Luke Littler reveals the one extravagance he will splash prize money on

A-grade perfection at Alexandra Palace, A-list celebrity congratulations lighting up his phone, and now apt plans to welcome an A-Class Mercedes to the drive in Warrington.

“Last year I was looking at driving and I loved the Ford Focus, but now I’ve gone up in the world just a little,” he tells assembled reporters, his world title-winning feat still sinking in after four hours’ sleep.

The Mercedes, when it does arrive, will need L plates. Littler’s life of relentless darts, with computer games in between, has left as little time for driving lessons as it did for school exams.

But, despite continuing to live off a monthly allowance from his multi-million-pound projected earnings, the Mercedes will be the one extravagance he now affords himself. “I’ve always loved a Mercedes A-Class,” said Littler. “Just a small car.”

In almost every other respect, the day-to-day is remarkably ordinary for this otherwise extraordinary young man. Littler was thrilled to get a message from David Beckham but he was unaware the Prime Minister had also been among prominent figures to congratulate him.

Instead, as he returns north, a major cause of excitement for Littler was the prospect of catching up on some kip in his own bed. “For now, it’s a case of ‘I’ve won my first world title, so let’s relax and chill for a little bit’,” he says of his plans with family over the coming days.

Littler credits his parents, Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler, with keeping him so grounded. As he became the youngest ever winner of the PDC World Darts Championship with a 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen, he regularly looked over his shoulder at Buckley for reassurance. “My dad looked so settled throughout the game,” Littler explained. “When I was looking over to him, he didn’t look nervous. So I knew myself that if he’s not nervous then I just need to play with freedom.”

Before Friday’s final, Littler was listening to Lip Up Fatty by Bad Manners and a mixture of house music on his Airpods to get himself pumped up. But there was little sign of any raucous celebrating after his triumph. He said “everyone was in tears”, including his mother who had been most nervous, but much of his time was eaten away replying to messages on his phone.

He eventually made it to bed at 2am, awaking at his Islington digs at around 6am, with thoughts immediately turning to returning home. “We’ll see,” he said, when asked whether he might splash out on a holiday prior to returning to the oche in the Bahrain Masters. “We’ll go home tonight. We all can’t wait. We’ll see where we go. I’m sure we’ll try and see where we go. My mum and dad might be going away. I’ll chill at home.”

Outside the four walls of his newly bought family home, Littler does recognise, however, his world has changed forever. “Mesmerising performance,” wrote Keir Starmer after watching him lift the trophy. “Congratulations. An inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy. You should be really proud of what you’ve achieved tonight, not just for yourself, but for the sport of darts as a whole.”

“I didn’t know that,” was Littler’s immediate response when asked whether he had read the message. He was significantly more struck by his message from Beckham, who, to his delight, is now among the Manchester United fan’s 1.5 million Instagram followers. “It’s big to know that not only the likes of David Beckham are watching, but the Prime Minister too, that’s amazing,” said Littler.

That said, Littler has been remarkably unaffected by the hype around him. The teenager was making only his second appearance at the tournament having reached the final on his debut 12 months ago, losing to current world No 1 Luke Humphries. Since then, Littler has risen from 164th to second in the PDC Order of Merit.

Repeatedly, he acknowledged the major role his family has played in his rise. “They have put the hard work and effort into me but just to get them on stage, and my brother’s 21st [birthday] today, it is a good present,” Littler said. “My sister didn’t want to come on stage. It is not a normal 17-year-old’s life but it shows what I have done for myself. My parents got the right sponsors for me and they have also done a lot for me.”

When asked how it felt to be compared with the likes of Pele, Boris Becker and Lester Piggott in the list of great sporting teenagers, he added: “It’s crazy to even think about being mentioned in the same sentence as some of the best sportsmen there’s ever been. Even if I had won it last year as a 16-year-old, it would have been incredible, but a year later I’ve won the title and it feels a bit crazy.”

On Friday, he had been rubbing shoulders with another sporting great, Chris Hoy, who was on stage for his trophy presentation. Typically unphased, Littler said he had not realised who he was amid the delirium of celebrations.

“I heard him talking about prostate cancer a few days before but I didn’t know him until my mum and dad came on stage,” Littler said. “It’s very sad what he’s going through, but the limelight on him has helped raise a lot of money for Prostate Cancer UK, which is great, and it was nice he had the confidence to come on stage and present the trophy.”

As Littler makes his way back up the M6, all that was left to worry about was exactly where his world title and the Ballon D’Art trophy (for hitting the most 180s at the championship) will go. “When we moved into the house, there were two cabinets either side of the TV,” he said. “We were like, ‘there’s only one thing going in there, and that’s all the trophies’.”

With the trophy collection growing faster than even Littler would have believed 18 months ago, a third cabinet, he accepts, will almost certainly be in place in 2025.