What's next for Luke Littler after World Darts Championship win?
WITH the World Darts Championship trophy now safely at home in Warrington, what is next for Luke “The Nuke” Littler?
First, there is a brief period of rest in order to let his monumental achievement sink in before the relentless nature of the darts calendar kicks in again.
Padgate lad Littler became the sport’s youngest ever world champion by beating Michael Van Gerwen in Friday’s final, a year after losing the very same game to Luke Humphries after a run through the tournament that catapulted the unseeded debutant into national superstardom.
What followed was a year of intense media attention, 10 PDC titles and the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award – he also came second to Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson for the main prize – before topping it all off with the biggest prize his sport can offer.
Fans wanting to see Littler in action again do not have to wait long given he is due to defend the Bahrain Darts Masters title he won on his World Series debut last year in less than a fortnight.
The action from Bahrain will take place over two days starting on January 16, with UK viewers able to watch the action unfold live on ITV Sport.
Luke Littler's first tournament as world champion will be his defence of the Bahrain Darts Masters title next weekend (Image: PDC) Littler then turns 18 on January 21 before another potential tournament at the Dutch Darts Masters – where he reached the final last year before losing to Michael Van Gerwen – on January 24-25, although the full line-up for that tournament is still to be revealed.
Having soared to number two in the world rankings, “The Nuke” will also get his first crack at the World Masters at the end of the month – the tournament in Milton Keynes sees the world’s top 24 players plus eight qualifiers battle it out between January 30 and February 2 – before the weekly grind of the Premier League begins.
Littler is defending the title having come out on top in his first year as part of darts’ annual arena tour, and the 2025 edition starts in Belfast on Thursday, February 6.
