Luke Littler’s World Darts Championship debut captured the attention of an entire nation and sports fans everywhere but we have to admit, we didn’t envisage this fairytale ending with him falling at the final hurdle and having HMRC come along to sweep up nearly half of his winnings.
The teenage darting sensation took home a whopping £200,000 in prize money following his progression all the way to the 2024 PDC World Final but, as is the nature of the income tax here in Britain, that ridiculous amount of money is set to be reduced by almost half.
Sky News reported on Littler’s earnings in his first big senior competition as part of their new live-feed Money Blog on Thursday, 4 January, detailing how the taxman is about to put an £83,000 dent in the runner-up’s impressive prize fund.
Then, less than a couple of hours later, HMRC chimed in with a swift and amusing reminder that his earnings will of course be taxed, leaving plenty annoyed in the comments below.
Big congrats to Luke on his fantastic run to the final. We can confirm the existence of income tax. https://t.co/mT9imXtrX8
Turns out, the tax office has a sense of humour, apparently — and it’s very dry.
Investment platform Saxo estimated that Littler will have to part ways with an estimated £76,203 of his winnings, as well as £7,330 going to national insurance, working out to just over £83k in total.
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This means that all things considered, the 16-year-old will lose around 45% of his winnings but will still walk away with more than £116k. Nevertheless, plenty online have labelled the post everything from “unnecessary” and “brutal” to simply “inappropriate”.
We’re sure he’ll get over it, but plenty of fans were gutted on his behalf, with one person writing, “It’s really something when your government feels comfortable smugly bragging about how they fuck you over”, and countless others just adding calling them “thieves”.
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After all, it’s still more than any teenager would even know what to do with — as proven by the Warrington lad himself when he was asked what he might do with the money.
Luckily, with the sheer talent Luke Littler clearly possesses, not to mention seemingly having his head screwed on even at such a young age, we’re sure he’ll be adding plenty more zeros to those earnings as the years go on — so much so he’ll probably forget who HMRC even is.
Get yourself something sick, a few kebabs here and there, then stick the rest in your savings, mate.
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The latest news following his blockbuster final against the newly crowned champions Luke ‘Cool Hand’ Humphries – his first ever PDC World title – is that Sky is now going to be airing a three-part docuseries later this year, giving fans and newcomers a fly-on-the-wall look into the world of darts.
Kyle Walker announces retirement from international football with England at 35
Danny Jones
Former Manchester City star and England defender has announced his retirement from international football at 35 years old.
He calls it a day for his country with nearly a century of appearances.
Kyle Walker, who has won six Premier Leagues, four Carabao trophies, a pair of FA Cups and a Champions League title with Man City, made his national team debut back in 2011.
Now, nearly a full decade and a half later, he is hanging up his boots on the biggest stage, retiring as England’s most capped right back in history.
As you can see, he confirmed the news in a highlight video looking back on her best moments with the Three Lions.
Sharing a lengthy and emotional statement in the caption, the Yorkshireman wrote: “After more than a decade representing my country, I have decided to retire from international football. Playing for England has always been the biggest honour of my career and something I will always be proud of.
“Thank you to every teammate, coach, manager, the 12th man, and everyone behind the scenes who has been part of the journey. Every roar from the fans pushed the team along, and I’m looking forward to joining them to support the lads in the World Cup.”
His last appearance in an England shirt came in June against Senegal, since dropping out of manager Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice team and future plans, with both form and age no doubt being factored into that decision.
Walker added: “The memories in an England shirt will stay with me forever.”
96 caps 🧢 Five major tournaments 🏴 A #ThreeLions legend ⭐
He went on to sign off by saying, “I also want to thank my family for their support every step of the way. They have made this journey even more special, and I will always be grateful to have shared it with them.”
The Sheffield-born fullback left Manchester last year following a loan spell at AC Milan, before joining fellow Premier League side Burnley FC permanently this past July.
Meanwhile, the Clarets are staring down relegation back to the Championship; however, this step will no doubt help Walker prolong his club career, whether or not he stays in Lancashire.
Where does Walker rank among the all-time England defenders in your mind?
Featured Images — Oleg Bkhambri (via Wikimedia Commons)/England (screenshot via YouTube)
Sport
Wigan Warriors’ Bevan French out for around four months with major muscle injury
Danny Jones
Wigan Warriors player Bevan French has unfortunately been ruled out for roughly four months following a fairly serious muscle injury.
An important playmaker and cog in the wider team, his absence will surely be felt.
French, 30, is said to have suffered a hamstring tear during the win over Toulouse Olympique this past weekend, and while not as severe as a full rupture, Bevan has now been told by the club he will be sidelined for approximately 16 weeks, according to head coach Matt Peet.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester after learning the news, he provided a number of updates from the physio room, including the latest on Jai Field, who French had been filling in for at fullback.
While Wigan are currently leading the Super League once again, they will be without one of their key Warriors with just under a dozen games left in the season.
The Greater Manchester club’s quadruple-winning boss and former Coach of the Year admitted that, despite some obvious disappointments in the immediate aftermath, his “positive” and “philosophical” attitude has already kicked in.
He’s quite philosophical, Bevan. He quickly flips a switch.
“Now he knows the timeframe and the schedule for his recovery, like most professionals, he can get his head down now and focus on the present”, said the 41-year-old.
The Australian stand-off/fly-half has regularly run the show in red and white, and even amid periods out of the squad, he remains an understandable fan favourite and integral part of the team when fit.
You only need to hear pundits and peers alike describing him as a “special” talent to know how much of a big miss he’ll be.
As mentioned, Peet also shed more light on Field, who dropped out with appendicitis last week and is himself set for around four to five weeks away.
For now, youngster Noah Hodkinson is being given the chance to fill the void and work his way into the first team after regularly impressing in the reserves.
Nevertheless, they could have really done with him ahead of their upcoming games.
Domestically, all three of Leeds Rhinos, Warrington Wolves and St Helens aren’t far behind them in the table, so it could prove to be a tasty remainder of the 2026 campaign.
You can watch the highlights from the result against Toulouse on Saturday, 7 March, here.
Danny Jones -
5th January 2024 
