At just 17, Luke “The Nuke” Littler is already a force to be reckoned with, though you’d be hard-pressed to hear him say it.
Darts tournaments, like the New Zealand Darts Masters tomorrow, are just a big party. The air is thick with the smell of beer, music blasts out of speakers and the crowd roars to life with every 180 scored.
Yet when I caught up with the Warrington Wonderkid ahead of the tournament, the setting couldn’t have been more different. He wasn’t at a practice board or even in a hotel room, as you might expect, but at an Australian zoo, surrounded by wildlife.
Our conversation, conducted over Zoom – clearly on a mobile phone for Littler – was as unconventional as his rise in the sport. He was soft-spoken, almost to the point of reluctance.
The contrast was striking. Here was a teenager, at the top of the game, more at ease with kangaroos and koalas than a barrage of interview questions about himself and the sport – though that does sound like more fun – but it’s so refreshing that he’s not arrogant.
But Littler’s introversion off the board is only half the story. His performances are a masterclass, especially given his age. While others in the sport might boast or banter, Littler lets his darts do the talking, and they speak volumes.
I had been warned about how poor some of Littler’s answers could be, but it’s nothing more than quiet confidence. It’s this refusal to be anything other than himself that has made him a fan favourite.
“I’m just looking forward to playing in front of a new crowd,” Littler said. “I’m looking forward to playing on another stage against a big fan base and [trying to] get another title to my name.”
Littler first made global headlines around Christmas after he made the final on debut at the world championships. He lost to Luke Humphries – narrowly – but can now rightfully consider himself one of the code’s biggest names. To offer context, the previous youngest person to make the decider was 2014 winner Michael van Gerwen, who was 24 at the time.
Littler became everyone’s man crush, or so it seemed, given his obsession with kebabs, spending only 30 minutes to an hour of training a day, and his love of Xbox – though he tells me he’s only brought a Nintendo Switch Down Under but the Wi-Fi isn’t good enough and doesn’t think he’ll play it.
Just so you know, even a playful question about southern delicacies he might try here went as well as coaxing a koala out of a tree, but Littler now knows pavlova started in New Zealand.
Former darts player turned Sky Sports columnist Wayne Mardle is in awe of Littler’s talents, saying after he defeated world No 1 Luke Humphries 11-7 to win the 2024 Premier League that “the kid is doing and has done more than 99% of professionals that have been playing for 20 years”.
That’s some wrap from the man who lost to Phil Taylor, widely accepted as the greatest ever, on all three occasions he made a PDC major final.
Mardle is most impressed by Littler’s calmness under pressure and ability to hold it together the leg after hitting a nine-darter.
“For him, nine-darters are not special,” Mardle writes. “Of course they are, they always have something special about them, but he has hit four or five this year. Normal players don’t do this. This is not the norm.”
It’s not been a bad year for Littler, who has several wins under his belt: in June he defeated Rob Cross 8-3 to win the Poland Darts Masters, beat Joe Cullen 8-4 in the Austrian Darts Open in April, and defeated Cross 8-7 for the Belgian Darts Open in March, after winning the Bahrain Darts Masters by beating Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in January.
He’s constantly been likened to the likes of Taylor and other stars, but it sits easy with Littler.
“I’ve seen many people compare me to obviously the likes of Phil, but at the end of the day, I’m just a 17-year-old boy just living his dream so far, and it’s been a good 2024.”
He will come up against stiff competition at the New Zealand Darts Masters, taking place tomorrow and Saturday night at Globox Arena in Hamilton.
Among the big names is Welsh superstar Gerwyn Price, the 2022 New Zealand Darts Masters champion, who defeated Littler on Saturday 8-1 to win the Australian Darts Masters.
It’s Price’s second World Series win in 2024, having beaten Littler in June at the Nordic Darts Masters too. Humphries will be there too, as well as last year’s winner Rob Cross, crowd favourites Peter Wright and Simon Whitlock, and the first Kiwi to gain a PDC tour card, Haupai Puha, also features on the lineup.
As the New Zealand Darts Masters approaches, all eyes are on Littler – not because he demands the spotlight but because his talent leaves us with no choice.
In a sport where noise reigns supreme, Littler’s silent dominance is a breath of fresh air. He’s a reminder that sometimes, the biggest stars don’t need to say a word. They let their actions speak for them.
