16-year-old Luke Littler proves he’s always been playing darts as video of him as toddler goes viral

Who actually knows what they want to do for a career as a tot? There aren’t many.

But for one darts star, it all began when he was just 18-months-old.

Luke Littler started darting when he was a toddler, and judging from a video found of him during that time, he wasn’t a bad player even then.

15 years later and the now 16-year-old has gone on to become a sensation in the Paddy Power World Championship - with incredible wins over the likes of Dutch professional Christian Kist and the UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.

And the PDC World Youth Champion has performed so well up against more experienced players - cementing the teen as one of the favourites to win the tournament.

Known as ‘The Nuke’, Littler wowed the audience and even his competitor, Canadian player Matt Campbell on Wednesday night's World Darts Championship third round - producing a spectacular 164 on the bullseye.

Sky Sports

While many 16-year-olds usually prefer to focus on less-serious exploits, the world youth and junior champion’s progress has been solely down to the amount of passion and dedication to his craft.

So, it’s no surprise that his Ally Pally exploits have garnered worldwide headlines.

Born in Runcorn, the professional player was destined to become such a large figure in the sport from early childhood, as footage found on YouTube shows the nappy-wearing toddler throwing darts and loving every second of it.

In the clip, you can see him having fun with a mini magnetic board with Snap’s I’ve Got the Power (which is Phil Taylor’s walk-on music) in the background.

The video, which has since gone viral online, shows that Littler was destined to become a darts player.

Sky Sports

Explaining his love of the sport, he told Sky News: “There’s a video on YouTube on me when I was 18 months in a nappy listening to Raymond van Barneveld’s music, Phil Taylor’s music, doing their celebrations.

"That’s where it started, at 18 months old in the nappy on a magnetic board.

“Then at four or five on a proper board, but it was a bit low. Seven to eight, that’s when I started playing the proper height and length.”

And commenters were quick to talk about Littler’s ability to play at a young age - as well as the difference in his mannerisms on and off-stage.

One person observed: “It's funny when you see him in these interviews as he looks quite reserved and humble yet when he's on the stage he's swaggering around and bossin it.”

Bossin it, he is indeed.

Sky Sports

But he was able to celebrate like a normal teenager for Christmas as his mum posted a snap online of him opening up some presents with his family.

Littler reflected upon the festivities and time away from work: “It’s been a crazy few days.

“Christmas is going to be very different. We’ll do the same thing a family always does and then when I finish my dinner I will get on the board for a good few hours.

“I would normally wait for the dinner to be cooked, go on the Xbox, call my mates, speak to them, but I’ll be on the board.”

Topics: News, Social Media, Sport, YouTube, Luke Littler

Britt Jones