Luke Littler has revealed that he’ll treat his family with his new-found riches and pay for his own birthday meal, as well as all of their food, today. The darts wonderkid became a household name at the World Darts Championship earlier this month and then won the Bahrain Masters on Friday night. He turns 17 today (Sunday).
The Warrington talent earned £200,000 in prize money at Alexandra Palace after reaching the World Championship final, although he lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries. Littler returned to the oche in Bahrain after a well-earned break and managed a brilliant nine-dart finish against Nathan Aspinall and a 170 maximum checkout against Gerwyn Price.
He then beat Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in the final to claim £20,000 and his first ever senior PDC Tour title. And the humble teenager, who has surpassed one million followers on Instagram after starting the World Championship with less than 5,000, has shared his plans for his birthday today.
Littler insists he’ll treat his family after raking in the cash at the turn of the year. He told ITV this week: “I land at Heathrow airport in London on Saturday morning, so I’ll be travelling back to Warrington, then relaxing Saturday night. On Sunday, we’ll all go out as a family for a meal, and even though it’s my birthday, I’ll treat them.”
Littler added: “It’s been crazy. The World Championship changed my life, my family’s life, my social media platforms, it’s all gone crazy. We went away to Wales last week, the family and me, for some downtime, to chill out.
“The holiday was great, to get away from everything. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’m getting. I like playing all the time but after the World Championship I wanted to get away.
“I’m in this event in Bahrain, in the Dutch Darts Masters next week and then the Premier League. I don’t really have any goals, I’m just going to have to see what the darts do.”
Luke the Nuke confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that he had “lots of FIFA time” during his break from darts. He has also said he hopes to begin driving lessons now he’s turned 17 to take the pressure off of his dad Anthony, who taxis him to tournaments.
Speaking after winning the Bahrain Masters, he said: “I’ve not really set any goals for this year. I didn’t even expect to pick this trophy up this week. But it’s been good to come here. Great people, a great crowd once again on my side. But I’m just happy. Like I said, there’s no goal for this year, I just have to see what my darts do.”
The 16-player field for the Dutch Darts Masters at Maaspoort Den Bosch, that takes place January 26-27, will include the likes of world champion Humphries, Dutch legends Van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld, and Price alongside Littler.
