Seventeen-year-old Luke Littler will become the youngest darts world champion of all time if he beats three-time winner Michael van Gerwen in tonight’s final.
It’s no small task for the darting star – but he’ll have few doubters after a breakthrough 12 months which has seen him win 10 trophies.
Despite his age, Littler, nicknamed “The Nuke”, already has valuable experience of the World Darts Championship final, having made it there last year before getting beaten by world number one Luke Humphries.
The teen has fast become one of the sport’s biggest names – but how did he get here?
Here’s everything you need to know about the darting prodigy – from learning to play in nappies as a toddler to building new rivalries.
Playing darts at 18 months old
Image: Luke Littler celebrates winning his semi-final match against Stephen Bunting. Pic: PA
He may only be a teenager but Littler, from Warrington, Cheshire, has been practising his throwing for some time.
He previously told Sky News: “There’s a video on YouTube of me when I was 18 months in a nappy listening to Raymond van Barneveld’s music, listening to Phil Taylor’s music, doing their celebrations.
“That’s when it started – 18 months and in a nappy on a magnetic board.
“[Aged] four or five I was on a proper board but it was a bit low and then about seven to eight, that’s when I started playing [at] the proper height and the proper length. So it’s just been all darts in my life so far.”
Talent is one thing, but having the right support system to nurture it is just as important.
The teen clearly thinks a lot of his parents, who he said were “proud” of what he had achieved so far.
Image: All eyes were on the teenager as he walked out for the semi-final. Pic: PA
“They just can’t believe [it], I can’t believe it myself,” he told Sky News during the world championships last year.
“But it’s just good to have a set of parents who are supportive and that are always there for me and I’ve got a good management team around me. So it’s just the best group of people that can be around me, to be honest.”
For coaches and friends who watched Littler play at St Helens Darts Academy in his early years, his rapid rise in the professional game is no surprise.
“He was averaging stupid averages that you should be [getting at] like 16 to 20 years old, but he was doing it at 10,” his former coach Karl Holden told Sky News.
“He was special then,” he added.
Eleanor Cairns, who has known the 17-year-old for five years and is also a darts player, told Sky News Littler has got a “natural throw” and showed natural talent “from the start”.
But she believes his success comes down to far more than just being gifted.
“I know he does a lot of practice for the competitions,” Ms Cairns said.
“Luke never really stops playing darts throughout the week either, so he’s definitely always throwing. It does take a lot, but I know he’s worked hard for it.”
Awards, fans and fame
Image: Littler accepts BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award. Pic: PA
Littler’s celebrity status has risen with every dart he’s thrown.
His Instagram account went from 4,000 followers at the start of last year’s tournament to over 450,000 by the final. Now it’s at 1.5 million.
Not only that – the teenager’s prize earnings have now topped £1m.
If he wins tonight, he’ll add £500,000 to his prize pot – and even if he loses he’ll get £250,000.
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Littler talks fame during last world championships
His light-hearted interviews and extraordinary performances led to Littler being named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2024 last month, having been beat to the senior award by 800m runner Keely Hodgkinson.
Posting on X, Littler called the public’s recognition a “huge honour”.
“Support this year has been amazing and [I] want to say thank you to everyone who voted and sent messages,” he said.
The teenager admitted his life has drastically changed as a result of his success.
This time last year, he told Sky Sports his life had already changed.
“I’m doing interviews with Sky Sports. Usually I am up in the morning watching Sky Sports News. Now I am on the news. It’s all incredible. I am taking it all in my stride,” said Littler.
Now, he said it’s at a completely different level.
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Fans cheer on Littler before semi-final
Asked if he can walk down the street or go to the shop without being bothered, he laughed and told Sky Sports News: “Not really. Because it’s only a small town and you get spotted everywhere. But I don’t mind taking pictures and seeing all the fans.”
His career so far
It was his remarkable run to the world championship final last year which made Littler a household name, but his talent had been evident for some time.
He won the England Youth Grand Prix in 2019, became England Youth Open champion in 2021 and won his first senior title at the Irish Open later that year.
