Luke Littler sends stylish message to Wayne Mardle after tragic dying of his spouse

Luke Littler has sent a classy message to Wayne Mardle after the tragic death of wife, Donna, following a short battle with illness ahead of the World Darts Championship

Luke Littler has sent a classy message to Wayne Mardle after the tragic death of his wife, Donna.

Sky Sports’ Emma Paton had the heartbreaking task of informing darts fans Donna had passed away during the opening night of the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship. Speaking on the show, Paton said: “Wayne is the heart and soul of darts and everything we do.

“But the heart and soul of his world, his wife Donna, sadly passed away earlier this week after a short illness. We will be remembering Donna throughout this tournament.

“Wayne, you’re in our thoughts. You’re in our hearts. We love you very much. And we will see you very soon.” Tributes from have been paid to Donna from across the darting world, including from Littler.

On social media, the Runcorn-born sensation wrote: “Thinking of you,” adding a heart emoji.

Luke Humphries, as defending champion, headlined the first night. And before he brushed aside Thibault Tricole with ease, the World Champion also paid tribute to Donna: “He has been with Donna since he has been 14 years old, so it is a horrible, horrible thing for him to go through.

“My condolences to Wayne, he is one of the top, top guys in the world and no one deserves to go through this. Hopefully he knows all the players and the fans and everyone is here from him if he needs.”

Littler kicks off his campaign on Saturday (December 21) – and he will face the winner of either Fallon Sherrock or Ryan Meikle. “If I do come across her, I don’t know what the crowd would be like,” Littler said after the draw. “Against Fallon, it might be a bit different.”