Luke Littler took the sports world by storm this week as he advanced his way to the PDC World Darts Championship final. Everyone loves an underdog story; this one involved a 16-year-old competing against and beating some of the greatest dart players in the world in the most prestigious darts competition before falling to No. 1-ranked Luke Humphries.
Monikered Luke “the Nuke,” Littler became the youngest player to ever win a match at the tournament, according to ESPN. He led Humphries 4-2, but the top-ranked player won five straight sets to get the title.
Littler has been increasingly recognized when he ventures outside, with fans stopping him at the Arsenal game and Tottenham Spurs player James Maddison posing for a picture and bringing a sign to the championship.
But beyond that, the real reason Littler has grabbed the attention of so many is that, for a 16-year-old, he arguably does not look 16.
Electric scene as 16-year-old Luke “The Nuke” Littler becomes the youngest player ever to reach the final of the World Darts Championship
pic.twitter.com/m3wlFVTsmG
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) January 2, 2024
In this photo, taken five years ago, he was 11:
5 years ago… 🔙
Your 2024 World Darts Championship Finalists 📷 pic.twitter.com/MZKAcj0Rkb
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2024
People on social media were making jokes about how old he looks, which he says have been “going on for years,” and he now “laughs off” the jokes, according to Daily Mail. But it went so far that his mother released a picture of his birth certificate to prove once and for all that this teenager was, in fact, born in the year 2007.
Proof he really is a wonderkid. Luke Littler’s birth certificate shows ‘The Nuke’ really is a child prodigy. pic.twitter.com/7fJ3O6Qq6u
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) January 2, 2024
Read more about Littler’s magical run at ESPN and the Guardian.