Premier League darts announcement LIVE: Full line-up REVEALED as Luke Littler leads the way but two World Champs AXED
THE PREMIER League Darts line-up has now been CONFIRMED - and two former world champions have been AXED from the competition
Tournament holder and new world champ Luke Littler will be looking to retain the title he won during his unprecedented first 12 months in the sport.
Littler will compete in the 17-week extravaganza alongside some of the sport's biggest names, including Michael van Gerwen and World No1 Luke Humphries.
But TWO former world champs have been brutally AXED from the star-studded eight-man field.
- Explainer: Full Premier League Darts schedule
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'The game that really mattered'
LUKE LITTLER has picked out the "game that really mattered" on his journey to becoming the youngest ever PDC world champion.
Just moments after defeating MVG, Littler said: “I said in interviews that I needed to get to a quick start and that’s what I did.
“Michael was behind me, he was right behind me the whole way through.
“The first game against Ryan Meikle was the game that really mattered. Throughout I have settled.
“At 2-0 up, I started getting nervous, but I told myself to relax. To get it over and done with, that was special.”
Upcoming darts schedule
Can't wait for the darts in 2025?
Well, the schedule is action-packed? Can Luke Littler repeat his heroics?
See the full calendar below
Littler's rise
LUKE Littler's rise continues to move more rapidly than pal Lando Norris tearing around a race track.
The teenage sensation, still only 17, has taken the darts world by storm - conquering all in front of him.
His spectacular victory over Michael van Gerwen to win the World Darts Final confirmed his place as one of sport's greatest prodigies.
Littler has also become a millionaire in just 12 months - thanks to success on the oche, as well as savvy sponsorship deals.
Winning the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year and starring on the ITV reboot of Bullseye over the Christmas period has thrusted him into popular culture outside of the arrows.
And his historic victory at Ally Pally has cemented his place as one of the nation's favourites.
And he's done this all before he can legally sink a pint in a pub.
So, what's next for Littler and where can he go?
SunSport has a look at what awaits the Nuke in the next 12 months, with insight from PR expert Mark Borkowski.
Littler's TV gold
THE Christmas telly ratings battle involved the usual clash of comedies, soaps and dramas – but for ITV, it turns out you can’t beat a bit of Bully.
With the dust finally settled on the holiday period, it’s emerged that the festive one-off of Bullseye, hosted by Freddie Flintoff, has now been watched almost 8million times.
Luke Littler appeared on the reboot, wowing fans with his darts skills.
Taylor gives Littler two tips
PHIL TAYLOR believes Luke Littler is young enough and good enough to beat his record 16 world titles.
But Taylor has given the teenage sensation two tips to stay at the top — comfortable shoes and a personal mattress topper.
“If I could give him one piece of advice, or one tip to help him stay at the top, it wouldn’t be anything to do with his darts or the way he navigates his way around the board," he said.
“I would tell him shoes.
“If you’re not standing comfortably on the oche, you’re not going to hit a target the size of your little fingernail, so make sure your shoes fit perfectly — and take two or three pairs with you everywhere.
“And sleep. Make sure you get enough rest.
“I still take a mattress topper with me everywhere I go because some hotel beds are like sleeping in the middle of the road. Your darts won’t go where you want them to land if you are bleary-eyed after a restless night.”
Taylor warns of 'United syndrome'
Phil Taylor has warned Luke Littler to be wary of 'Man Utd syndrome'.
He explained: "What Luke has to be careful of is: ‘Don’t be complacent.’
“I used to call it the 'Manchester United syndrome'. Because United never got an easy game.
“I never got an easy game as everybody tried their best against me.
Whoever plays Luke will either play brilliantly or play poorly. There will be no middle section.
“They will go up there and try their socks off. Because one, they will earn good prize money and secondly, they’ll make a big name for themselves.”
Littler's United advice
LUKE LITTLER shared his ruthless verdict on what needs to be done to turn things around at his beloved Manchester United.
