Luke Littler

LUKE LITTLER is a whisker away from becoming world No.1 for the first time.

The teen sensation battered Luke Humphries in Sunday’s World Grand Prix final to slash the buffer ‘Cool Hand’ enjoyed at the top of the PDC Order of Merit.

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Darts world rankings are determined by the amount of prize money a player has won in ranking tournaments over a rolling two-year period.

Littler was 16 years old and barely even on the radar two years ago.

He has racked up virtually all of his staggering £1,665,500 haul since bursting onto the scene at the 2024 World Darts Championship.

And that doesn’t even include the cash he’s banked at non-ranking events.

Humphries has been untouchable at the top of the standings for nigh on two years.

But the hiding he got from Littler in Leicester has cut the gap to just over £70,000.

Humphries will need a heroic effort to remain on top as he’s defending maximum winnings at the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals next month.

Josh Rock and Danny Noppert are two of the other big winners from the World Grand Prix.

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Rock, 24, is up from ninth to eighth in the world, having started the year 16th.

And Noppert has jumped from 13th to 10th after losing to Humphries in the semi-finals.

Damon Heta, Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright have all slipped further down the pecking order.

And there is more misery for 2023 world champion Michael Smith – who didn’t even qualify for the World Grand Prix – as he has dropped two places to 27th.

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THE World Darts Championship will return for another year of thrilling action in December!

Luke Littler is back at Ally Pally to defend his World Darts Championship title – and tickets are flying off the shelf!

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World Darts Championship 2025 tickets and prices

StubHub are offering tickets for sale for every session of the tournament, at the time of writing.

The cheapest tickets available are currently priced at £145 per person for the evening session on Thursday, December 18.

There are tickets on the site available at a range of prices.

Tickets for the final, for example, are priced from £380 at the time of writing – these are for seats on the outskirts rather than a table in the middle.

The cheapest table seats for the final start at £940 each.

For those looking for hospitality tickets, Seat Unique is offering packages – although is asking for those interested to register their interest.

There is no pricing available at the time of writing, with details expected soon.

Are tickets for the World Darts Championship still on sale?

Yes, tickets are available, but fans will have to buy from secondary ticketing sites.

PDCTV annual members were able to have first dibs at tickets during a pre-sale.

That took place on August 4 and August 5, 2025.

There was then the chance for others to put their name into a free-to-enter ticket ballot.

Registrations for the ballot opened on August 6 and then closed on August 15.

Tickets are now available on third-party ticketing sites, although the PDC have previously warned fans about purchasing tickets this way.

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PLANS for Riyadh Season 2025 have been formally announced – with WWE and darts events now on the agenda.

As part of the Middle Eastern sporting bonanza which starts this week and runs until early next year, Saudi Arabia will host the Royal Rumble, becoming the first nation outside of North America to take on a marquee WWE event.

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They are also expected to stage Wrestlemania in 2027.

The Kingdom will host the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in January as part of the World Series of Darts.

The PDC has never taken a professional darts event to Saudi before.

Chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, announced the plans for Riyadh Season 2025 in a press conference on Sunday.

Alalshikh has previously said he wants to try something “crazy” with darts – but it is not yet clear what he has up his sleeve.

The Riyadh Season Snooker Championship remains on the calendar, along with high-profile events in tennis and boxing.

Six Kings Slam is one of the most lucrative events on the tennis circuit, with Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz all set to feature.

Players are guaranteed £1.1million just for competing, with the winner banking an eye-watering £4.5m.

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Ring IV will feature boxing showdowns including David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde and Brian Norman Jr. vs Devin Haney.

A parade in Boulevard City will kick off Riyadh Season 2025 on October 10.

The entertainment extravaganza will feature 15 global championships as well as 34 exhibitions and festivals.

And Alalshikh estimates that its brand value has reached £2.4BILLION.

Organisers said: “Riyadh Season 2025 will be a defining milestone in the history of global entertainment, emphasising that Riyadh has become the emblem of a new era of creativity, culture, and international entertainment excellence.”

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STEPHEN BUNTING has completed a super-rare feat that only TWO other players have ever managed.

The Bullet has been in fantastic form in 2025 as he has won two Players Championships, two European Tour titles, and two World Series of Darts.

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This effort has only been managed twice before by Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen.

Littler managed to achieve the stunning feat last year while Van Gerwen did it in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Bunting completed the achievement with his victory over Luke Woodhouse in the Swiss Darts Trophy final.

It was the penultimate event of this year’s European Tour ahead of the German Darts Championship later this month.

Bunting put the victory down to his change in footwear as he swapped his normal shoes for some SPIKEY TRAINERS.

