Featured Image Credit: Warren Little/Getty Images
Topics: Luke Littler, Sport, Money
Joe Harker
Luke 'The Nuke' Littler has done it again as he successfully defended his World Darts Championship.
He burst onto the scene a couple of years ago as a teenage sensation, reaching the final of the WDC before losing to Luke Humphries. However, the very next year, he was back there again, defeating Michael van Gerwen.
This year, he romped to a 7-1 victory over Gian van Veen to demonstrate that there's nobody better in the world at throwing spikes at a circle of sisal fibres, and he claimed a prize of £1 million.
Turning 19 later this month, Littler has already put his name out as one of the brightest lights in the sport of darts, with prize money and sponsorships aplenty since everybody likes to be associated with a winner.
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However, according to OLGB, he's apparently only going to get to keep about half of his recent winnings as he'll need to pay '£458,843 in tax' and fork 'over £22,011' in National Insurance, so out there in the UK somebody owes this year's pension to Luke Littler winning at the darts.
It's believed that he will still be left with half a million quid or thereabouts which is not to be sniffed at, and it's unlikely that the WDC is the only thing he's going to be winning in 2026.
A spokesperson for OLBG said: "The question is no longer whether Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler can keep winning the biggest prizes in darts but whether he will one day overtake Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor as arguably the greatest and most successful player the sport has ever seen.
"Winning such a life-changing sum is now just another ‘jackpot’ moment in his career but the demands of playing darts at an elite level also come with substantial costs.
"Littler will need to reinvest in himself, his development, his support team and the best travel and accommodation to stay sharp.
"He’s already brought so much joy and excitement to the world of darts that the sport can only hope that he maintains his focus so as to delight his fans for many more years to come.
"A win at the PDC World Championship used to be the big prize for Littler only two years ago. Now it’s just another step on his road into history."
Littler is already worth quite a lot and he expects to add more prize money to his bank account as he's said he wants 'to dominate' the sport of darts.
He said he can be 'unstoppable' at times and with 10 major titles under his belt, the question around him is not whether or not he'll be one of the greats but just how great he could become.
With two world titles to his name, he's got a long way to get close to Phil Taylor's record of 14, but time is on Luke Littler's side.
LADbible has contacted the PDC for comment.