Boy wonder Luke Littler's stunning rise will take him from Butlin's to Berlin

The dust has barely settled on Luke Littler's extraordinary performance at the PDC World Darts Championship last week, where he reached the final before losing to Luke Humphries. But attention is already beginning to turn to just how far the 16-yearold's unquestionable talent can take him.

- Aaron Bower

Fortunately, those who have been captivated by his arrival as a major player do not have long to wait to discover what is next.

Already no stranger to an unprecedented situation, Littler will begin 2024 - his first year as a professional - inside the world's top 32 thanks to his run to the Alexandra Palace final, which earned him £200,000 ($254,000) in prize money. It is a remarkable achievement for a player who has, to date, played in two PDC majors - his other big-stage appearance in 2023 was in the UK Open in March when he lost in the fourth round to Adam Gawlas, earning £2,500. He will return to Butlin's in Minehead in two months as a seeded player but there are plenty of arrows to be thrown and plenty of events to be won before then.

Littler will be part of the PDC's flagship invitational event, the Premier League, when it begins next month. Starting in Cardiff on 1 February, Littler will be in Premier League action for 16 consecutive Thursday nights all across Europe in places such as Berlin and Rotterdam.