Last week, to the sound of crying cheers and frustrated roars from fans, Luke Littler, aged 19, raised a trophy laden with silver rings and spheres — a trophy crowning him as champion of the Winmau World Masters darts tournament. His defeated opponent and consistent rival Luke Humphries looked at Littler with a resigned smile, before proceeding to call him “the greatest darts player who has ever lived.” This high praise from a fellow pro quickly gained attention and triggered deep discourse — with 11 PDC titles behind him, and so early on in his career, can he confidently be named as the greatest darts player ever?
Though others may be ready to sing his praises, Littler himself does not agree with the sweeping statement his competitor made. He has instead praised Phil Taylor, an Englishman from the previous darts generation who has 87 major titles and 16 world championships under his belt. Littler stated “until someone beats his records […], he’ll always be the best.”
Though it is true that Luke Littler is unmatched in his sheer talent amongst today’s darts players, and has dominated since his first appearance, he has only been throwing darts professionally for less than three years. In that short time, though, he has attracted a lot of attention and support.
However, familiarity breeds contempt — people get bored easily when the same person or team dominates a sport for too long a period. Playing against Rob Cross in the Ally Pally in London at the 2026 World Darts Championships, Littler’s cool façade broke when the crowds heckled and booed him for almost the entire match. In response, he turned to them to say: “you boo me, but your tickets pay my prize money.” It is known that all athletes face crushing pressure, but whether or not they can block out the noise and pundits decides their future success.
At the opening round of the Premier League Darts 2026, Littler lost 6-4 to Dutch newcomer Gian Van Veen, who ultimately lost to Van Gerwen on the same night. Shock rippled through the crowds. Is this simply a scratch on Littler’s otherwise spotless track record, or will Littler have to battle his way through the tumult to make it back on top?
“2025-04-03 Premier League Darts Berlin 2025 by Sandro Halank–125” by Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.