Luke Littler has been tipped to be earning “a million” by the end of the year after the 16-year-old’s historic run to the World Darts Championship final.
Littler took the darts world by storm and pocketed £200,000 by reaching the Alexandra Palace final on his debut at the tournament.
Even though he was beaten 7-4 by World No 1 Luke Humphries, Littler’s story has transcended the sport of darts and earned the Warrington teenager celebrity status.
Littler, who left school last summer with one GCSE, says his world has “changed” and it has been predicted that brands will be competing to sign him up to sponsorship deals. His Instagram following has exploded from less than 4,000 followers before the World Championship to over 750,000.
The ‘Nuke’ thrived on the big stage and won fans with his impressive temperament under pressure, with former World Championship semi-finalist and Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle predicting that Littler will be multiple world champion due to his precocious talent.
Littler is also set to now take to the big stage on a more regular basis, and there is a chance the teenager will be invited to join the Premier League Darts when the line-up for the 2024 season is announced on Thursday.
While further prize money could await Littler, with the 16-year-old earning a two-year PDC tour card with his run to Ally Pally, those earnings are set to be dwarfed by potential sponsorship deals.
Littler has been described as a “branding dream” and could be “easily earning at least £1m by the end of the year,” brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MainOnline.
“There are so many opportunities that will come his way,” Ede said. “He’s been open about his love of fast food and soft drinks and his beloved Xbox so these brands are likely to be coming for him quickly.”
Littler is an ordinary teenager and described his daily routine as a darts professional as: l“I just wake up, play on my Xbox, have some food, have a chuck on the board and go to bed, that’s it.”
Despite his life changing forever over the past two weeks, Littler says he will continue to be himself and wants to inspire fellow youngsters to take up darts following his historic Ally Pally run.
“I have caught a load of people’s attention,” he said. “It is just unbelievable, I hope I have caught lots of young people’s minds to get on a board and just try it out.
“ If they don’t like it that’s fine but I’d advise them to give it a go because it is a good sport and once you get into it you’ll always love it. If you love the darts why don’t you get on the board and try and be like me or one of the other top professionals.”
“I have just got to be myself and be the Luke Littler I have been here for the last three to four weeks,” he added.
“It has changed me a lot, I have broke into the top 32, I have got a bit of money now, which is going to help. Getting into the top 32 will definitely help me qualify for pretty much every event in the year. It’s a losing start to the year, but it is also a good start to the year. I will take the positives.”