He won the Welsh Open in 2022 and in 2023 notched further senior titles at the Isle of Man Classic, Gibraltar Open, British Open and British Classic.
He was also back-to-back JDC World Champion and reigning World Youth Champion.
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But 2024 saw record-breaking success for Littler on the senior stage, seeing him become just the fourth player ever to win 10 trophies in a season.
Even he cannot quite believe how much he has achieved in his debut year, crediting his early victory at the Bahrain Masters, in which he hit a nine-darter, with spurring him on.
“I just wanted to win a few Pro Tours, but obviously winning Bahrain, the World Series, and then it was just European Tours, Pro Tours, and just all the titles I’ve picked up. It just goes to show how well I’ve been playing,” he told Sky Sports News at the end of November.
“It was good to win Bahrain, the first tournament of 2024. I’ve put my hands on it and I just had to build from it there and that’s what I’ve done.”
But he isn’t content with 10.
“I could potentially end the year on 11, couldn’t I? But yeah, I’ve set another record”, Littler said.
“I’ve put my name into the other players who have won 10 titles this year. But like I said, potentially it could be 11 by next year and I’ll try and break the record.
“I got the runner-up on my first go, but yeah, I’d like to win it… I think I can win it.”
Road to the final
Image: Bunting congratulated Littler as the 17-year-old booking his place in the final. Pic: PA
After being exempt from the first round due to being seeded, Littler started the Alexandra Palace tournament with a surprisingly tough bout against Ryan Meikle in round two, recovering from a slow start to dominate the closing stages of the contest, wrapping up a 3-1 victory.
Next up was Ian White in round three, who gave the teenager another scare, forcing a tight opening set before winning the second. But Littler kept a cool head to eventually see his opponent off with a 4-1 win.
Round four saw a 4-3 thriller between Littler and Ryan Joyce, where the favourite never trailed, but was pushed to the limit by his unseeded opponent as he was repeatedly pegged back.
Littler then hit form, hitting 15 maximums against Nathan Aspinall in a 5-2 quarter-final win before thrashing 39-year-old Stephen Bunting 6 sets to 1 to set up the dream Van Gerwen finale.
Growing rivalry with Van Gerwen
Image: Michael van Gerwen embraces Luke Littler after winning a Premier League match in May. Pic: PA
This will be the 13th match-up between the two biggest faces in darts: Littler and Van Gerwen, having won six each in various competitions this year.
The head-to-head might look even, but there has been a stark contrast between the pair’s past 12 months; while Littler has won 10 titles, his Dutch counterpart failed to win a televised tournament in a calendar year for the first time since 2011.
The final is by far the most important meeting between the pair yet, as Van Gerwen, 35, seeks a fourth world title and Littler a first.
If Littler wins, he will also break Van Gerwen’s record as the youngest ever world champion, as the Dutchman won his first aged 24.
The 17-year-old believes time is firmly on his side to get that record wrapped up.
“Well, I know Michael van Gerwen holds the youngest at 24, so I’ve got seven years,” Littler told Sky Sports News.
“I could just slouch about for six years and then just win it when I’m 24.
“But no, I’d like to obviously win it before Michael won it. It’d mean everything. So to be the youngest, that’s definitely what I’d be looking for.”
Despite the jabs, there is no doubt huge respect between the pair.
Asked about Van Gerwen, Littler said: “As I got older, I watched darts more and more. The first one [Van Gerwen match] I remember was the 2017 final when he beat Gary [Anderson].
“He’s been around for years and years and I’m sure he won’t change for anyone.”
Van Gerwen said of Littler: “I think he’s great. What he’s done for the sport is great. Fair play to him.
“Television and social media is big which helps him. It’s good for darts in general. I don’t mind.”
Coverage of the pair’s epic showdown begins live on Sky Sports from 7.30pm tonight.
Former snooker world champion Terry Griffiths has died aged 77 after a lengthy battle with dementia, his family has said.
Griffiths’ son Wayne wrote on Facebook: “To our friends and snooker followers in general, we are deeply saddened to share the news of our loss.
