It has now been confirmed by OLBG analysts that Littler will be forced to give up £54,000 to HMRC from his £120,000 total. This means that the teenager will still pocket £66,000.
As previously mentioned, Humphries remains at the top of the PDC rankings despite his loss to Littler on Sunday. ‘Cool Hand’ has won a staggering £1.73m in the past two years – which is how the Werner Rankings ladder is decided.
Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting and James Wade follow behind Littler and Humphries in the rankings. However, none of them have hit £1m just yet.
The exact gap between Humphries and Littler stands at exactly £70,750. Littler will be hoping to close the gap between now and Christmas, with the World Darts Championship not far away.
“This is my time and I’ve just got to keep going,” said Littler after the win. “Obviously, until I get that world number one spot, I will never call myself the best in the world.
“Whoever’s number one, they’re the best. But knowing I’m only £70,000 in prize money behind Luke and then he’s got to defend all of his prize money from the Grand Prix, the Players Championships and the World Championship.
“I don’t want to think about it too much, but I could be world number one before that World Championship. I’ve just got to keep chucking away and put as much pressure as I can on Luke.”
Surprisingly, following his victory in the World Grand Prix, Littler revealed that he would be competing in the World Youth Championship. The tournament starts on Monday in Wigan, which is not far from where the 18-year-old lives.
Speaking to Sky Spors, Littler said: “I’ll go to the World Youth tomorrow and just have a bit of fun, see everyone. I don’t think anyone is going to be my friend tomorrow, but it’s only 20 minutes up the road, so I’ll try my best!”
The World Youth Championship starts in a group stage format to begin with, before being broken down into a knock-out format from the last 64 stage. The final is on November 23 in Minehead.
Littler won the competition in 2023 and pocketed him £10,000 after a win against Gian ven Veen. It’s open to players aged between 16 and 23 and there are no restrictions on players based on their rankings or achievements in the PDC circuit – so Littler is fine to compete.
The teen star will be full of confidence going into the competition after besting one of his biggest rivals in the sport. Humphries and Littler have met 24 times to date, with the former seeming to get the better of Littler on the biggest stages.
Littler has won 14 times out of the 24 encounters, with Humphries bagging three wins in the last five major finals between the two darting titans.
