Luke Littler set to LOSE almost half his winnings if he bags £500,000 jackpot in World Championship final
LUKE LITTLER is eyeing the biggest jackpot of his short career tonight – but won’t be taking it all home.
The 17-year-old is preparing to take on Michael van Gerwen at Ally Pally for the PDC world title.
Littler lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries in last year’s final after a fairytale World Championship run.
A year on, he entered the 2025 tournament as favourite and has so far lived up to the billing.
Players at the Palace are duking it out for a huge prize pot totalling £2.5million.
Should Littler lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on Friday night, he will also receive a cheque for £500,000.
It would represent the biggest win of the teenager’s short career.
Unfortunately for The Nuke, he won’t be seeing almost half of that cash.
HMRC laws mean he will have to forfeit a whopping £223,213 in tax, as well as £12,010 in National Insurance, according to The Daily Mail.
In total, he will lose just under £235,000 from his prize money and instead take home 53 per cent of the initial jackpot.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
Littler took the darts world by storm in 2024 after his surprise run to the PDC final.
Prior to his heroics at the Palace, the Warrington-born star had earned just £2,500.
He pocketed £200,000 for finishing as runner-up to Humphries, the current World No.1.
Since then, Littler has gone on to win 10 PDC titles and pocketed just north of £1million last year.
He won the Darts Premier League on his debut appearance, landing £275,000 in the process.
Luke Littler prize money breakdown
Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after his Grand Slam of Darts victory:
World Championship 2023 – £200,000
Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000
European Tour – £91,000
Player Championships events – £71,500
UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500
World Matchplay – £10,000
World Grand Prix – £7,500
European Championship – £7,500
(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000
To date, that remains his biggest individual payday at the oche.
But that could all change on Friday as he faces three-time champ MVG.
A confident Littler said: “I have gained loads of experience over the last year.
World Darts Championship - top stories
READ MORE on all the build-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza...
All the info:
- All the action as it happens in our LIVE BLOG
- Everything you need to know about the Ally Pally extravaganza
- How much prize money can be won?
- What is the format for the tournament?
- Who are the Sky Sports presenters and pundits?
- How much do players and crowd win for a nine-darter?
- Gerwyn Price’s tattoos
- The Ally Pally wasp
News, features and interviews:
- Mardle to take step back after tragic death of wife Donna
- Emma Paton reveals rise as Queen of Darts
- Kyle Walker has a night at the darts
- Callan Rydz laughs off fans’ mean song about hair
- Bobby ‘Dazzler’ George: ‘Today’s players are wrapped in cotton wool’
- Luke Littler ‘hasn’t got many mates on the tour’
- Peter Wright ‘talks crap,’ says rival MVG
“Michael has been in numerous finals – this is only my second, but I know where I went wrong last year, and I’m sure I will fix it.
“It would mean everything to lift this title, but my only focus right now is winning seven sets tomorrow night.
“I felt very confident tonight. The best I felt was against Nathan [Aspinall] in the quarter-finals, but I’m just glad I’m playing with such belief.”