Luke Littler triumph hailed by Prime Minister, Man Utd players and Hollywood star after teen sensation lands £500k prize
LUKE LITTLER’S darts heroics had sporting royalty, Hollywood stars and even political figures stunned.
The 17-year-old sensation beat Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the World Darts Championship final.
Littler – who scooped the top £500,000 cash prize – became the youngest darts world champ in history.
And it sent social media into a frenzy as fans and celebrities alike were stunned by the teenager’s performance.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer posted: “Mesmerising performance from @LukeTheNuke180 to win the World Darts Championship.
“Congratulations Luke on being the youngest ever PDC World Darts Champion. An inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy.
“You should be really proud of what you’ve achieved tonight, not just for yourself but for the sport of darts as a whole.”
Movie star Matt Lucas said: “Wow! Congratulations!”
Golfer Justin Rose posted: “Just awesome… Congratulations (world) Champion.”
Actor Martin Kemp wrote: “Congratulations @LukeTheNuke180.”
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Fellow darts players were also full of praise, Adrian Lewis said: “Congratulations well deserved @LukeTheNuke180 unlucky @MvG180 Great effort.”
Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in last year’s final, wrote: “Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 on becoming world champion.
“I think it was very well deserved! Unlucky @MvG180 never gave in and showed a valiant effort!”
The legendary Phil Taylor added: “Huge Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 what a fantastic performance and now a Champion of the World.”
Bobby George posted: “Congratulations @LukeTheNuke180 you certainly weren’t a fluke young man. Fantastic!”
James Wade said: “Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 on becoming a world champion. Classy performance.”
Littler was also shown support from his beloved Manchester United.
Harry Maguire posted: “Ridiculous. Congratulations.”
Marcus Rashford simply reposted a picture of the pair together at United’s Carrington training ground.
Chelsea legend John Terry also posted: “Phenomenal @lukethenukelittler. Congratulations.”
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READ MORE on all the fall-out from Luke Littler's incredible world title win...
- All the reaction as it happens in our LIVE BLOG
- Littler blows away Van Gerwen to win world title aged 17
- Littler is more than a darts player – he’s a multi-million pound commodity
- Incredible rise in darts viewing figures revealed
- Littler miles off being world No 1 despite £500k win
- Littler breaks incredible record with stunning win
- Fans praise Sky Sports for ‘lovely’ Donna Mardle touch
- Fans in tears as Chris Hoy presents Ballon d’Art trophy
- Van Gerwen makes another X-rated comment on live TV
- Littler reveals unusual preparation for final
Littler – who was presented the trophy by Sir Chris Hoy – has banked more than £1.5million in prize money since turning pro in January 2024.
And he admitted to learning from the mistakes of last year’s final loss to Humphries as he breezed past the great MVG.
Fighting back tears, Littler said: “I can’t believe it. We both played so well.
“Everyone dreams of lifting this trophy, but you have got to get through a tough field.
“I learned a lot. Nobody knows this but earlier today, I watched the whole game back against Luke. I just had the visions.
“I said in interviews that I needed to get to a quick start and that’s what I did.
“Michael was behind me, he was right behind me the whole way through.
“The first game against Ryan Meikle was the game that really mattered. Throughout I have settled.
“At 2-0 up, I started getting nervous, but I told myself to relax. To get it over and done with, that was special.”