Littler told the BBC: "No idea. Well, we've all got an idea.
"The players. There are some players at the club that are getting on a bit. They need to go and play somewhere else.
"And we need to find the right players to fit in the squad.";
Littler's reveals dad's role
LUKE LITTLER has revealed the key part his dad played in the World Championship final.
His father kept a lid on his emotions throughout the final and The Nuke has revealed that looking at his him controlled his nerves.
Littler said: "My dad looked so settled throughout the game. When I was looking over to him, he didn't look nervous.
"So I knew myself that if he is not nervous then I just need to play with freedom.
“I look at everyone who's there. But he is probably the main one.
"He said that he was not nervous but at 4-0, he started to get that feeling in his stomach.”
Littler's to take time out
LUKE LITTLER will not throw another dart in anger until he travels to the Bahrain Masters in less than 10 days’ time.
Littler, who prefers to spend more time on his Xbox, laughed: “I don’t want to practise really. l just want to chill out!
“It’ll probably be the same as last year, leading up to the Bahrain Masters I won’t pick them up.
“I didn’t know too much about Bahrain, but once we flew over there, a few hours on the plane, it was a really nice country.
“To win the first title of 2024 was to say that “I’m here on the World Series”.
Not quite £500k...
Luke Littler may have won a £500k cheque for his win at Ally Pally - but the tax man will take a nice chunk of it.
Unfortunately for The Nuke, he won't be seeing almost half of that cash.
HMRC laws mean he will have to forfeit a whopping £223,213 in tax, as well as £12,010 in National Insurance, according to The Daily Mail.
In total, he will lose just under £235,000 from his prize money and instead take home 53 per cent of the initial jackpot.
Littler's day out
Modest Luke Littler took his family out - just hours after pocketing £500,000.
Read more about what he did after becoming the world darts champion.
Littler's plan Old Trafford trophy show
LUKE LITTLER is set to parade the Sid Waddell Trophy in front of Manchester United fans on the Old Trafford pitch.
Club officials have been speaking with Littler’s team to identify the best match this season for him to walk on the famous turf holding aloft the PDC World Darts Championship.
The best option looks to be the home clash with Brighton on Sunday January 19 – the day after he returns home from a World Series of Darts event in Bahrain.
Littler, 17, has been a United fan all his life and spoke about his desire to show it off to fellow supporters after he beat Michael van Gerwen 7-3 at Ally Pally to win the world title for the first time.
He said: “Obviously, I’d love to take it there.
“If they allow me to, then I am sure I will go to Old Trafford.
“I saw Michael Smith did it with the world title when he went to St Helens rugby league club.”
Hearn's warning
BARRY HEARN has insisted that darts will change forever within the next five years.
Hearn, 76, believes that Littler has had an impact on the sport similar to that of Tiger Woods in golf.
He told the Sunday Times: "I would probably liken it to the arrival of Tiger Woods winning his first Major.
"Tiger was playing golf at two. Littler has been playing darts since birth almost it seems like.
"The similarities are there. Littler is bringing in a whole audience of youngsters, commercially he’s a huge success, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg."
The final match stats reminder
Match stats from the final
Littler
Average: 102.73
180s: 12
Highest checkout: 130
Checkout percentage: 55.6Van Gerwen
Average: 100.69
180s: 13
Highest checkout: 132
Checkout percentage: 36.8What's next for Littler?
After a few hours on the Xbox, the newly-crowned world champion is set to head to the Middle East later this month for the Bahrain Darts Masters.
Sixteen players will compete between January 16 and January 17.
Before that, on Monday, we will find out the Premier League line up, in which Littler is the defending champion.
No doubts whatsoever that he'll be in that one.
Then, on January 21, it's his birthday! The Nuke will turn 18.
Littler was kicked out of his darts academy aged 13
Childhood coach Karl Holden told BBC Sport that he booted Littler out of his academy for simply being too good.
