03 February 2024 , 07:43
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Darts sensation Luke Littler has earned himself a new lucrative sponsorship after it was confirmed he has teamed up with fashion retailer boohooMAN.
The 17-year-old was officially announced as a representative for the clothes brand less than three hours before his Premier League debut in Cardiff. Littler has taken to the world of sport by storm since his memorable run to the World Championship final at Alexandra Palace last month.
Littler beat the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross en route to the final, before losing out to Luke Humphries. After winning his first World Series event at the Bahrain Masters and reaching the final at the Dutch Masters, Littler made his debut on the Premier League stage on Thursday.
However, shortly before he faced Humphries, Littler was unveiled as a model for boohooMAN as he continues to grow his career on and off the darts oche. BoohooMAN tweeted: "IT'S OFFICIAL: boohooMAN x @lukethenuke180. "Welcome to the MAN family! We’re excited for the year ahead!"
Littler has amassed a large fanbase as well as media attention since his barnstorming performance at the World Championship and supporters are now able to buy his trademark purple shirt. The jersey is coming in at £49.95, with first shipments expected to come within the next number of weeks.
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Having been too young to advertise Premier League and betting sponsors, Littler chose his own and opted with the Motor Neurone Disease association. Littler explained that his decision had been motivated by former Leeds rugby union star Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with the illness in 2019.
Michael Smith embraces Luke Littler as he celebrates victory in Cardiff (Getty Images)Littler gained more revenge on Humphries in their quarter-final match-up on Thursday as the teenage sensation romped to a 6-2 victory. That earned him a semi-final clash against Michael Smith, but it was 'Bully Boy' who ended up coming out on top in a 6-5 thriller as Littler finished the evening on one point.
Smith, who eventually went on to win the opening night after beating Gerwyn Price 6-2 in the final, praised Littler in his press conference. The 2013 world champion said: "I actually thought in the semi-final Luke Littler was Welsh. It's going to be every week, it doesn’t matter where it is.
"Everyone's fallen in love with him. He's even bigger than Phil Taylor, who won 16 world titles. Luke is the most popular thing in darts."
He continued: "I'm going to ride the wave. People keep following, sponsors keep coming in, and the prize money is going up for us lads. When I walked in this afternoon there were no interviews.
"Luke Littler walked in and it was 'can you do this one, can you do that one?'. That was me last year. This time I got to sit and chill, break up my time on the board and it worked."