Luke Littler has sent a bullish warning to his World Darts Championship rivals by claiming he can continue playing until 2050 if he wants to.
The 17-year-old made an appearance at the BBC’s MediaCity in Salford after being nominated as one of six people up for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
It comes just days before he begins his World Championship campaign underway against one of Ryan Meikle or Fallon Sherrock as he looks to take his first title on the global stage.
It will be a case of revenge for the 10-time PDC title winner after he lost in the final to Luke Humphries in 2023.
Even if he wins the tournament this year, he would still be some way behind Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor’s incredible haul of 16 world titles.
When asked by presenter Gabby Logan how he could go about trying to surpass Taylor’s daunting record, Littler simply replied: “[By winning] 16 world titles, probably!”
Littler will be one of the favourites to take the crown at Alexandra Palace this month. At such a young age, it will be down to the youngster to decide how many titles he wants to win in his career.
But Littler warned his rivals that he is capable of playing well into his 40s if he wants – and indicated that the number of titles will depend very much on his own desire rather than any other factors.
“I know myself and if I want it, I can definitely do it for 25-30 years. But if I don’t want it, I don’t want it.”
Littler also reflected on the moment he decided to choose darts in his pre-teens after joking that his father brought a premature end to his hopes of making it as a footballer.
“I think it was when my dad decided to hang my football boots up for me, 11 or 12,” he said. “I was playing football and darts at the same time, but he made a good decision.”
Littler has opened up on several occasions about the dark side of fame, admitting it has taken a toll not just on his life but also his parents’.
“All because of the World Championships last year, our lives have changed and we’ve had to get on with him. We’ve had to deal with the fame that we do have.”
When asked for his favourite moment since rising to fame, Littler mentioned David Beckham and meeting the Manchester United squad: “Mm, he’s [Beckham] still not followed me though! I’d probably saying going to Carrington and meeting the United squad.”
