Luke Littler has revealed that he will be spending the next few weeks ‘chilling on Xbox’ as the dust settles on his incredible run to the World Darts Championship final. The teenage prodigy captured the hearts of the nation thanks to a series of impressive wins over the likes of Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace.
Littler was rewarded for his efforts with a £200,000 prize and a spot on this year’s Premier League tour, where he will be pitted against seven of the world’s top players. He is not in a hurry to return to the oche just yet, though, with the 16-year-old looking forward to spending a few weeks away from the limelight.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Littler wrote: “After the craziest World Championship ever, away for a week’s holiday with my family chilling on Xbox. Lots of FIFA time. And as always keeping an eye on MODUS Super Series, great job as always! Good luck to the six finalists tonight.”
Littler drew the attention of the sporting world thanks to his incredible run at Alexandra Palace, which ultimately ended in defeat at the hands of Luke Humphries. He began the World Darts Championship ranked 164th in the world but has risen to 31st after making it to the final against all odds and shattering a number of records in the process.
The 16-year-old will soon be competing against seven players over 16 weekends on the Premier League tour, which will be held at several venues across the UK and Europe. Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross and Peter Wright have also been invited by the PDC to take part in the prestigious event.
Littler recently explained that he was asked to play in the Premier League almost immediately after his World Darts Championship final defeat, telling Sky Sports: “As soon as I came off the stage, did the media and saw the family, my manager pulled me aside and said: ‘Do you want to do it?’ I said: ‘Let’s do it, it might not happen again’.
“Same as I’ve just come runner-up, that may never happen again, so [I’ve] just got to take every opportunity I can get. I’ll probably have to take a break, maybe from a few Pro Tours, but I knew what was coming as soon as I said yes to the Premier League. This is just going to be an incredible experience.”
Humphries, who will face Littler again on the Premier League tour, added: “I think Luke made the right decision. He’s a top talent in darts now and these are the sorts of things you want to be playing in, massive arenas with the best players in the world, week in and week out. It will grow his game to even greater heights and hopefully it does the same for me as well.”