Luke Littler has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame and fortune, but a significant portion of his earnings will be taken away from the teen darts sensation
Darts sensation Luke Littler has reportedly raked in more than £1million this year, although a hefty chunk will be swallowed by tax.
Just a year ago, Littler, 17, was practically unheard of on the global stage, but his stellar performances throughout 2024 have propelled him into the limelight and onto the rich list. He made his first appearance at the 2024 World Darts Championship as a 66/1 outsider, thanks to his spot on the PDC Development tour.
But he quickly upset the odds by making it all the way to the tournament’s final. Littler outplayed Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan, and Rob Cross to secure his place in the championship match against Luke Humphries. Despite falling 7-4 to the world No. 1, Littler left a lasting mark by going toe-to-toe with top-tier players and becoming the youngest finalist in the history of the Worlds at just 16 years and 347 days old.
As of December 2024, Littler’s debut season in the big leagues has been punctuated by a series of prestigious wins. He bagged the Bahrain Masters in January, ruled the roost at the Players Championship in February, and emerged victorious at the Belgian Darts Open in March.
His impressive trophy cabinet includes the Premier League Darts, Austrian Darts, Poland Darts Masters, World Series of Darts, and Grand Slam of Darts titles. Thanks to his darting prowess, Littler has pocketed a cool £618,500 from the PDC’s Order of Merit, reports the Express.
This figure is expected to rise to £633,000 following his third-round match in the Worlds against Ian White on Saturday (December 28), with further increases possible depending on how far he advances in the tournament.Yet, with great earnings come great taxes, as sport finance guru Dr Rob Wilson points out. Speaking to Card Player, Dr Wilson said: “On a simple tax calculation, he will have lost 40, 45% of his earnings, but he’s not going to be on a normal tax calculation. He’s going to have companies set up doing certain things.“He’s going to have big expenses that need to be taken off those earnings. So the reality is that he’s paid 20% of that back in tax, then that probably feels about right. It might be a little bit less if he’s got some really good tax advisory around him which we’d expect someone to have that’s having that sort of earning capacity.”Dr Wilson highlighted the importance of tax efficiency and controlling expenses, and he noted that Littler’s team, travel, and accommodation should be considered when tallying his earnings. He explained: “Having earned £633,000, you can estimate that he’s kept 500,000 of that. But if he’s got a competition manager and a personal assistant and a chauffeur and so on and so forth, all of that’s going to come off that £633,000.
“The expenses are high. It’s like golfers, golfers get paid loads because of prize money on offer, but actually it costs them a lot to travel around the world and do the competitions as well, unless they’re fortunate enough to get paid to do that as well.”Moreover, the figure of £633,000 just represents Littler’s profits from the PDC’s Order of Merit, which encapsulates his run to the second round at the Worlds. This total doesn’t include any unranked prize money he may have accumulated this year, including the £275,000 from the Premier League and earnings from invitational events.Its estimated that, considering these additional events, Littler’s total income for the year surpasses the £1million mark. Thus, his tax contribution might climb beyond Dr Wilson’s projections, especially if Littler finds his way back into the World final. The victor of the championship takes home a colossal £500,000, with the second-place contestant earning a substantial £200,000.‘The Nuke’ kicked off his World Championship campaign with a bang, securing a 3-1 victory over Ryan Meikle in the second round. The rising star is now set to go head-to-head with 54 year old White, who currently sits at number 57 in the global rankings.