03 January 2024 , 20:10
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Teenage darts sensation Luke Littler was roared on by thousands of fans and millions of TV viewers despite suffering defeat in his World Championship final on Wednesday night.
Nicknamed ‘The Nuke’, he started the tournament ranked 164th in the world and an 80-1 outsider. But the boy wonder from Warrington won match after match, as well as the nation’s hearts, on the road to the final.
He was already guaranteed a £200,000 pay day after reaching the climax of the PDC World Championship. But he failed to topple tournament favourite Luke Humphries at the Alexandra Palace in London, ultimately missing out on the winner’s trophy and a cheque for £500,000.
A virtual unknown before the start of the event, he is now one of the most famous sports stars in the country after blowing away a string of rivals, including three former world champions, during his teenage rampage to the final. And despite it being only the first week in January, he is already the hot favourite to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December.
Luke’s sister Caitlin, 21, had stayed at home in Warrington to mind the family dog on Wednesday night, but his mum Lisa Littler, 40, who works in a candle shop, and his taxi driver dad, Anthony Buckley, 43, will be in the crowd at the Ally Pally along with Luke’s girlfriend Eloise Milburn, 21, and his brother Leon, 20, who left his bar job to cheer on his sibling.
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Lisa Leyland, landlady of The Millhouse in Warrington, where Leon works, laughed, “I have given him the night off. He is so proud of Luke.” Luke was also backed by members of his pub team ‘The Bogey Flickers’, based at Runcorn Golf Club.
Luke Littler has reached the PDC World Championship final (Getty Images)He has been playing with the lads for the past two years and not surprisingly they are the reigning champions and top of the local league. But team captain Nathan Wheatley, 26, fears the Nuke’s new found fame means he will not be able to pull on their black and green shirt again this season.
“I think after this tournament his appearances are going to be very limited” he laughed. “He has played a lot of youth tournaments around the world this year, so he has been very busy, but every two or three weeks he plays with us. We have not really lost a game in the last 18 months.”
He added: “We got to know him from playing in local tournaments. He gets on with us because we are a young team, the youngest team in Runcorn. He is an unbelievable player. We knew how good he was but I think he has now shown the world how good he is. I think in the next two or three years he will be the world number one, no doubt, he is that good.”
Luke honed his skills from the age of nine at the St Helens Darts Academy in Merseyside. And on Wednesday dozens of youngsters who hope to follow in his footsteps gathered to cheer him on. Academy co-founder Karl Holden said: “We helped him out and pushed him in the right direction, giving him good advice, but just left him on his own really, he is just so naturally talented.
“He is like a Lionel Messi or Ronaldo, super players, when you watch them you can see how good and how different they are, and Luke is like that. He has got better every year. If he gets any better, not many are going to fancy playing him.”
Luke Littler will be supported by his family at Ally Pally (Zac Goodwin/PA Wire)Damon Lewis, chairman of the Sidac Social Club, where the academy is based, said: “Luke is such a nice lad. When he won the youth world championship he brought the trophy in to show it to all the little ones. It was great for them to see it and think ‘we could do that’. It is great for him to come back to his roots and show the little ones what they can achieve.”
Luke will use some of his new found wealth to pay for driving lessons when he turns 17 later this month. And he also plans to treat his pals to a day out in Blackpool or Alton Towers. But the humble youngster is determined to keep his feet on the ground despite his overnight success.
He has promised to buy something special for his mum and dad to thank them for all their sacrifices over the years And once he is old enough to get behind the wheel, he is determined to learn to drive so he does not have to rely on his dad Anthony to ferry him around the country.