He said: "It might sound bad but we sort of got rid of him out of the academy.
"He knows we didn't mean that in a nasty way. It was like, 'Don't come here no more. You're just too good.'
"When he was 13 he was just too good for the Under-21s. He was never going to achieve anything there so we was just saying, 'Go and beat all the men in the world.'"
Michael van Gerwen on new world champion Luke Littler
“Fair play to him, every chance he got, every moment he had to hurt me, he did it. I sometimes say that every 17 years a star gets born, and he is one of them.
“He did well and he deserves it. Of course it hurts, but that’s how it should be. If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not going to be a sportsman.
“It is what it is at the moment and I have to move on, I have to make sure I keep playing better.
“I’m an old b****** compared to him! I have to take this on the chin. I wasn’t sharp enough at the beginning of the game.”
Credit: PA It's not all about Littler
Let's not forget the path MVG had to take to get to the final.
Van Gerwen has had to overcome plenty of obstacles to get back to his best.
See what below.
Littler could make £100m
LUKE LITTLER could bag £100MILLION and eclipse the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi with his meteoric rise.
Sports finance expert Dr Rob Wilson believes that Littler has the potential to earn over £100m in his career.
Speaking to , he said: "Littler should comfortably earn £20m in prize money over the next 10 years.
"Littler’s meteoric rise eclipses that of Ronaldo, Messi and Beckham.
"Littler’s career trajectory as teen sensation compares to Justin Bieber more than anyone else in sport.
"Littler is already one of the most recognisable new faces in British sport, on a par with Jude Bellingham."
Littler's Hoy tribute
Luke Littler paid tribute to terminally-ill Sir Chris Hoy who attended the darts for the first time.
Hoy – Team GB’s six-time Olympic cycling champion – presented the Ballon d’Art trophy to Littler on Friday night in the post-game ceremony.
Littler, 17, said: “Days before, I had the news on and he was talking about the prostate cancer.
“I didn’t know much about him.
"Me and my mum sat down and she told me who he was.
“When my mum and dad came on stage, they pointed out who was Chris. It’s very sad what he’s going through.
“The limelight is on him and it’s good for him to come on stage and have the confidence to do it.”
"Game that really mattered"
Littler has picked out the "game that really mattered" on his journey to becoming the youngest ever PDC world champion.
He revealed that his pre-Christmas win over world No.60 Ryan Meikle was his toughest test.
“The first game against Ryan Meikle was the game that really mattered. Throughout I have settled.
“At 2-0 up, I started getting nervous, but I told myself to relax. To get it over and done with, that was special.”
Littler was overcome with emotion after dramatically beating 28-year-old barber Meikle 3-1 in the second round on December 21.
The teenage sensation broke down in tears and could barely speak to Sky Sports after making it through his first game.
Littler's pillar
Luke Littler has revealed the key part his dad played in the World Championship final.
Littler was spotted on several occasions looking over to the family section at Ally Pally, where dad Anthony, mum Lisa, sister Caitlin and brother Leon were watching from.
His father kept a lid on his emotions throughout the final and The Nuke has revealed that looking at his him controlled his nerves.
Littler's prize pot
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
Record breaking views
Luke Littler attracted record viewing figures for his World Darts Championship final against Michael van Gerwen.
The teen's fame saw a peak audience of 3.1million tune into Sky Sports for Friday's final at Ally Pally.
That is the highest number the broadcaster has attracted for a non-football event since last year's final between Littler and Luke Humphries, which had a peak of 3.7m.
Prime Minister sends his congratulations
Sir Keir Starmer also offered his thoughts on a job well done.
The Prime Minister said: “Mesmerising performance from Luke Littler to win the World Darts Championship.
“Congratulations Luke on being the youngest ever PDC World Darts Champion. An inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy.
“You should be really proud of what you’ve achieved, not just for yourself but for the sport of darts as a whole.”
