TEENAGE darts prodigy Luke “the Nuke” Littler secured his maiden World Series trophy of 2025 with a commanding 8-4 victory over Belgium’s Mike De Decker at the Australian Masters.
The 18-year-old Englishman delivered a dominant performance in Wollongong on Saturday night, adding another milestone to his meteoric rise in professional darts.
Littler’s path to glory included decisive wins against local favourite Damon Heta and former world championship semi-finalist Stephen Bunting during the sixth World Series event this season.
“It feels great,“ said the world number two, who avenged his loss to Gerwyn Price in last year’s Australian final.
The Warrington-born star acknowledged his previous struggles on this year’s World Series circuit before breaking through in Wollongong.
“Obviously it hadn’t gone to plan on the World Series circuit this year, but there’s plenty of opportunities to win and I’ve finally picked up that trophy,“ Littler told reporters.
Fresh from his triumph, the teenager immediately turned his attention to next weekend’s penultimate World Series stop in New Zealand.
“I cannot wait for Auckland now,“ added the reigning world champion.
Littler first captured global attention during his fairytale run to the 2024 World Darts Championship final as an unseeded 17-year-old qualifier.
Though he lost that final to current world number one Luke Humphries, his performances sparked unprecedented interest in darts across Britain.
Google’s 2024 year-end data revealed Littler had surpassed both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III as the UK’s most searched personality.
The teenager cemented his superstar status last January by dethroning three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen to claim the sport’s ultimate prize.
Saturday’s victory marks Littler’s third major title since turning professional, following his Bahrain Masters and UK Open successes earlier this year.
The darts phenomenon continues rewriting record books as the youngest player to achieve multiple televised tournament wins in the sport’s history.
Professional Darts Corporation officials confirmed Littler’s Wollongong triumph earned him 12 ranking points in the race to December’s World Series Finals in Amsterdam.
With two World Series events remaining, including next week’s New Zealand Darts Masters, Littler remains on course for a potential top seeding at the season-ending championship.
The teenage sensation returns to action on Friday when he faces either Haupai Puha or Ben Robb in Auckland’s first round. – AFP
