Premier League darts announcement LIVE: Luke Littler CONFIRMED to play, FULL line-up revealed, dates unveiled
THE PREMIER LEAGUE Darts line-up has been announced this afternoon!
Luke Littler WILL be featuring in the lucrative eight-man tournament after his heroics at the World Darts Championship.
While World No1 Luke Humphries is also gunning for the prize for the event which kicks off on February 1.
Follow ALL the updates from the announcement with our live blog below...
Humphries excited to play with Littler in Premier League
Luke Humphries will be pleased at Luke Littler's inclusion in the 2024 Premier League.
The world champion had spoken about his hopes of being able to face off against Littler again after their thrilling 7-4 World Championship final.
After the win, Humphries said: "You will never see a more down-to-earth 16-year-old like him.
“He’s just something else. I really hope he’s in the Premier League. If he doesn’t want to play in it, then fair enough, but I think it would be a pleasure to play alongside him this year because he’s one of the best players in the world, there is no doubt about that.”
Little has since been announced as part of this years competition and is excited himself to get started.
Littler delighted with Premier League inclusion
Luke Littler is over the moon that he has been chosen to play in the 2024 Premier League darts season.
The 16-year-old spoke about his excitement to get going when the tournament kicks off next month.
I can’t wait – obviously Manchester and Liverpool are very close to my hometown.
I’m looking forward to the magnificent Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin as well as trips to Cardiff and Brighton. It’s going to be an amazing experience.
Playing darts week-in, week-out, in front of tens of thousands of fans, against the world’s best players is a dream come true.
Luke Littler
Full Premier League lineup announced
The full lineup for the 2024 Premier League has been announced.
The big news is that 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler is IN.
Here are the other seven he will face:
- Michael van Gerwen
- Michael Smith
- Luke Humphries
- Gerwyn Price
- Nathan Aspinall
- Rob Cross
- Peter Wright
- Luke Littler
Humphries takes to social media
Luke Humphries took to X (formerly Twitter) to send a message to his fans following his World Darts Championship win.
The 28-year-old capped off a superb tournament with a thrilling 7-4 victory over Luke Littler.
And on top of being crowned World Champion he is also number one in the world rankings too.
His post read: "The most unimaginable feeling.. the NEW WORLD CHAMPION!!
"And world number one! This means more than anything to me.
"Thank you to all my family, friends, management, sponsors and followers for the support."
Record breaking figures
The World Darts Championship final between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler was the most watched non-football event in Sky Sports history with an incredible audience of 3.75 MILLION.
Littler, making his debut at the world championships, peaked a swarm of new fans’ interest in the competition.
Littler's semi-final clash also broke the record for Sky Sports’ most-watched darts match with 2.3m viewers.
But 24 hours later, the 16-year-old's defeat to Humphries saw the record broken again by more than one million.
Humble Littler full of praise for Humphries
Luke Littler is holding no grudges for the man who caused him last minute heartbreak in the World Championships.
When the 16-year-old spoke about his competitor Luke Humprhies on Good Morning Britain he only had good things to say.
He told Susanna and her co-host Ben Shephard: “He’s a top guy.
“It’s just all respect to him. He’s still on an 18 or 19 winning streak, he’s won the past four majors. So hopefully I can stop the streak somehow, somewhere.”
Littler's celeb messages
Luke Littler has revealed that a whole host of celebs were wishing him well before his World Darts Championship final with Luke Humphries.
The 16-year-old was blown away to receive a message of support from David Beckham, but he wasn't the only one.
Fellow football stars Luke Shaw and Rio Ferdinand also got in touch while social media duo Chunks and Filly reached out to the teen sensation.
Becks message of support
David Beckham sent Luke Littler a text message before his final match-up with Luke Humphries last night.
The England legend reached out to Littler who is a lifelong fan of his former club Manchester United.
Becks is said to have messaged the 16-year-old saying: "Good luck Luke! Once a red, always a red."
