pro tour at 18, and living up to his potential by becoming the man with the most Premier League titles in history (seven) and winning the World Championships in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

The current world No.3 has won 157 PDC titles in total, making him the second-most successful player ever behind Phil 'The Power' Taylor's 214.

If Littler - 17 years and 347 days old - is victorious at Ally Pally this evening, he would smash the record for the youngest player ever to win the tournament. That is currently held by 'The Cobra', Jelle Klaasen, who won the competition aged 21 years and 90 days in 2006.