“Terry Griffiths OBE passed away peacefully on 1st December, after a lengthy battle with dementia. He was surrounded by his family in his beloved home-town in South Wales.
“A proud Welshman, Terry was born in Llanelli, brought pride to Llanelli and now he has found peace in Llanelli. He would not have had it any other way.”
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A ‘triple crown’ career
Born in 1947, Griffiths started playing snooker at the age of 13. He also worked as a miner when he was 15, and later had jobs as a bus conductor, a postman, and an insurance agent.
Inspired by fellow Welsh snooker player Ray Reardon – a six-time world champion who died in July – Griffiths turned professional and later won the World Championship in 1979 as a qualifier.
He went on to complete snooker’s illustrious “triple crown” – one of only 11 players to do so – by winning the Masters in 1980 and then the UK Championship in 1982.
Griffiths stayed at the top end of the sport during the 1980s and early 1990s, reaching at least the quarter-finals of the World Championship for nine straight years, and reaching the final again in 1988.
After retiring in 1997, Griffiths became a coach, inspiring the likes of Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Mark Allen. He also received an OBE in 2007 for services to snooker.
‘A legend of a man’
Williams – a three-time world champion – was among the first to pay tribute on social media, describing Griffiths as a “mentor, coach, friend, legend”.
Allen also said on social media: “What a legend of a man who helped shape my career and life both on and off the table.
“Absolutely heartbroken. He wasn’t just a coach, he was family.”
Read more from Sky News: Boys charged after suspected chemical attack Wallace on ‘middle-class women of certain age’ Prince William pays tribute to Rob Burrow
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After winning the UK Championship on Sunday, current world number one Judd Trump said: “It is incredibly sad news. He is a legend of the game.
“Terry was a very witty guy. Whenever I was at the Welsh Open, he would come over and make a joke. I had a good connection with him.
“It is hard to connect with some of the older generation but he was someone I felt I could get along with. It is a sad day for Welsh sport.”
In 2020, when asked about his hairstyle that looked similar to the Welshman’s, Trump said: “I want to be like Terry Griffiths. Hopefully I can play as slow as him one day as well.”
Former world champion Shaun Murphy also said: “Just hearing the news that Terry Griffiths has passed away. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
The Welsh Billiards and Snooker Association – of which Griffiths was president – added it was “deeply saddened” and sends its “deepest condolences to Terry’s family”.
Back fighting at Wembley for the first time since 2020, Anthony Joshua has the chance tonight to put himself into a small, elite group of heavyweights.
To be a three-time heavyweight champion of the world is a rare thing – only five men have done it.
Publicly Joshua said it is not his priority: “It would be phenomenal, but greatness is in character as well.
“If you’re a good person, you’re a great person, you don’t need a title.”
But his promoter Eddie Hearn said he understands what the win would mean.
“I think this is the first time I’ve heard him allude a little bit to the legacy part because for him it’s all about the performance,” he told Sky News.
“But he knows what’s on the line on Saturday. It’s a very small group – three-times heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis – there aren’t many.
“I think he’d realise the magnitude of what this would mean and how it would position him for a shot at the Fury vs Usyk 2 winner.”
There’s no doubt Joshua wants the win desperately, his fifth in a row since a double loss to Oleksandr Usyk. Lose tonight and he’s back down the pecking order with another rebuild ahead of him at the age of 36.
He said it’s a “must-win fight – I’m going to do my best – what will be will be”.
“I want to win (this) a lot – a lot – I work hard, I work really hard, I kept my head down and what will be will be now and I’ll leave it to the big man upstairs,” Joshua said.
But Hearn describes a possible defeat as a catastrophe – and says it is a “what if” question that has been asked a lot.
“Since the Andy Ruiz loss people have asked that question,” he tells Sky News, “but [Joshua’s] enjoying boxing more than ever in my opinion”.
“He looks better than ever, he’s more of a complete fighter than ever, but of course when you lose it’s catastrophic.
“The difference here between winning and losing is a very wide margin – if you win, you issue yourself as almost king of the sport.
