Teenage phenom, Luke Littler isn’t just turning up at Alexandra Palace this year — he’s marching back in like a young monarch returning from conquest, cloak dragging behind him, crown still warm from last winter.
Eighteen years old. World number one. Defending champion. And already operating at a level normally reserved for statues outside the venue.
Two years ago he walked into Ally Pally as a 16-year-old with a fresh trim and a bag of Haribo. He left as a meteor. Now? He arrives armed with nine PDC Premier titles, a Grand Slam defence, and a season where he hoovered up televised trophies like he’d been programmed for domination.
Only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have ever produced a stretch of televised supremacy like Littler has this year. The elite club of three now drops to two — because one of them is still playing and still winning everything in sight.
Ally Pally is where his legend first sprouted legs. Runner-up on debut. Champion at 17. A stage that has become less a venue and more an extension of his DNA. His first campaign was a coming-of-age storm: dismantling Raymond van Barneveld, handling Rob Cross, and playing as though he didn’t yet understand the concept of pressure. His only loss in the building? That first final against Luke Humphries — an epic still whispered about on darting barstools. Littler has never forgotten the sting.
“It was my first major tournament, and I got to the World Championship final. That’s always going to live with me.” The moment that keeps replaying in his memory?
“That double two against Luke Humphries still haunts me to this day. I could have gone 5-2 up, but Luke went on to win the next four sets – that’s darts.”
It’s the kind of quote that reveals exactly how champions think. They may forget their shopping lists, birthdays, national holidays — but missed doubles at critical moments? Those tattoo themselves onto the soul.
“Runner-up and winner – it’s not quite perfect! Next time around I did win, but now it’s a bigger and longer tournament and I’m trying to go back-to-back.” Ah back-to-back. The holy phrase. Only Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson have navigated that mountain. Littler wants to plant a flag on top before he’s even old enough to rent a car.
Last year, he stormed in as tournament favourite and torched Michael van Gerwen 7–3 in the final — a demolition that rewired the sport and forced the record books to install a revolving door. Since then? UK Open. World Matchplay. World Grand Prix. Grand Slam. Players Championship Finals. At some point he may have won Strictly Come Dancing. And he knows exactly what level he’s operating at right now.
“My form says that I could beat anyone right now.” It’s not arrogance when you’ve averaged 103.76 over your last 200 legs — a number so silly it looks like a typo. He’s more than three points clear of Luke Humphries, the next best on the planet. Nobody else is even playing the same video game. He remembers the blueprint, too.
“Ten years ago, Gary Anderson won back-to-back titles, and ten years later, I’m standing here as the current champion and I’m looking to go back-to-back myself.” And that number one ranking? It hasn’t made him complacent — it’s sharpened him.
“I’ve got that number one spot now and hopefully I can have another tournament to remember this time around.” But amid the trophies, the averages, the highlight-reel dominance, there’s still a teenager managing his calendar like a rockstar with a dartboard. The schedule is brutal. The expectations are skyscraper-high. The spotlight is wide, hot and unrelenting. So what does Littler need?
“I’ll have a little practice… We have a few days with exhibitions, a few days of rest, and then four or five days off before the 11th. Once I’m home for three or four days, then I’ll be ready for my first match.” The casualness of a future great. The confidence of someone who knows he’s one trophy away from completing a grand slam of the entire darting universe.
“I’ve won the last three big majors and there’s only one more to go in the year.” And then comes the line that will freeze the Palace air:
“It was my first big tournament at the Worlds, and with the crowd behind me, it feels like home at Ally Pally.” Home. Where kings return. Where the roar belongs to him. Luke Littler walks back into the Palace not as a prodigy — but as the man everyone else has to beat. And right now? Nobody looks close.
Luke Littler now heads to Ally Pally looking to emulate his beloved Manchester United — who, only days ago, managed a rare win away at Palace. Crystal Palace, mind you… not the Alexandra version where the teenager tends to do his own demolition jobs.
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC ( Main Image: T Lanning)