Romeo Beckham was also in attendance at the Ally Pally cheering Littler on from the crowd.
Inside the rise of Luke Littler
Many fans may have joined the train late when watching 16-year-old Luke Littler wow the darting world.
But he's been preparing for this for a long time and has seemed destined for greatness since he was just nine.
Despite what turned out to be heartbreak at the Ally Pally last night, Littler still has a bright future ahead of him.
Littler vows to train girlfriend
Luke Littler has shocked the world nation with his stunning run to the World Darts Championship final.
And now the 16-year-old has his sights set on getting girlfriend Eoise Milburn, 21, to the top too.
The beauty consultant is also an avid darts player and Littler has said he is going to train her up.
He said: “Yeah, obviously I’ve just played in that one, so hopefully I can practise with Eloise and try and get her to where I am.”
Luke Humphries astonishing journey
World number one and world champion has a nice ring to it for Luke Humphries.
But it's not been light work for the man of the moment who considered giving up darts due to crippling anxiety in 2017.
Now he is the best player in the world and has plenty more left in the tank to keep going.
Humphries backs Littler for future
Luke Humphries predicted that Luke Littler will “dominate darts” just moments after he became world champion.
He’s an incredible talent and I had to win this tonight. He’s going to win plenty, I’m sure.
He’s one of the best players in the world, there’s no doubt about that.
Luke Humphries
Littler on course for huge sponsorship deals
Teen sensation Luke Littler could be on course to become the first £40million darts player despite last night’s world final loss.
Experts predict the 16-year-old tungsten prodigy will enjoy a whirlwind of brand deals after winning a legion of new fans in a matter of days.
Littler has still bagged £200,000 in prize money and could now easily command six-figure fees for new sponsors according to Neil Hopkins, strategy partner at MC Saatchi.
Littler discusses crucial final miss
Luke Littler admitted it “would have changed everything” if he had hit double two and gone 5-2 up during his World Championship final defeat by Luke Humphries.
Sixteen-year-old debutant Littler lost 7-4 to world number one Humphries to round off an incredible journey on darts’ biggest stage at Alexandra Palace.
The unranked Warrington player squandered the chance to take a three-set lead going into the break, which allowed Humphries to take the next five sets and win his first major title.
He said: “I missed double two to go 5-2 up and that would have changed everything.
“Then I would have gone into the break and I would have been two sets away, just six legs, but it wasn’t to be and then Luke (Humphries) got the job done.
“It is what it is. I didn’t know what to go for so I asked Russ (Bray, the referee) what to go for and I didn’t hit it and I will have to come back stronger.
“It was a bit gutting standing there on my own watching Luke lift the trophy but he deserved it and was the better man on the night.”
Premier League Darts 2024 dates
The 2024 Premier League Darts season will begin in Cardiff on Thursday, February 1, 2024.
The season will run up until the final in London on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024.
Berlin, Glasgow, Newcastle, Exeter, Brighton, Nottingham, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, Rotterdam, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Leeds and Sheffield are the other cities that will host Premier League nights in 2024.
Littler hits back at trolls
Luke Littler and girlfriend Eloise have no intention of cooling their relationship after a whirlwind Christmas for the young couple.
They share a love of darts, and Littler says they are not affected by discussions around their age gap. Off the back of his defeat in the final, Littler hit back at trolls and discussed their immediate future away from the intense limelight.
"We’re going to stick together now," Littler said. "Obviously we have been doing for the past few months.
"We’re just going to stick together whether anyone likes it or not, we’re not bothered.”
Littler included in Premier League
Luke Littler says being part of the £1million Premier League is the stuff of dreams and an opportunity too good to turn down.
But the teen sensation – who turns 17 this month – has allayed burnout fears from playing week-in, week-out for FOUR solid months following a chat with his parents.
As reward for reaching the PDC World Darts final where he lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries, Littler will be part of the eight-player invitational event that kick-offs in Cardiff on February 1.
