Luke Littler: Who is the 16-year-old taking the World Darts Championship by storm – and celebrating with a kebab?
Sixteen-year-old Luke Littler is stealing the show at the World Darts Championship – and is now tipped as one of the favourites for the title.
Nicknamed “The Nuke”, the teenager’s sensational performances have seen him storm into the third round and have won plaudits from his idol Phil “The Power” Taylor.
Here’s everything you need to know about the sport’s new prodigy – from learning to play in nappies as a toddler to his celebratory meals going viral.
Playing darts at 18 months old
He may only be a teenager but Littler, from Warrington, Cheshire, has been practising his throwing for some time.
He told Sky News: “There’s a video on YouTube of me when I was 18 months in a nappy listening to Raymond van Barneveld’s music, listening to Phil Taylor’s music, doing their celebrations.
“That’s when it started – 18 months and in a nappy on a magnetic board.
“[Aged] four or five I was on a proper board but it was a bit low and then about seven to eight (years old), that’s when I started playing [at] the proper height and the proper length. So it’s just been all darts in my life so far.”
Talent is one thing, but having the right support system to nurture it is just as important.
The teen clearly thinks a lot of his parents, who he says are “proud” of what he’s achieved so far.
“They just can’t believe (it), I can’t believe it myself,” he told Sky News.
“But it’s just good to have a set of parents who are supportive and that are always there for me and I’ve got a good management team around me. So it’s just the best group of people that can be around me, to be honest.”
Viral celebrations
A photo of Littler celebrating his first round win at the PDC World Dart Championships with a kebab went viral on social media.
The 16-year-old’s newly formed fan base probably expected a similar photo to come out after his second victory too, as he told Sky Sports he’d most likely tuck into another kebab to celebrate on Thursday night.
A plot twist came on Friday morning, though, as Littler revealed on Sky News that he opted for a different celebratory meal.
“Last night was just a standard KFC,” he boasted.
He’s clearly a down-to-earth lad, but with a World Darts Championship fixture looming over him until after Christmas, will Littler’s festive period feel a bit different to ours?
“It’s just like Christmas every year,” he said.
“Just chill, relax with the family, and obviously while they’re doing whatever, I’ll have to get on the board for a few hours each day and then obviously come back down, whenever the schedule’s next out.”
Fans and fame
Littler’s celebrity status is rising with every dart he throws.
His Instagram account has gone from 4,000 followers at the start of this tournament to 23,500 and counting.
He told Sky News he could feel the nation’s support while on the big stage.
“Everyone’s cheering, wanting my autograph and everything,” he said.
“Even young kids having my darts shirt on… It was good to see when I stepped on the stage.”
He also talked about the popularity of his personalised “The Nuke” darts sets.
“After my first two games in Ally Pally, 900 sets sold,” he said. “People all over the world… [I] couldn’t believe it. 900 sets, for winning two games at the Ally Pally!”
His career so far
Littler won his first match at the PDC World Championship on Wednesday, averaging an astonishing 106.12 in his demolition of former Lakeside champion Christian Kist in the first round.
He then held off a mid-match charge from the experienced Andrew Gilding to knock out the 20th seed with a 3-1 win on Thursday night.
Littler’s matches have seen the famously rowdy crowd at London’s Alexandra Palace (or Ally Pally) chanting: “You’ve got school in the morning.”
His early form means he’s suddenly on his way to being a household name, but his talent has been evident for some time.
He won the England Youth Grand Prix in 2019, became England Youth Open champion in 2021 and won his first senior title at the Irish Open later that year.
He won the Welsh Open in 2022 and this year notched further senior titles at the Isle of Man Classic, Gibraltar Open, British Open and British Classic.
The 16-year-old is also a back-to-back JDC World Champion and reigning World Youth Champion.
Littler’s got big dreams
The rookie reckons he can go all the way this year, and bookies clearly agree – he’s their fifth favourite to take home the championship trophy.
“If my A-game is there throughout the tournament, then I don’t see why not,” he told Sky Sports News when asked if he backs himself to win it.
“I know I’ve got a good chance,” he went on.
“I just wanted to win my first-round game and then as soon as I got back to my hotel, I said to my dad, ‘let’s make sure we come back after Christmas’.
“Now I’ve overachieved and hopefully I can beat Matt [Campbell] and overachieve again.”
When asked about his hero Phil Taylor backing him to win the tournament, he added: “What Phil has said, it’s a nice thing. It’s unbelievable – my idol talking about me.
“I’ve got to beat whoever’s in front of me, and just got to go game by game and hopefully, I do win it.”
The Power isn’t the only former darts player singing his praises. Sky Sports Darts’ Wayne Mardle has said Littler is “probably the most naturally gifted player I have ever seen in my life”.
What’s next for Littler?
He’ll face 34-year-old Canadian Matt Campbell on 27 December, live on Sky Sports Darts, with the final taking place on 3 January.
If he goes all the way, Littler will celebrate his 17th birthday on 21 January as the world champion.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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