Destiny Fulfilled: 17 Year Old Darts Phenom Luke "The Nuke" Littler Obliterates Michael van Gerwen And Becomes The Youngest World Champion In The History Of The Sport
Luke Littler started throwing darts at 18 months old. He was found beating fully grown men in pubs when he was just eight years old. He was playing in under 21 leagues at just 11. The man was put on this Earth to throw triple 20s, bullseyes, tops, and double 10s on command. It was more just a waiting game until he was legally allowed to compete at the big stage. Everyone else in the sport had until then to succeed. After that you're at the mercy of his right hand. You no longer control your own fate when it comes to winning championships.
Littler's debut at the World Championships came last year at the age of 16 when he lost in the finals to Luke Humphries. Heartbreak city for the kid. So what did he have up his sleeve for 2025? Well, this time he would not be defeated, in fact he went onto demolish legend of the sport Michael van Gerwen, claiming his first ever World Championship and becoming the youngest in history.
I call that destiny fulfilled.
MVG was straight up horrible in this match to start and Littler pounced like a lion in the savannas of Africa. It was 4-0 in sets before you could blink. Van Gerwen struggled at times to close out tops with three darts in hand. He stood no chance.
It was a straight up dog walking to the delight of a sold out, always raucous crowd at Ally Pally. Littler entered the match a -260 favorite on the moneyline and that surely did not seem like enough.
I had a feeling Littler had this in the bag when he witnessed this walkout during the semifinals and went onto discard this gentleman with ease.
Now he's the youngest world champ in history and he did it beating the Tom Brady of the sport in the finals. Nuts. I can't even begin to tell you how useless I was at 17 years old. Luke has the world by the balls and will only continue to rack up these trophies as long as his heart desires.
Today and the days that follow it belong to Luke "The Nuke" Littler.