A peak audience of 2.5 million watched Luke Littler defend his world title on Saturday night, according to early figures from Barb. The 18-year-old thrashed Dutch player Gian van Veen 7-1 in the final, securing a record £1m prize. Littler said he would not change despite his success: “I’m just me as you see me – outside of the darts, inside of the darts, I’ll never change.”
Littler’s dominance was such that he won 32 sets and lost just four across seven matches. He now wants to “dominate everything”. The teenager’s rise has coincided with a surge in darts’ popularity. This year’s world championships sold 170,000 tickets in pre-sale, with 20% going to non-UK fans, including from Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United States.
PR guru Mark Borkowski described the event as “the Glastonbury of sport”, praising the blend of pantomime, cosplay and live sport. He noted that Littler’s everyman appeal – fuelling himself with a margherita pizza before the final – helps attract new fans, especially young people. Next year’s tournament moves to Alexandra Palace’s Great Hall, increasing capacity from 3,200 to over 5,000.
However, Borkowski warned of potential downsides, noting that British culture often “builds people up to kill them”. Littler faced booing earlier in the tournament and bit back, illustrating the challenges of managing fame in an era of constant scrutiny. Nonetheless, Littler joins Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor as back-to-back PDC world champions.
