Following another historic evening in the fledgling darting career of Luke Littler, the inevitable questions begin to pour in: just how many more times can he stand on the sacred Ally Pally stage with the PDC World Championship held aloft?
So far, the answer is two. A long way to go before he threatens the almost mythical sixteen world crowns won by the immortal Phil Taylor. Yet while that figure feels distant, if anyone in our lifetime is capable of even approaching it, it is Littler. Age is, quite clearly, on his side. At just 18 years old, time is a luxury he has in abundance. Taylor was roughly double that when he claimed his first world title. While comparisons between eras are always fraught with caveats and context, that age gap is indisputable.
Yes, Taylor dominated during a period many argue lacked the depth and competitiveness of today’s game. Back then, the same familiar names routinely collected the major televised trophies. In contrast, the modern era has seen a far broader spread of champions, particularly throughout the current decade, with new names continually entering the winner’s circle.
Editors note: The above paragraph and argument can also be seen as evidence of the remarkable talent and performance of Taylor during that period. Are we to believe that the competitors were lesser, or perhaps The Power simply forced them to be in the same way The Nuke appears to be doing now?
And yet, Littler still appears to be operate on a level above the rest. The PDC is packed with world-class operators, all capable of producing elite performances, but the 18-year-old so often looks like a class of one. It would not be unreasonable to suggest that when the world number one hits his A game, he simply does not lose. Simple as that.
In just two full years on the PDC tour, he has captured every ranking major available to him, with few exceptions: the European Championship, currently owned by his opponent in this evening’s final, Gian van Veen. Earlier in the season, Littler openly stated his desire to win at least one of every major title, leaving just that single piece missing from the collection. He has already added Premier League success to his CV as well – unranked, yes, but still one of the sport’s most prestigious prizes.
The truth is, if Luke Littler can sustain his electric form – and there is absolutely no indication of any slowdown – then the ceiling is extraordinarily high. Sixteen world titles remain at least fourteen years away, which would place The Nuke at the age of 32. Not far removed from his namesake, Luke Humphries, who is currently 30.
It sounds astronomical, even absurd, to suggest Littler could dominate the sport for the next decade and a half. Preposterous? Probably. Not because Luke is incapable, but because the very idea feels almost impossible, or at least improbable. But that is precisely what Littler seems to thrive on. At the beginning of 2024, the notion that we would already be examining a résumé like his would have sounded like pure fantasy. And yet, there it is, laid out plainly in black and white.
If – and it is a very big if – Luke Littler continues to ply his trade into his fifties, then winning one world title every two years suddenly does not feel so implausible. Many believe that if he fails to break every record available, it will be because he simply did not stay around long enough to threaten them.
The truth is we will only get an inkling of the likelihood of such feats when the Warrington Wonder is challenged repeatedly. Taylor had a knack of surging when new opponents entered the arena or threatened his dominance – see Priestley and Van Barneveld. He did this for two and half decades as opposed to roughly the same number of years that Mr. Littler has reigned so far.
Right now, The Nuke has the darting world at his feet. He has likely already earned enough to never worry about money again. But for Littler, this does not appear to be about finances. It is about dominance. He wants to put down his tungsten having cemented himself as the greatest of all time. If that greatness is measured solely by world titles, then the final reckoning may still be decades away.
Whatever Luke Littler achieves from this point onwards, after just two years as a professional, his name is already carved deep into darting immortality. His legacy is secure. How much it grows from here is entirely up to him.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
