Category: Darts

Darts prodigy has navigated being a teenager while simultaneously transforming his sport

Lionel Messi had scored one senior goal for Barcelona. Sachin Tendulkar had scored one Test century. Tiger Woods had played four tournaments on the PGA Tour and missed the cut in all of them. Ronnie O’Sullivan and Serena Williams had just won their first major titles. Simone Biles, though already richly garlanded at international level, was still waiting to compete in her first Olympics.

These were just the other child prodigies. What had you achieved by the age of 18? How many of your dreams and aspirations had been conceived, let alone realised? How much of the course of your life had been mapped out for you? At the age of 18, your correspondent had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and at the age of 39 arguably still doesn’t.

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• New champion ‘would need 20 years to surpass 16 titles’
• ‘Everybody raises their game against you’

Phil Taylor has backed Luke Littler to break his record of 16 world titles but says the 17-year-old darts phenomenon will have to overcome “Man Utd syndrome” to do it.

Littler became the youngest player to win the world championship at Alexandra Palace earlier this month to complete a brilliant debut year on tour. After securing his first crown, Littler has said he could attempt to top Taylor’s tally if he has the desire over the next couple of decades.

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The 17-year-old could reign supreme for years but at some point his unassailability risks dulling the sport’s edges

You know what? I reckon this is the year Luke Littler could finally be ready for the Premier League. Obviously we all still want to wrap him up in cotton wool. Obviously we’re all still deeply concerned about how the attention and pressure could affect his game. But my bet – if the evidence of the last 12 months is any guide – is that he might just be able to handle it.

Premier League champion, Grand Slam champion, a slew of victories across eight different countries in the Pro Tour, the European Tour and the World Series. Nine-dart finishes falling out of his sleeves. Had he not also gone on to win his first world championship at the age of 17, we would still be toasting one of the most remarkable full debut seasons ever seen in the sport’s professional era.

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• ‘I’ve got the ability’ to break record, says 17-year-old
• Littler earns praise from Taylor and David Beckham

Luke Littler believes he can hunt down Phil Taylor’s record of 16 world titles after becoming the youngest ever PDC world darts champion.

The 17-year-old consolidated his status as the biggest star in the game by winning the PDC World Championship with a comprehensive 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen in Friday’s final at Alexandra Palace in London.

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Luke Littler, 17, turned a dream final into a procession to become the youngest world champion in darts history

Read Jonathan Liew on semi-final night

Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen: turns out this was the preamble. When the chroniclers of the future come to write the tale of this sport, they will recognise two eras: before Luke Littler, and after.

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Luke Littler was too good for Nathan Aspinall while Michael van Gerwen beat Callan Rydz in an epic on quarter-final day

Dobey 0-1 Price (legs 2-3) Price steals the first set with a majestic 11-dart break! He made it back-to-back COMAAANNNNNNNNNS with a 180 on his first visit, nicking the darts in the process. An excellent 140 left him on 82 after nine – and he needed only two more on his next visit: bullseye, D16, COMANNNNNN.

In the context of Dobey’s quarter-final woes, that’s a brutal start from Price.

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The Guardian and Observer sport photographer selects his favourite images of the year and recalls the stories behind them

It’s been quite a year, and one totally dominated by the “big three”: the men’s Euros in Germany and the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. This a personal selection of my favourite pictures, a few of which haven’t been published before. Some have been chosen for their news value; others are here because there’s a nice tale behind them.

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• Littler overcomes slow start to defeat Ian White 4-1
• Van Gerwen into last 16 by beating Brendan Dolan 4-2

Luke Littler struggled to hit top form but still did enough to ease into the last 16 of the world championship with a 4-1 win over Ian White at Alexandra Palace. The 17-year-old survived a series of errant doubles and had set darts against him in the first and fourth sets before finding his range when it mattered to sink his veteran opponent.

Littler, who averaged just under 98 for the match, told Sky Sports: “It was tough, Ian threw everything at me and I had to stay switched on. It was just a case of settling into it. I know what’s gone wrong tonight – the doubles – but most importantly, I’ve won.”

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• Heta’s feat is second nine-darter at 2025 tournament
• Humphries sets up fourth round tie with Peter Wright

The world No 1 Luke Humphries continued his bid for back-to-back World Darts Championship titles after easing through to the last 16.

There was high drama in Alexandra Palace on the first day back after the Christmas break, where Damon Heta threw a nine-dart finish before Humphries enjoyed a serene evening.

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• Sixth seed falls to Ricky Evans in sudden-death leg
• Fifth seed takes first set but loses 3-1 to Scott Williams

Former champion Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall crashed out of the PDC world championship as more seeds were scattered at Alexandra Palace.

Cross, the fifth seed and 2018 champion, lost 3-1 to Scott Williams while Ricky Evans survived a match dart against him to upset Chisnall, the sixth seed, in an epic second-round clash decided by a sudden-death leg.

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• Winner in 2015 and 2016 beaten 3-0 by Jeffrey de Graaf
• Joe Cullen storms out of press conference after win

The two-time winner Gary Anderson endured a 54th birthday to forget as he crashed out of the PDC World Darts Championship following a shock second-round defeat by Jeffrey de Graaf.

The Scot, champion in 2015 and 2016, hit just three of his 20 checkout attempts as he was whitewashed 3-0 to fall in his opening match of the tournament for the first time. Anderson was the highest profile casualty on a day of upsets at Alexandra Palace in London following exits for fellow seeded players Ross Smith, Martin Schindler, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Ritchie Edhouse.

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• Teenager into third round after 3-1 win over Ryan Meikle
• Littler just misses nine-dart finish in fourth set

A tearful Luke Littler came within millimetres of opening his quest for a maiden World Championship crown with a nine-dart finish as he beat Ryan Meikle in record-breaking fashion.

The teenage sensation was back on the Alexandra Palace stage 12 months on from his remarkable debut run to the final and showed everyone why he is the favourite to win the title.

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• No 2 seed loses tiebreak to crash out in second round
• Smith will drop out of world top 10 after dip in form

Michael Smith’s alarming run of form continued as he crashed out of the world championship at the first hurdle in a stunning defeat by Kevin Doets. Smith’s form has spiralled since he became world champion in 2023 and it hit a new low after Doets won a deciding set tiebreak 6-4 to claim a 3-2 victory.

For Smith, who was seeded second, not only will he be home and out of the competition before Christmas, he will also drop out of the top 10 in the new year. Doets was able to earn his Alexandra Palace redemption after losing to Smith in a final-set decider at the same stage 12 months ago.

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