She’s been with him from the very start – and Luke Littler made sure his mother Lisa knew he was grateful for all her support as he stepped up to the oche last night.
The 17-year-old gave his mother, 40, an enormous hug as he made his way onto the stage at the Alexandra Palace last night before his storming 7-3 victory over World No. 3 Michael van Gerwen.
Littler might have been favourite to win after coming within inches of victory last year against Luke Humphries, but the tension was etched on Ms Littler’s face as her son was cheered on by thousands including Sir Chris Hoy, who presented the trophy.
In the end, the teenager cruised comfortably to a win and made history as the youngest PDC World Champion ever – and can now expect an even larger avalanche of commercial deals and sponsorship opportunities to tumble his way.
But branding experts say he’ll need to find a balance between reaping the rewards of his fame and keeping at the top of his game – particularly given his young age.
Littler has already cashed in on his fame, renting a £6,000-per-month five-bed mansion on the outskirts of his hometown of Warrington in Cheshire that he shares with mother Lisa and father Anthony Buckley, 43.
And he wowed the audience of darts game show reboot Bullseye over Christmas after putting away a perfect 180, stunning host Freddie Flintoff. That came just weeks after he was named the BBC‘s Young Sports Personality of the Year.
There’s little that can stop ‘The Nuke’ – but PR expert Mark Borkowski says he should nevertheless keep his head above water as the tie-ins come calling.
Luke Littler made sure his mother Lisa got a hug as he stepped up to the oche before last night’s PDC World Championship Darts final
He romped to a comfortable 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen last night at Alexandra Palace
Littler’s victory comes just a year after he came runner up in the same championship against Luke Humphries
Calling him a ‘mega brand in the making’, Borkowski told The Sun: ‘What makes him more interesting is that he is so down-to-earth – that’s a superpower in itself. But what lies ahead financially hinges on how well his support team plays it.
‘For Littler, the greatest financial misstep would be overexposure or signing poorly thought-out exclusivity deals. A young star’s appeal can be diluted quickly if he becomes “just another” sponsored athlete.
‘His team needs to ensure exclusivity and align his endorsements with long-term gains, not short-term payoffs. He is a multi-million pound heavyweight. The UK’s new working class hero.’
They include Target Darts, who sell officially licensed Luke Littler darts shirts, flights and carry cases so you too can ‘play like a champion’. Sets of darts retail for up to £130, while official shirts are £40 apiece.
There’s also deals with YouTube supergroup the Sidemen promoting their cereal Best, fast fashion brand boohooMAN, Microsoft games console Xbox and KP Nuts – the latter three of which appear on his playing shirt.
He has come a long way from last year, when his shirt’s primary sponsors were a building supplies firm and his local Skoda car dealership.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called his Ally Pally performance ‘mesmerising’, adding: ‘An inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy.
‘You really should be proud of what you’ve achieved tonight, not just for yourself but for the sport of darts as a whole.’
Littler is arguably helping to reignite general interest in darts too, after the sport spent years suffering dwindling popularity and an enduring association with beer bellies.
YouGov polling suggests the sport’s popularity is at its highest level in years, with 51 per cent of Brits said to be fans of the sport.
Littler was favourite to win against World No 3 Michael Van Gerwen (pictured), who was full of praise for his young rival
Luke Littler’s commercial success is reflected in his darts shirt – which once featured his local Skoda dealership as a sponsor (2024, left) but now includes boohooMAN and Xbox (now, right)
The tension was written on the faces of Luke Littler’s parents Lisa Littler and Anthony Buckley (left) as he played at the Ally Pally last night
Among those watching Littler sail into the record books was Sir Chris Hoy (pictured at the Ally Pally last night)
Luke Littler stands with parents Lisa Littler and Anthony Buckley and brother Leon (left) as he holds the Sid Waddell trophy last night
Search interest for darts has also exploded since Littler came onto the professional scene.
Littler’s win at the PDC final came after he beat van Gerwen at the Bahrain Masters in February. The pair are evenly matched – they met again at the Dutch Darts Masters final, which saw van Gerwen triumph 6-8.
And the World Championship rounded off a huge year of victories in the Premier League, World Series of Darts Finals, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Poland Darts Masters.
Sports finance experts predict Littler could net up to £20million in prize money in the next decade alone – with more to come from TV appearances and, if he wills it, an At Home With The Furys-style documentary.
In short, his rise looks all-but-unstoppable.
Dr Rob Wilson, speaking to LuckyBlock, said: ‘Littler’s earnings should be extrapolated like compound interest. As each year passes his prize money will increase year on year, as will his endorsement activity as his profile grows.
