Luke Littler makes history as youngest world darts champion

British teenager Luke Littler made history on Friday night in London, becoming the youngest world darts champion at the age of 17.

The young man from Warrington threw 12 maximum scores of 180 (60 points per dart, all landing in the triple 20s) in a one-sided final which saw him defeat Michael van Gerwen 7-3. The Dutchman, a three-time world champion himself, was never really in contention, despite throwing 13 maximums of 180, and failed to land the crucial double scores needed to complete each round.

Three weeks before his 18th birthday^th birthday, Littler became a gaming superstar who saw new levels of popularity thanks to his meteoric rise. Demand for attendance was unprecedented for the final, with ticket prices reaching £1,000 online on the day of the event.

Littler began playing darts at a young age and soon began beating grown men. He credits his skills with the hours of practice he was able to put in during lockdown, and previously said The Times of London in an interview that he would consider retiring at the age of 27, if he had enough of the game by that time.

He reached the same final last year, but was then beaten by Luke Humphries. Since then, Littler has become the youngest player ever to complete a nine-dart course, the shortest course of 501 to zero, and achieved the same feat again this week en route to bagging the Championship prize. world PDC of £500,000 plus a trophy.