Warrington-based Littler said: “I can’t wait – obviously Manchester and Liverpool are very close to my hometown.
“I’m looking forward to the magnificent Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin as well as trips to Cardiff and Brighton. It’s going to be an amazing experience.
“Playing darts week-in, week-out, in front of tens of thousands of fans, against the world’s best players is a dream come true.
Littler reveals plan to spend winnings
Luke Littler has given more details on how he intends to spend his winnings from the World Darts Championship.
The teenager picked up £200,000 after finishing as runner-up and he is now planning a day trip with his mates.
Littler said: “All my friends are watching at home, we've always said we need to go Blackpool or Alton Towers so I think they will be looking at me like 'you're paying, Luke' and I'll be like, yeah, okay!"
Fans work out Premier League line-up
Fans believe they already know the lineup of the PDC's Premier League darts competition.
And Luke Littler is the surprise inclusion on the list, after stunning at the PDC World Darts Championships.
Littler has earned the last space in the Premier League, with his runners-up performance doing enough to get him in it.
Eagle-eyed fans made the discovery after Sky Sports tweeted out a teaser image of the lineup.
It featured players listed from one to eight without their names written and accompanied by a silhouette.
Unfortunately for Sky Sports though, the players could pretty clearly by identified by their silhouettes and fans think they know the lineup already.
According to the theory, the eight elite players chosen for the competition will be: Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Luke Littler.
Littler shares praise for Humphries
Darts sensation Luke Littler shared his four-word message to rival Luke Humphries on Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning.
He told Susanna and her co-host Ben Shephard: "He's a top guy.
"It's just all respect to him. He's still on an 18 or 19 winning streak, he's won the past four majors. So hopefully I can stop the streak somehow, somewhere."
Littler makes promise to girlfriend
Luke Littler has promised to try and help his girlfriend reach his level after finishing as runner-up at the World Championship.
He said: “Yeah, obviously I’ve just played in that one, so hopefully I can practise with Eloise and try and get her to where I am."
The teenager is also a big fan of video games and met his girlfriend playing Fifa.
But he is also an avid football manager player and even unwound by playing the game on the day of the final.
He said: “We went to the venue, sign everyone in, get the wristbands on, have a margarita pizza and then throw for like half an hour or 45 minutes, go and bull-up to see who throws first, play a bit of Football Manager then back on the board.”
Asked if he was a big gamer, he replied: “Yeah, I can’t wait to go back on my Xbox.” He then admitted he was annoyed he hadn’t brought the console down to north London from Warrington for the event, adding: “I didn’t expect it, [I] didn’t expect to get to the final.”
MVG boycotts darts final
Michael van Gerwen did not watch the World Darts Championship final between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries.
Ahead of the tournament, MVG admitted he wouldn't tune in for the final if he didn't make it.
The 34-year-old claimed watching darts is "boring" and he would rather turn on his games console.
"No chance. No, I never do.
"If someone else from Holland would be in it I probably can watch a bit, not all the game, I watch some.
"I'm not going to sit in front of the telly and watch - no chance.
"It's boring. In the mean time, I can practice myself and try to get better. Next year there is another final."
Cool Hand to meet PM
Luke Humphries is set to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street after winning the World Darts Championship.
Humphries, 28, received a congratulatory message on Twitter from Rishi Sunak as he lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy at Ally Pally.
As part of his media and commercial commitments over the coming days and weeks, he will head to the corridors of power to toast reaching the pinnacle of the oche.
Taxman coming for Littler earnings
Luke Littler has been awarded £200,000 prize money after finishing as runner-up in the World Darts Championship.
But at least £83k is set to be taken in tax as there is no exemption from paying tax for being under 18.
Investment platform have estimated Littler will have to pay £76,203 in tax, as well as £7,330 in National Insurance, which means his winnings will be sliced by almost half.