‘He should comfortably earn £20m in prize money over the next 10 years. Add to that sponsorship, the inevitable ‘at home with the Littlers’ documentary that will follow and other revenue streams and his career earnings could easily hit £100m.
‘In sport no one has seen this sort of meteoric profile and earnings explosion. The likes of Ronaldo, Messi and Beckham have all exceeded these numbers, but that came later in their careers. Littler is unique.’
His rise to record-breaking success has come thanks to a lifetime of practice – throwing his first magnetic darts at the tender age of 18 months and graduating to the real deal at three.
At the age of eight he began training professionally at St Helens Darts Shop – and was destroying opponents as old as 14 from the age of nine, leading boyhood coach Karl Holden to label him the ‘Ronaldo of darts‘.
By 11, he was eating grown men for breakfast, and at 12 in November 2019 he faced future World Darts final rival Luke Humphries for the first time.
Luke Littler was named Young Sports Personality of the Year last month (pictured at the ceremony with mother and father Lisa and Anthony)
Littler is cashing in on his newfound fame with the likes of Xbox (left) and KP Nuts (right), but experts have warned him to keep his head above water
Last year, Littler signed a deal with fast fashion brand boohooMAN (pictured in an image released to announce the tie-in)
Littler has collected some famous friends in the last year, including Lando Norris (pictured together during a circuit lap ahead of the 2024 British Grand Prix at Silverstone)
Along the way, Lisa and Anthony have been his number one fans, bigging him up on social media from the get-go – a kindness he has repaid in spades.
He also has two brothers, Leon and Harry, and an older sister Caitlin, all of whom have supported him on his journey to darts stardom.
He also has a new mystery girlfriend – after splitting up with partner Eloise Millburn last summer.
Eloise had supported Luke during his record-breaking 2023/24 World Championship run but the pair have since gone their separate ways – but Littler had to tell fans to stop giving her grief after trolls invaded her social media.
‘Everyone needs to stop sending hate towards Eloise saying it’s here [sic] fault this and that,’ he blasted on Instagram.
‘I myself split up with Eloise and everyone just needs to give us some time, no need for everyone to message her and give her grief.’
His mystery girlfriend was reportedly heard off-screen on his microphone during an online livestream in October as she could be heard telling him she was going to bed.
As streamer Morgan Burtwistle aka ‘angryginge’ pointed out that she could be heard on the stream, Littler joked to himself: ‘(That’s) in the papers in the morning. Why’s the volume all the way up, you f****** idiot?’
He appears to be keeping mum on her identity – a deliberate move, according to relationship expert Tina Wilson.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was full of praise for Littler, branding his performance ‘mesmerising’ as he said the youngster should be proud of what he has done for darts
Littler has moved his family into a plush £6,000-per-month mansion on the outskirts of Warrington (pictured)
Littler and ex-girlfriend Eloise Milburn pictured in May 2024. The pair would go on to break up over the summer
Littler later took to social media to urge trolls to stop giving his former partner grief. The pair are said to still be friends
As Littler’s game has evolved so too has his diet – he says he has given up kebabs in favour of eating better before matches
Luke Littler pictured as a child. At six, he threw his first 180 and was beating opponents five years older than him by the age of nine
Littler first played future World Championship rival Luke Humphries in a 2019 quarter-final
Littler came within inches of defeating Humphries on the world stage in January last year – but had to settle for runner-up and a princely £200,000 cash price
She told the Mail: ‘There was a lot of media attention around Luke’s last romance, and at 17 years old, he is still trying to figure things out.
‘I suspect he might be keeping his new romance private and may prefer to keep her out of the spotlight this time.
‘Perhaps even opting for a love interest not invested in darts this time round either, as much less pressure on him to invite them along to his workplace where all eyes are on them.
‘He’s also young and has a lot going on professionally. Not that he shouldn’t have a girlfriend at his age, but he might want to enjoy dating without the pressures of settling into a long-term serious relationship just yet.’
Littler has also collected some famous pals, including F1 driver Lando Norris, and has said he has received text messages from David Beckham and podcast invites from Rio Ferdinand
As he approaches 18 on January 21, the temptation might even be there to sink a pint – particularly given that he has applied to trademark his own range of beers, alongside a variety of other commercial products.
But Littler vowed to kick the kebabs as he rose to fame and said last February he would knock the habit of a post-game feast on the head.
He told the Times: ‘Soon as I got my tour card, my manager sat me down and said when you finish it could be 11 or 12(pm), it’s literally all fast food, burgers or whatever.
‘So I’ve got to look after myself, eat before I play. And when I’ve finished, even if I stay up to whenever, I just won’t eat.
‘This is my new way of living. I love darts, and it’s going to be like this for ten, fifteen years.’