Luke Littler’s fairytale journey to his first-ever PDC World Darts Championship final may have come to a disappointing end after a 7-4 defeat to world no.1 Luke Humphries, but his humble post-match interview proved exactly why so many have already fallen in love with him.
The 16-year-old darting sensation fell just shy of the World title despite putting on yet another incredible display and even going two sets clear of ‘Cool Hand’ at one point in the match, but beyond his obvious natural affinity for the game, it’s his persona on and off the stage that has once again endeared fans.
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Abigail Davies in the aftermath of his thrilling final — on his World Championship debut, no less — Littler said the “only negative” is that he “lost too many legs” with his own third darts and let the other Luke break his throw on one too many occasions.
Regardless, he said his maiden tournament has been “unbelievable”, insisting that “every game’s been good” and that he’s simply chuffed to now be in the top 32 in the world and have graduated to the pro tour so early in his career.
‘He doesn’t need to develop’ is the kind of cheeky little comment that fans have enjoyed over the past couple of weeks.
Still brimming with pride in himself and clearly focusing on the incredible achievement of being the youngest player in history to reach the final rather than the more immediate sting of falling at the final hurdle, the teenager was just happy to receive such high praise from both his opponent and the crowd as they serenaded him with, “there’s only one Luke Littler!”.
Humphries had nothing but good things to say of his young adversary, insisting that “Luke has been an unbelievable talent. Not just on the dartboard: he has been fantastic with all the media, and he took defeat so well there.”
The 28-year-old went on to add that he simply had to win this time because “he’s going to dominate world darts soon”, adding, “You will never see another 16-year-old kid like him. He’s something else. He’s one of the finest players in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”
While most people his age might have let the atmosphere and the emotion get the better of him, he continued to keep the same cool, calm and composed attitude that he exhibited throughout the competition deep into the post-match interviews.
Starting off his post-match presser by saying “I haven’t lost much [on that stage]” and that “you can’t be angry at yourself” for making it to a final, he said that his aim was only ever to “win one game” and that the support he’s received across the nation ever since his opening round victory has been “crazy”.
As well as having the presence of mind to sit and analyse where he went wrong, he also showed a level of grace and gratitude not only for getting to this point in the first place but even while fielding the media’s questions, giving detailed answers and thanking journalists for their time — a trait some of the best and most senior athletes in the world still haven’t mastered.
Humble, confident and unquestionably skilled in equal measure? Yeah, this lad is going to go far.
Even if, as he said, he doesn’t get to another final for another five or ten years, this talented teen from Warrington has already made a huge impact on darts culture and helped attract a whole new generation of fans with his first TV appearance.
Featured Images — Sky Sports (via X)/TungstenTales (via YouTube)
Sport
Darts returns to Manchester as Premier League dates are confirmed for 2026
Danny Jones
The schedule for the 2026 Premier League Darts tour has been officially announced, with the PDC’s annual championship returning to Manchester once again.
PDC Premier League fixtures continue to grow in popularity both in TV figures and live match attendance, with a whole new generation of fans getting into ‘the arrows’.
Just as it has for decades now, league darts is coming back to Manchester city centre and the legendary AO Arena once again, with our date landing right in the middle of the season.
Booking a big night right in the middle of a crucial period in the competition? It sounds like 0161 is set to welcome another blockbuster night up at the oche.
Confirmed on Thursday, 11 September, next year’s PDC Premier League Darts campaign will get underway in February, spanning the course of four months and eight countries.
Of the European cities on the circuit, the tournament will be heading to Belgium for the very first time, as the AFAS Dome in Antwerp replaces Exeter.
Elsewhere on the continent, there are two other mainland evenings in Germany and the Netherlands, along with multiple Northern dates here in the UK, such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
As for Manchester, we’ve been selected for round nine of 17 (including the finals), with the AO Arena set to welcome multiple favoured competitors from the North West, including 18-year-old phenomenon Luke Little from down the road in Warrington, as well as Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall.
It was an unforgettable experience for Aspinall last time around in his local event, as he finally managed to win a PDC Premier League night on home turf for the first time in his career.
Those hoping to enjoy a night of darts in front of a Manchester crowd on April 26, 2026, still have to be patient for now, as general admission is still a little way off.
However, if you are interested, you can sign up for the AO’s newsletter to find out more information and get yourself on the waiting list early.
Better, if you go straight through the PDC, you can throw your hat in the ring for the presale window right now and be first in line to grab tickets when they go live.
You can do so HERE and, until then, get your signs and fancy dress at the ready because we’ll be heading back to the ‘boring, boring tables’ soon enough.
See the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts schedule in full down below:
Manchester City said no to a pretty significant player swap with Liverpool last year
Danny Jones
Manchester City reportedly rejected a transfer proposal involving swapping one of their youngest and most exciting stars with close rivals Liverpool in 2024
This could have proved to be an interesting one…
Man City aren’t exactly short on forwards at the moment and have brought in plenty of attacking options over the past year, and with Erling Haaland breaking all manner of records up front for them, they didn’t find it too hard to sell on another promising young striker in Julián Álvarez for a club record sale.
However, as per recent claims made by a Telegraph Sport journalist, there was a possibility of Álvarez swapping the blue of City for the red of Liverpool.
🚨🚨| In summer 2024, when Liverpool realised Luis Díaz wanted to join Man City, their recruitment team proposed the Colombian to the Etihad Stadium in exchange for Julián Alvarez. Man City said: “We don’t sell to rivals." Liverpool said: “Neither do we then."
That’s according to football writer Chris Bascombe, anyway, who recently wrote that the two Premier League sides could have engaged in a player swap deal were the division’s then Treble-winners willing to negotiate with the only other team that has really contested the title with them in recent years.
As you can see, Bascombe states that Luis Díaz wanted a switch to the Etihad Stadium even before the current English champions shuffled their front three.
This has been backed up by The Times’ Paul Joyce as well, who says that the Colombian winger was ultimately “unsettled” by interest from City and others
Díaz (who recently signed for Bayern Munich) made it clear he wanted to play under Pep Guardiola, and it seems there was at least some willingness from the Merseyside outfit.
Provided they get an increasingly wantaway Julián Álvarez in return.
With Haaland having been brought in and making himself comfortably the go-to number nine for what could very well be the next decade, they clearly saw an opportunity to offer him an alternative, but Man City simply said, “We don’t sell to rivals.”
Ultimately, the now 25-year-old World Cup winner went to Europe, joining Atletico Madrid for a whopping £81.5m.
Regardless, it seems hard to imagine not only two top-flight English teams doing a deal like this but to picture what it would have been like to see Álvarez, who was still very highly thought of among a large section of supporters, being cheered on by the fans inside Anfield.
The Argentinian striker – though he has been utilised in a variety of positions at the top end of the pitch – has well and truly shone in La Liga, and now looks like he could be set to swap Madrid for Barcelona.
Álvarez has apparently made it clear to those closest to him that he wants Barca, and despite the summer window closing, the Catalan giants could pursue a deal to sign him next year when his contract expires, or indeed, even go after him this January.
Meanwhile, after bringing in plenty of new talent over the past few months, with Manchester City now effectively being given the green light to proceed with a major commercial sponsorship deal, you could very well see yet more big money being spent in seasons to come.
Danny Jones -
4th January 2024 
