- The teenager sensation became world champion before he turned 18 in January
- Littler has been the biggest draw in sport since bursting onto the scene in 2023
- He is now reportedly spending more time with the other stars of the sport
Luke Litter is a ‘bit of a lightweight’ for only managing to down four pints, according to one of his darts rivals.
Former UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall revealed how the 18-year-old has changed over the last year and begun to hang out with the other stars of the sport.
Since turning 18 in January, the reigning world champion can drink alcohol and he reportedly has been brought into the fold of more senior players and has even started to venture out instead of ‘playing on his PlayStation or whatever’.
‘He’s coming out of his shell a bit as well now with the boys,’ Aspinall told talkSPORT. ‘He used to play his darts and go back to his room and play on his PlayStation or whatever.
‘He’s now actually coming down to the hotel bar and playing cards with us and stuff like that. He’s definitely grown up in the last 12 months. But I think he’s kind of had to really because of everything that’s been thrown at him.
‘He’ll have a couple of [Strongbow] Dark Fruits. He’s a bit of a lightweight, but he’s only 18. He’ll have like four pints and that’s him done.’
Littler has been the biggest draw in the sport ever since breaking onto the scene at the 2024 World Darts Championship. The ‘Nuke’ went onto reach the final before losing to Luke Humphries.
However, 12 months later, he clinched the title and became the youngest-ever winner in the process.
Littler’s rise has also helped to significantly boost the popularity of darts, with the PDC announcing this week an uplift to the prize fund for the 2026 world champion.
The teenager will walk away with an unprecedented seven-figure prize fund if he is able to retain his crown. The total prize money offered across all PDC events will rise by £7m to £25m, with this winter’s PDC World Championship also set to be revamped.
Littler won £500,000 when became the youngest-ever world champion after defeating Michael van Gerwen in January but he will now need to reign supreme over an even bigger field if he is to retain his title.
This week, his hot streak in Premier League Darts was ended in emphatic fashion by Chris Dobey in Berlin. The world champion had won three of the previous four mini-tournaments, including the one in Newcastle last week where he thrashed Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final.
However, the teenage sensation’s bid for Night 9 glory in Germany did not progress beyond the first hurdle as he lost to Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals.
