Luke Littler says he's 'just a lad' as players call him a 'celebrity' and 'not a darts player'

Whether you’re into the sport or not, there’s one absolute lad on the darts scene that you’re bound to know the name of by now.

And if not, have you been living under a rock?

Luke Littler quickly rose to fame towards the end of last year as he made it all the way to the final of the PDC Worlds Darts Championship at the age of just 16.

Despite losing out to Luke Humphries, the now 17-year-old lad from Warrington has gone on to win the Bahrain Masters and a Players Championship tournament.

Now, the ‘Nuke’ is causing a stir in his first Premiere League season with plenty of impressive throws. But while all this has been going on, the teen has understandably built up quite the following.

He recently made his first big TV appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, where he played darts with Millie Bobby Brown and has been a guest on Comic Relief. Plus, the Xbox lover has appeared on a podcast with The Sidemen.

So, it’s pretty fair to say he’s become quite the star of the sports world and even a bit of a household name.

And having recently been beaten by Littler, player Nathan Aspinall called him a celebrity rather than a darts player.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Aspinall has been mentoring the teen on the mental side of the game and said he’s more than just a simple old darts player.

“He is a fantastic talent. What he’s done for the sport. Forget about his darts ability because it’s not about his darts,” he said.

“He’s not a darts player, he’s a celebrity. I’m a darts player, he’s a celebrity. That’s the difference.”

But Littler has his own summary of what his status is, and it’s pretty respectable.

“Maybe look at my following, I might be classed as a celebrity,” the Nuke said.

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

“But I’m just a lad doing what he does best. Am I? I don’t know. I’m just a dart player. I just get on with it, whatever comes my way. I just have to get on with it. Whether I say things and don’t back it up. But at the minute I’m saying things and do back it up.”

Aspinall added that Littler is doing a lot for the sport as ‘because he’s a celebrity, he’s projecting darts to a whole new level’.

“He is helping us boys out as much as himself. But darts-wise, he’s great but he hasn’t got what we’ve got at the moment,” he said.

“He’s got to learn from us. I don’t learn from him, he learns from me.”

Topics: Luke Littler, Sport, Celebrity

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_