Luke Littler, the 18-year-old back-to-back World Darts Champion, has revealed he only passed his sports GCSE and left school at 16 to focus on darts. The Warrington-born star, who defended his title earlier this month by defeating Gian van Veen 7-1 to win the £1 million prize, admitted he rarely attended school in favour of pursuing his darting career.
Speaking to The Times during his meteoric rise in 2023, Littler said: 'I was never really in. When I was younger, I just got on with what I had to do. I didn't get involved with anything else.' He added that teachers were initially unhappy with his frequent absences, but they eventually understood after he started winning youth and men's titles.
Littler left Padgate Academy in Warrington in summer 2023 after sitting his GCSEs. He said: 'I did my sport. I got a pass in sport. That's it. Just sport.' He also revealed he did not pursue A-Levels because he earned a Pro Tour card through the Development Tour.
During his debut World Championship run, crowds at Alexandra Palace taunted him with chants of 'You've got school in the morning.' Littler told Sky Sports: 'I don't know where they've got that from, but it is funny to listen to them and just know that I've not got school in the morning. From the start of next year, it's just darts, darts, darts for me.'