“If you lose, you’ve lost to Daniel Dubois, the younger fighter, it’s a bigger climb back up to the top. We must win on Saturday night.”
Image: Eddie Hearn
Daniel Dubois, his younger opponent by nine years, stands in the way and he has it all to prove.
The holder of the IBF belt, he was awarded that world title in June as a result of winning an eliminator bout against Filip Hrgovic, and because Usyk wasn’t in a position to defend it due to his upcoming rematch with Tyson Fury.
He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s on a roll.
“It’s all meant to be. I’m in the right place at the right time, I just need to stay in my bubble,” he said.
“I need to legitimise it, win and show the world that I’m the man.”
Hearn recognises the danger of Dubois, who famously rocked AJ during a sparring session when he was younger.
“He’s incredibly dangerous,” he said. “People keep asking me if [Dubois will] be able to control his emotions and the madness of 96,000, and I think the answer is no and that makes him more dangerous.
“Because whatever the game plan is, I think he is going to come out like a train, come out wild and that makes him more dangerous – but he can also walk on to something big from Anthony Joshua early in the fight.
“I cannot imagine a world where this fight goes 12 rounds. These are two very fast very big punching heavyweights they’re dangerous every second of this fight.”
Frank Warren, the veteran promoter of Dubois, thinks it’s time for his man to show what he’s made of and it could be a “changing of the guard” in the heavyweight scene.
Read more: What’s next for Tyson Fury? Usyk ‘gifts’ IBF title away
Image: Frank Warren
“I’ve got a lot of faith in him, he’s on a really good roll at the moment but so is AJ. I feel this could be his moment – he’s a big, big puncher,” Warren said.
“It’s part of the business, this what he has to do – step up and show what he’s all about. It comes with the territory: you’ve either got it or you ain’t got it.
“When he gets in that ring on Saturday, you’ve got blinkers on. Forget about the crowd, forget about everybody and look what’s in front of you.”
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For Hearn, the occasion – a packed Wembley, a scenario Joshua has been comfortable with many times – could be the deciding factor. He has no doubts about the way his fighter will handle it.
“The way he carries himself, he’s been here so many times before,” he said.
“When you walk out on Saturday in front of 96,000 to have a fight with another 6ft 5 gentleman in front of the world, you better hold yourself together.
“I know AJ won’t have a problem holding himself together but it’s still a dangerous, dangerous task.”
A champion boxer has died in hospital three days after being injured in a motorbike accident.
Andrew Tham, 28, was riding a Kawasaki bike when it was involved in a collision with a Hyundai Tucson car in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, on Thursday evening.
Emergency services attended and Mr Tham was taken to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, but he died on Sunday.
Mr Tham, who was known as Andy, became Scottish featherweight champion last September after beating Jack Turner.
The Cumbernauld sportsman was managed by St Andrew’s Sporting Club.
‘He will be greatly missed’
In a post on X, the club said: “Andy was a champion in the ring, and a character out of the ring.
“It has been an honour to have him in our stable for the entirety of his professional boxing career and he will be greatly missed by us all.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
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Boxer George Stewart, who beat Mr Tham in a bout last month, said he was “absolutely devastated”.
Posting on Facebook, he added: “A true warrior. I have no words to describe this devastating news other than heartbreaking.
“My thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends.”
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Mr Tham won his featherweight title on the undercard of the Battle of the Legends fight between boxing greats Ricky Burns and Willie Limond at Braehead Arena.
The Renfrewshire venue said staff were “shocked and saddened”.
Posting on X, a spokesperson added: “Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this sad time,
“The team have many fond memories of his fight here in 2023.”
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Robert Smith, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, added: “The British Boxing Board of Control send their sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Andrew Tham following his tragic passing.
“Our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times.”
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The crash occurred on the B8039, near to Lenziemill Road, at around 6.50pm.
Sergeant Gemma Blackadder said: “Our thoughts are very much with Andrew’s family and friends at what is a very difficult time for them.
“Enquiries into the full circumstances of this crash continue.
“If you believe you have information that will assist our enquiries or if you have any dashcam footage, please contact 101.”
