The story of Luke Littler is currently enchanting the entire darts world. The 16-year-old has marched through the World Cup tournament so far and is being celebrated – but it’s not necessarily a miracle.
Day after day, the fans in the “Ally Pally“, the temple of darts, their creativity. Unusual costumes, but also newly designed songs, often world-famous songs that were rewritten for their heroes. The roar was particularly famous “Ooooooone Phil Taylor, walking along, singing this song, walking in a Taylor Wonderland” at a time when the precision sport began to grow in Germany.
Darts has now become a mass phenomenon, especially around Christmas and the New Year, when the World Cup takes place in London. Phil Taylorthe record-championhasn’t been active for a few years, but his song is experiencing a resurgence this year Renaissance – because the fans are bringing it back to life for a 16-year-old who has a lot in common with the darts legend.
Van Barneveld describes Littler as a “darts robot”
Instead of Phil Taylor it is now Luke Littlerwhich in the “Littler Wonderland” goes for a walk and sings this song. The teenager has enchanted the crowds at “Ally Pally”, the media is full of the story of the young man who graduated from school six months ago and has been hanging out at home since then. “I get up, play Xbox, then go to the dartboard. I don’t leave the house“said Littler on Saturday (December 30, 2023), the biggest day of his young career.
Shortly before, he had been with the 40-year-old man Raymond van Barneveld defeated his great role model and made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Littler played an incredible three-dart average with over 105 points per shot, hitting nearly 50 percent of his attempts at doubles. This also impressed van Barneveld, who was Taylor’s great opponent in earlier times and became world champion himself when Littler was not yet born. “It looks like you are playing against a darts robot. I didn’t throw that badly, but that’s not normal. Incredible.”
And the German darts professional Max Hopp, who is at the World Cup as a “Sport1” expert, is also blown away. “This is absolute madness. We’re starting to run out of superlatives, this guy is really special. The darts world hasn’t seen anything like this for years, Littler is an absolute prodigy” said Hopp.
A Londoner Success story like Boris Becker?
The Littler story is already being compared in London with that of Boris Becker, who sensationally won the world’s largest tennis tournament in the district in 1985 at the age of 17 Wimbledon could win. The current history of darts – viewed quite soberly – is much more expected than Becker’s victory and not necessarily a “Wonder“, which is what the young Englishman’s path to success at the World Cup is often described as.
Littler is said to have thrown his first darts before his second birthday, and videos of him playing the game as a three-year-old are going viral these days. He has been putting everything into becoming a successful professional for a long time. He is advised and supported by Taylor – exactly, the legend Phil Taylor – and is referred to as the Lionel Messi of darts. “I predict he will be one of the best players of all time. He is the best teenager I have ever seen in my life” Taylor said of him.
Phil Taylor provides Luke Littler with advice and support.
Van Gerwen as a possible final opponent
Someone who doesn’t want to take part in this hype is Michael van Gerwen. Only in the World Cup final could there be a duel between Littler and the Dutch superstar, who has not yet lost a set in the tournament. “I was better at his age” countered van Gerwen when Taylor called his protégé “best teenagers” exclaimed. On January 3rd, Littler would have the opportunity to prove his great mentor right with a victory in the final.
“I’ve already won four games, why shouldn’t I win three more?“, said Littler on Saturday at “DAZN”. There is no trace of nervousness in him, in the many interviews and especially on the big darts stage. Whoever is at “The Nuke” (“The Atomic Bomb”) suspected, was proven wrong at the latest during his gala performance against van Barneveld.
Luke Littler posted the highest and second highest averages in the World Cup tournament so far.
After the tournament we go to the amusement park
Littler will face the quarterfinals on New Year’s Day Brendan Dolan, who was also no longer expected to be in the tournament at this point. The ex-champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson defeated the Northern Irishman on his way to the last eight – and now he wants to “Littler Wonderland” to silence.
But even then the path is set for Littler. Before the World Cup he was number 164, but now he has worked his way up to 72nd place and has earned the biggest prize money of his career to date with over 57,000 euros. Littler wants to go to the amusement park with his friends.”Alton Towers“, where a ticket costs around 40 euros. He is an absolute professional on the dartboard, but as a 16-year-old boy he is also a completely normal teenager.