Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has praised Luke Littler's 'mesmerising' and 'inspirational' performance after the 17-year-old became the youngest ever PDC World Darts Champion. Littler defeated three-time winner Michael van Gerwen 7-3 at Alexandra Palace, a year after finishing runner-up on his debut.
In a statement, Sir Keir 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.' He added that Littler should be proud of his achievement for both himself and the sport.
Warrington Wolves, Littler's hometown rugby club, posted on X: 'CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. We could not be prouder of you @LukeTheNuke180, huge congratulations! Wow. Unstoppable.'
Sixteen-time world champion Phil Taylor also congratulated Littler, calling it a 'fantastic performance'. World number one Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in last year's final, wrote: 'Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 on becoming world champion. I think it was very well deserved!'