He said: “I’m playing the best darts of my life. I feel consistently that I’m delivering even in spiky shoes.

“I’m so happy with this win, it means a lot.

“I’m No4 in the world. It shows how consistent I’ve been.

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“But you can’t take anything for granted in this game. These players are hungry.

“I need to keep on my toes, keep on the practice board, make sure I stay humble.”

After beating Chris Landman on Saturday night, he explained his shoes dilemma, saying: “I was playing in expensive shoes without the spikes, and they were marking.

“So, my idea is use the spikes and they won’t touch the oche and they will last a lot longer.

“And if someone upsets me, they will get one of them in the back!”

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LUKE LITTLER has revealed he has failed his driving theory test once again – and it is frustrating the hell out of him.

The Nuke is the best darts player on the planet but he is not yet ready to get on the roads by himself.

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Having turned 18 last January, he is desperate to enjoy the freedom of being able to drive himself to tournaments and to see pals on his own terms.

Yet the theory test has so far proved extremely difficult for him to master – it has taken him SIX attempts and counting.

After he won the World Matchplay in Blackpool in July, Littler posted on Instagram the score sheet for his fifth test.

On the multiple choice part, he scored 41 out of 50 – the pass mark is 43 – and he got 44 out of 75 for the hazard perception part, which is barely passable.

He got questions wrong back then in relation to hazard awareness, alertness, safety, motorway rules and road and traffic signs.

When he became the sport’s youngest world champion in January after beating Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final, he received £500,000 for his exploits at Ally Pally.

The next day he was asked what motor he would buy with his winnings.

Other youngsters in his privileged position would eye up a flash Ferrari or Lamborghini if they were in the same position.

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But he said he would like the cheapest Mercedes-Benz A Class going for about £30,000.

On Wednesday, speaking at a Target Darts pop-up shop in Manchester, he was asked about his driving plans and if he had made any progress thus far.

Littler conceded: “No, not yet. I did do a theory the other week but I didn’t put it on my Instagram.

“Oh, it was a bad one. It was a bad one. I’ll let you know that.”

Asked what exactly he was struggling with, he replied: “The hazard (perception test).

“Is that holding me back from doing my practical? Yeah. I’m trying. I just want to pass. I just want to pass.

“Like I put up on my Instagram the other week, I’ve got a car – and it’s not a Mercedes – but it’s sat there waiting.”

*World-leading darts manufacturer Target Darts opened the UK’s ultimate darting pop-up experience in Manchester to celebrate their biggest-ever product launch. For more details on the lastest darts products, please visit: www.target-darts.co.uk

BARRY HEARN reckons Luke Littler has made darts so popular that there aren’t enough days in the year to squeeze in the amount of events needed to meet fan demand.

The PDC chairman has said that “main man” Littler is one of the reasons behind darts‘ incredible growth in recent years.

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Littler, 18, burst onto the scene at the 2024 World Championship and has since cemented himself as one of the best players in the world.

His meteoric rise has seen him be crowned world champion on his second attempt, pocket in excess of £1MILLION in prize money and add over 15 PDC titles to a growing trophy cabinet.

Speaking to Sky Sports about what Littler’s emergence has done for the sport, Hearn said: “It’s [darts] just getting bigger and bigger.

“I’m actually having a problem that there is only 365 days in a year!

“The demand worldwide is so huge that I could fill that twice.”

Adding: “It’s non stop. The players are responding with performances beyond what I’ve ever seen in my life, in terms of averages and checkouts.

“Led by the main man Luke Littler, who is fast becoming a phenomenon.”

The increased interest in darts has meant an increase in prize money too.

Luke Littler prize money breakdown

Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner:

World Championship 2025 – £500,000

World Championship 2024 – £200,000

Grand Slam of Darts 2024 – £150,000

European Tour – £91,000

Player Championships events – £71,500

Players Championship final runner-up – £60,000

UK Open 2023 + 2024 – £17,500

World Matchplay – £10,000

World Grand Prix – £7,500

European Championship – £7,500

(Unranked) Premier League Darts – £315,000

TOTAL: £1.43 million

This year’s World Championship will be worth an eye-watering £1MILLION to the winner – double last year’s jackpot.

While there has been a total increase of £7MILLION across the PDC calendar thanks to a historic Sky Sports £125million five-year TV deal.

Speaking on the changes, Hearn said: “This is the first year where our prize money goes past £25million, World Championship is worth £1million, more European events because of demand in Europe.

“The Premier League is heading out of the UK and going to Belgium, it’s non stop”.

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