Darts Dominance: Luke Littler
By Conor Mallon
On the 16th of January 2026, at the Bahrain Darts Masters, former Welsh rugby player turned World Darts champion Gerwyn Price brought an end to 18-year-old Luke Littler’s dominant reign in the field of darts. Price’s 6-2 defeat of the world ranked No. 1 nicknamed the ‘The Nuke’ ended a dominant 21 game win-streak for Littler. Littler, who made his major professional debut in the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship at 16, eventually made it to the final of said tournament, losing out to fellow Englishman Luke Humphries. This initial burst onto the scene was followed with consecutive wins in the two World Darts Championships that followed. With Littler being able to grab the title in 2025 defeating 3-time champion Michael Van Gerwan 7-3 in the final. This emphatic win made him the youngest PDC winner in darts history. This feat was followed with his most recent reclamation of the title, beating young Dutch star Gian Van Veen 7-1 in a dominant and somewhat embarrassing final on the 3rd of January this year.
Littler’s commanding run in this years World Darts Championship was shrouded in controversy. Following his 4-2 win over Rob Cross in the Quarter-Final of the World Championship, Littler was made a victim of crowd heckling. His response to the booing and the abuse he suffered on the Ally Pally stage was one of supposed arrogance and ego. Littler rather embarrassingly responded with the paradoxically insecure and prideful statement “Am I bothered? Really, am I bothered?! Really not bothered!” further adding “Can I just say one thing? You guys pay for the tickets, and you pay for my prize money so thank you, thank you for my money! Thank you for booing me. Thank you – come on!” [1] The petty outburst further distanced Littler from the crowd and ensured continued taunting throughout his Semi-Final and Final progress.
Fan taunting is no new phenomenon in the sport of Darts. In the 2023 Worlds, Gerwyn Price famously wore large over-ear ear defenders in a 5-1 defeat to German sportsman Gabriel Clemens. Littler, alike Price and the most dominant darts player of all-time Phil Taylor, has become quite a pantomime villain within the sport. Littler’s rapid rise in the sport has led to a perceived arrogance, with many seeing his confidence as inherent cockiness.
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was frequently booed throughout his dominant darts career. Whilst considered by all fans the greatest to play the sport, his greatness only distanced him from fans and players. Infamous bouts with players like Paul Nicholson and Peter Manley only added to the disdain of the viewer towards Taylor. Darts is all about personality; flamboyance and cheekiness are rewarded. Dominance is tiresome and a necessity for positive public opinion is exhausting. In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, he posits the famous phrase “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” [2] Littler is undeniably the prince of darts, his nobility however will need to be juxtaposed with humility, a trait many believe he unfortunately lacks.
Reference
[1] “TikTok – Make Your Day.” 2026. Tiktok.com. 2026. https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportnz/video/7589415067527974155.
[2] Jardine, M. (1992). William Shakespeare : Henry IV, part 2. Beirut: York Press ; Harlow.
“Flashscore: Premier League Darts 2024, Darts Live Scores.” n.d. Www.flashscore.co.uk. https://www.flashscore.co.uk/darts/.
