MAKING OF THE NUKE
Inside meteoric rise of Luke Littler who was destined for stardom aged 9 as he prepares for historic Ally Pally final
LUKE LITTLER was destined for greatness from just nine years of age.
The Warrington wonderkid, 16, made more history as he beat Rob Cross to become the youngest ever player to reach the World Darts Championship final.
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On his Ally Pally debut, he has captured the hearts of the British public but fell agonisingly short as he lost 7-4 in the final against World No1 Luke Humphries.
But the story of the teenage superstar goes all the way back to when he was wearing nappies.
Last month, footage emerged of Littler as an 18-month-old toddler throwing darts at a magnetic board.
It had been purchased for him by his dad Anthony Buckley - who was a casual darts player.
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And even as a nappy-wearing youngster, Littler's technique was there for all to see.
Just over seven years later he began training at the famous St Helens Darts Shop - which has helped improve top level stars such as reigning world champion Michael Smith, Dave Chisnall and Stephen Bunting.
And his boyhood coach, Karl Holden, who trained him at the shop located north east of Liverpool's city centre, recently revealed he was obliterating his opponents from the age of nine.
Speaking to , he said: "He has been coming here since he was nine. We are all very proud.
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"When he first came as a kid you could see he was very special and he just got better and better. Every year he was a bit better than the last.
"We put him up to the U14s when he was nine, but three months after that he was smashing all them to bits."
He went on to add: "At nine he was good. Before he was 11 he was extremely good.
"He’s a freak of nature, honestly, he really is. I’d say he’s the (Cristiano) Ronaldo of darts.
"He is one of the best players in the world at the age of 16."
At 11, he was playing against grown men and beating them.
The following year, he came up against Humphries - who he faces in the world championship final on Wednesday evening - at a competition on Hayling Island.
The meeting came in November 2019 as Humphries, now 28, clinched the victory over Littler.
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And a photo has since emerged of the pair from the clash.
At the time, Littler posted: "Lost out in quarter-finals last night at Hayling Island competition to Luke Humphries, missed a few chances to go ahead and a bull for a 164 but gave him a great game."
Just over four years later, the pair are set to meet in the biggest game in the sport.
Littler, who is guaranteed £200,000 but will win £500,000 if he triumphs in the final, is the underdog heading into a clash with Humphries after he dismantled Scott Williams 6-0 in the last four.
But the Warrington star has already won in many people's eyes after a dream run in London.
And mentor Holden insists Littler has already motivated plenty of youngsters to get involved in darts.
He said: "He’s left such an incredible legacy at the school, lots of students have been inspired by him and gone on to be interested in darts.
"Through his sponsors, we were able to get dartboards, and we set up a darts club, which was really well attended. Many students then bought their own dartboards.
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"He’s left his mark here but I think the wider impact will be seen in schools across the UK.
"We’ll see some sort of legacy from all this."
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