Luke Littler has been raking in the cash, amassing nearly £1million in prize money over the past 11 months following his impressive run to the World Darts Championship final.
The reenage darts sensation added a cool £150,000 to his earnings with a stunning victory at the Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday, bagging his first major ranking PDC title. Despite the pitfalls that can come with young sports stars and sudden wealth, Littler seems to be keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
That’s according to darts icon Phil Taylor. After a meet-up at Target Darts, where they both have sponsorship deals, Taylor shared his thoughts with talkSPORT.
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“I’ve seen players come and go over the years,” said the 14-time world champion. “It’s a matter of being dedicated, you know, and money isn’t his motivation, believe it or not, he isn’t really that bothered.”
Recalling their time together, Taylor said: “I was with him a couple of weeks ago down at Target, and he just plays on his game. He is a typical teenager, you know, and he isn’t motivated by prize money.
(Image: (Image: Getty))
“It’s great, don’t get me wrong, and he’s secure. He’s more interested in looking after his mother and father in tournaments.
“It’s lovely to see, because I’ve seen so many players where they start earning money and that ruins their career then. But this lad, he just sits there, he’s quiet as a mouse, he’s lovely company to be with, to be honest.”
Littler pocketed a cool £200,000 at the Ally Pally in January and an impressive £315,000 for his Premier League Darts victory just five months later, reports the Express. An additional £120,000 is up for grabs at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead this weekend before the focus shifts back to the world championships.
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A remarkable string of victories has propelled ‘The Nuke’ from relative unknown to fifth place in the PDC Order of Merit. This ranking system is determined by prize money earned at televised ranking events over a rolling two-year period.
Despite only starting to accumulate prize money a year ago, Littler has already surpassed all but four of the world’s top players. The young talent could climb even higher in the rankings following the conclusion of the Players Championship Finals this weekend.
He also has his sights set on adding a hefty half a million pounds to his earnings at the Alexandra Palace, where he was narrowly defeated by Luke Humphries in a thrilling final last time. This year, Littler enters the tournament riding a wave of success following his Grand Slam win.