How Luke Littler sent darts into the stratosphere

£125m Sky TV deal after teen wins the world title, but is Alexandra Palace big enough to cope?

- MATT VERRI

In the midst of big trophies and bigger cheques, Luke Littler's 18th birthday celebrations were predictably unassuming. A month ago, he strolled out of Alexandra Palace as the youngest-ever world darts champion. Littler took home £500,000 in prize money and, two weeks later, it left those closest to him with a conundrum. What do you buy a teenager with interests typical for his age but circumstances that are anything but? "We had a joint party for me and my brother with family and friends," Littler tells Standard Sport. "They didn't know what to get me, so it was just a case of buying me Xbox gift cards, even though I am sponsored by them. But I definitely still took the gift cards!" That Littler marked turning 18 by playing EAFC 25 and going bowling with his friends is unsurprising to anyone who has followed his refusal to get carried away with stardom.

There are still regular reminders of his new normal, whether it be photographers following his dad to the local chip shop, or the company he is keeping, at least statistically. Donald Trump, the Princess of Wales and Littler are an unlikely trio, but they were the three most-searched people on Google last year in the UK.

The World Championship again delivered Sky Sports' biggest viewing figures outside of football, while Littler has paraded the Sid Waddell trophy at Old Trafford, been driven around Silverstone by Lando Norris, and starred in Bullseye's Christmas special in recent months.

Double your money

"It's only going to get bigger," Littler predicts. "I've played a massive role in the game getting to where it is. Darts is not going to go off the map, it's going to stay at the top for a very long time." Legendary referee Russ Bray has seen first-hand the impact of Littler through the download figures for his darts scoring app. "Last year what I would normally make in one month, it was suddenly 13 times that for two or three months," Bray says.