Luke Littler, the 18-year-old back-to-back world darts champion, has revealed that he only passed his GCSE in sports after leaving school at 16 to focus on his sporting career. The Warrington-born player, who won his second World Darts Championship earlier this month, said he infrequently attended school in favour of competing in youth and men's tournaments.
Speaking to The Times during his rise to fame in 2023, Littler admitted that his poor attendance sometimes angered teachers. 'I was never really in,' he said. 'At the beginning, they were a bit thingy with it, because I was having so much time off, but we were like, “He's having time off because he's doing well and winning youth titles.”'
Littler left Padgate Academy in Warrington after sitting his GCSE exams in the summer of 2023, revealing he only passed his sports exam. 'I did my sport. I got a pass in sport. That's it. Just sport,' he said. He also explained that he did not take A-levels because he secured a Professional Tour card through the Development Tour.
The Nuke addressed chants of 'You've got school in the morning' from the Alexandra Palace crowd during his runner-up finish in 2024. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: '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.'
Despite his lack of formal qualifications, Littler's decision to prioritise darts has paid off handsomely. He defeated Gian van Veen 7-1 to claim the £1million top prize earlier this month, adding to a string of major titles already won at just 18 years old.
