Luke Littler arrived at Madison Square Garden carrying virtually every significant accolade available in professional darts, yet one notable omission continues to elude his increasingly illustrious résumé. Despite capturing the World Championship, Premier League and World Cup titles during an extraordinary 2026 campaign, the US Darts Masters remains absent from his growing collection of silverware.
The 19-year-old has established an extraordinary level of dominance over the sport during the past twelve months, consolidating his position as world number one while continuing to redefine expectations of what can be achieved at such a young age.
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Alongside World Cup partner Luke Humphries, Littler has become the standard by which the modern game is measured. Nevertheless, success in New York remains a personal objective.
The Nuke got off to a solid start to this year’s hosting last night with a solid (6-4) win over Canadian representative David Cameron.
Reflecting on his remarkable rise during an interview with Ariel Helwani, Littler remained characteristically understated when assessing the transformation in his career.
“Yeah, I think I’m the same person, just with the added two World Championship trophies and also the World Cup that I just won with Luke Humphries for Team England,” he said. “Other than that, yeah, same old life. Busy travelling, and we’re in New York again.”
When Helwani also referenced his Premier League triumph, Littler acknowledged the magnitude of his achievements before reiterating the significance of the challenge ahead.
“Premier League title, yeah,” Littler replied. “A lot’s happened, but obviously when I come to New York, I want to win this title and yeah, I’ve not won it yet.”
His return to the United States follows an emotionally demanding Premier League season, culminating in an 11-10 victory over Humphries in the London final. However, the title success masked the considerable adversity he encountered throughout the campaign, with persistent booing and whistling from sections of the crowd becoming a recurring feature of his appearances.
Discussing that difficult period, Littler admitted the experience had been deeply testing.
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“I think it’s one of the things, and I said it against Rob Cross,” he said. “I said it after the game: what’s the point in paying money for tickets and then coming to boo me and put me off, whistle, when I’m trying to win games? That was from January up until the Premier League. It was crazy.”
The teenager revealed that his management team and commercial partners played a pivotal role in helping him navigate those challenges.
“I think it was more my manager and sponsors just sitting down and saying if you want to celebrate against the fans, do it after you win,” he explained. “Don’t do it during the game.”
Littler also recognised the tactical implications of reacting prematurely to hostile spectators.
“If you go one up and you start giving it to the fans, then they’ll just get on your back the whole way through.”
The US Darts Masters will conclude on Friday evening, as the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are held in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,000 fans – a record for darts in the US.
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This will be preceded by the bet365 North American Darts Championship on Friday afternoon, as the eight American and Canadian stars take to the stage to compete for silverware and World Championship qualification.
The 2026 bet365 US Darts Masters is being broadcast live on ESPN and FanDuel in the US, with coverage on DAZN also available exclusively in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Other live global coverage is being broadcast through Viaplay in various territories including the Netherlands, as well as via PDCTV in all countries, with delayed coverage available on ITV3 in the UK.
Delayed ITV coverage in the UK will be as follows:
1700-2100 BST Friday June 26 on ITV3 – showing Round One
1700-2100 BST Saturday June 27 on ITV3 – showing Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals & Final
Images: PDC / Ed Mullholland
