HE’S the teenage prodigy who has reignited Britain’s love of darts.
Luke Littler bagged £275,000 after becoming the youngest Premier League Darts champion in history this week.
The 17-year-old was already said to be worth around £600,000 and firms are lining up with lucrative sponsorship and promotional deals.
Despite his fame, down-to-earth Littler has so far kept his feet on the ground.
While most high-profile sportsmen pick the likes of Dubai for their holidays, where luxury hotels cost up to £1,000 a night, Luke prefers a break in Blackpool or Alton Towers with equally humble girlfriend Eloise Milburn
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He recently celebrated a win with a game of pool with pals while supping a glass of Diet Coke at a pub in Stourport, Worcestershire.
He can’t yet drive and has had to cancel lessons due to his busy schedule but Luke says he’d be happy with a Skoda and shuns fancy restaurants for a snack at his local kebab house in Warrington.
Meeting his idols
Luke, nicknamed ‘The Nuke’, has 1.4 million followers on Instagram and the Manchester United fan was sent a good luck message from David Beckham and met his idol, the legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
In a dream-come-true for Luke he also got to speak to United boss Erik ten Hag and played darts at the Red Devils’ training ground with players Harry Maguire and Christian Eriksen.
He will tomorrow head to Wembley to watch his beloved club take on rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.
Luke has already met some of Britain’s most famous names including Sir Lenny Henry, David Tennant, Davina McCall, actress Millie Bobby Brown, Jonathan Ross and Matt Lucas.
There is little doubt that he is a man in demand.
Yet Luke shows a humility rarely found in the world of sports where footballers, racing drivers and golfers revel in luxury lifestyles wearing expensive jewellery and designer gear.
Luke, who failed his GCSEs after leaving school last year to concentrate on his darts, would prefer to be out with his mates or hanging out with his family.
He refuses to take himself too seriously - even in his first major brand sign-up.
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The teen has been paid thousands to take part in an advert for breakfast cereal Best, created by YouTubers Sidemen.
It shows him tucking into a bowl while throwing three blind bullseyes before raising a cheeky eyebrow to the camera.
He’s so upfront that he didn’t even mind talking about his LOO break during this week’s win against Luke Humphries.
He said: “I came off for the break. I went to the toilet and came back on. I thought, right we are on until the end. I needed the toilet after the two legs.”
World travel
Luke started playing darts aged 18 months old when his dad Anthony, a taxi driver from Warrington, Cheshire, bought him a magnetic dart board from a pound shop.
The Nuke has enjoyed a meteoric rise since his impressive debut performance at the 2023-24 World Darts Championship in January, making him one of the top 25 highest earning players in the sport.
Matt Porter, CEO of the Professional Darts Corporation, says, despite his tender age, the teenager has dealt with his new fame “professionally and maturely.”
He said: “He’s taken to it like a duck to water. You feel like he’s been there for a long time, he’s composed, he’s calm, he enjoys himself.
“There are a lot of demands on his time, but there are a lot of benefits and rewards as well.”
Luke himself says: “It’s just been crazy since the World Championships, it’s changed my life.”
Manager Martin Foulds says he received “20 to 40 emails, phone calls, messages, minimum” every day from commercial or media organisations keen to work with Luke, who has fuelled the biggest interest in darts since the 1980s heydays of Bullseye and players like Jocky Wilson.
But Martin says when Littler isn’t playing darts, his main concern is sitting down to watch it.
“The other day he had to come in, do some paperwork, some shirt signings," he explained.
“He’s sat in my meeting room and he’s got two phones on with two different streams of the Players Championship. He’s not at the darts but he’s still watching it - he just loves the game.”
Luke’s game has taken him all around the world, to Bahrain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium as well as playing each week in the Premier League and other PDC tournaments across the UK.
But it has not been enough to earn him a sport in the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt because he’s not ranked as the top two English players on the PDC Order of Merit.
Blackpool trips
Luke has also revealed he will not take part in the Nordic Masters in June either due to family commitments.
His manager said: "He's still a teenager, still 17 - if he wasn't playing darts, he'd be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school. So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can."
Luke always makes time for his pals, girlfriend Eloise, 22, parents Anthony, 43, and Lisa, 40, as well as siblings Caitlin, 21, and brothers Leon, 20, and Harry.
He's clam and composed and enjoys himself
Luke's manager, Martin Foulds
In April the couple were pictured getting soaked on the log flume at Blackpool Pleasure Beach on a day out.
Two weeks later, over the May bank holiday, Luke treated his mates to a day out at the same place, fulfilling a promise to visit there or Alton Towers with his winnings from the world championships, although he lost in the final.
He told talkSPORT: “All my friends are watching at home, we’ve always said we need to go to Blackpool or Alton Towers so I think they will be looking at me like ‘you’re paying, Luke’ and I’ll be like, yeah, okay!”
Luke is devoted to girlfriend Eloise who cruel trolls accused of being a 'gold digger' because of their age difference.
Eloise, from Hersham, Surrey, is also a darts player and the couple met on the circuit.
Her mum Amanda, 56, defended her daughter on Mail Online saying: "Eloise has been accused of all sorts and that she’s only with Luke because of his money and fame. But that’s a total pack of lies and disgusting.
“She’s not with him for any of these reasons. She doesn’t care about his money or his fame. She’s with him because she likes him. It’s as simple as that.”
Kebab King
He has become a hero in Warrington where his favourite kebab shop Hot Spot has named a wrap after him.
He said: “That’s my mate’s place and they’ve now got the Luke Wrap under my name,”
“I walked in yesterday and got a burger and chips. They showed me two orders for my wraps and they’ve now got to replace the big doner meat every three days.
Luke has had to cancel driving lessons due to his hectic schedule but when asked by talkSPORT what kind of car he might get, he pointed to the Skoda sponsor on his shirt saying: “I’m sure they can sort me out.”
He is also keen to show support for his local community and last week spend the day with young patients at Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital.
Posting pictures on his Insta, he wrote: “These amazing kids and incredible staff…thank you to everyone in the NHS for everything you do.”
Luke was once described as the "Cristiano Ronaldo of darts" but to everyone who knows him personally, he will always be the boy next door.
