16-year-old storms to final of world darts championship with £500,000 prize at stake

LONDON — A 16-year-old named Luke Littler on Wednesday will compete in the final of the PDC World Darts Championship hoping to become the youngest ever winner of the sport’s premier tournament.

Littler will play in the final against new world number one and fellow Brit Luke Humphries with £500,000 ($631,345) up for grabs for the winner at the Alexandra Palace in London. The runner-up will bag £200,000.

It has been a fairytale run for Littler who beat 2018 world champion Rob Cross in the semis to make it to the final.

Coming into the world championship, Littler was ranked 164 by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), the governing body in charge of the tournament. On his course to the final, he has knocked out some highly-ranked names in the sport including five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.

If Littler is victorious, he will be the youngest ever winner of the World Darts Championship. The record is held by Michael van Gerwen who won the title in 2014 at the age of 24.

Littler has grabbed the hearts and minds of fans in the U.K. thanks to his food choices, revealing that he likes to eat a kebab as a post-match meal.

In an interview with Sky Sports after his semi-final win on Tuesday, he revealed what he’ll be doing on the day of the final. “I’ll do what I’ve been doing. In the morning, go for a ham and cheese omelet, then come here have my pizza and then [practise] on the board. That’s what I’ve done every day,” Littler said.

The 16-year old has also earned the respect of his peers, and his finals opponent Humphries.

“I’m probably going to have to play the game of my life … to stand a chance of beating him. I know what’s in front of me, I know the task it is, it is an uphill task. I got to play at my best … I know that,” Humphries said in an interview with Sky Sports after his semi-final win.