Darts point the way to sporting glory

Forget football, get kids to hit the oche where big money awaits and there is virtually no barrier to entry, writes seasoned journalist Razak Chik.

Which sportsperson looks like your average neighbourhood beefy, chubby boy, yet already sports a flourishing beard?

Prematurely hirsute he may be, but this young man is no destitute. He has amassed more than £3 million in prize money – all before turning 20.

His growing hegemony and sporting prowess in the world of darts are now unleashed on an unsuspecting global stage.

This lad is Luke Littler, who turned 19 on Jan 21. Nicknamed ‘The Nuke’, he became the first player – a feat neither man nor boy had managed before on the darts stage – to scoop the £1 million prize that went with the title of World Darts Champion just three days into the new year.

Littler beat four other players who were twice or three times older than him. His final opponent, however, was just a tad older – an equally young Dutchman, Van Veen, aged 23.

Many embraced Littler as their hero, while others reacted with adult ire at this affrontery of youth.

Born in Runcorn and raised in Warrington in the north of England, Littler is a die-hard Manchester United fan and follows the fortunes of the Warrington rugby league team.

The Nuke first broke into darts prominence in 2024 when he won a string of tournaments – the Premier League, the World Series of Darts Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts.

He had taken the plunge into the world of adult sporting combat just as others his age were contemplating losing their virginity.

Aged just 16, he reached the 2024 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship final to become the youngest ever finalist, winning £200,000 in prize money. He also went on to win the PDC World Youth Championship, five PDC Development Tour titles and the 2024 Bahrain Masters – his first senior title – one day before his 17th birthday.

Instead of teen angst, Littler by most accounts diverted his testosterone towards mastering the oche – though he reportedly failed the theory portion of his driving test six times. And no doubt some of it went to his chin, hence the surfeit of facial hair on one so young.

How did he become so good, so fast, so young?

Could the hothousing he went through be replicated by Asian tiger mums out there looking to turn their tyke into a William Tell?

Legend has it – true story as it turns out – that his taxi driver father bought him a magnetic dartboard from a pound shop, the British equivalent of our thrift shop selling items for a few ringgit.

There are videos of him waddling about at 18 months old and chucking the projectiles in his diapers. It was only from age four onward that he was handed his first steel-tipped darts.

Aged nine, he joined the St Helens Darts Academy – yes, there is such a thing in the United Kingdom – which provided coaching and development for budding players. Displaying prodigious talent, he was deemed good enough to join the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) circuit, an affiliate of the PDC.

The JDC offers programmes for developing players under 18, providing structured pathways including tournaments culminating in the JDC World Championship.

Littler announced his arrival on the world stage by reaching the final of the 2023-2024 PDC World Championships at just 16. He was already ranked 164 in the world in his debut season. For the record, he lost the final 7-4 to Luke Humphries at Alexandra Palace – Ally Pally to darts what the Sheffield Crucible is to snooker.

Emerging from the disappointment of failing to become darts’ youngest ever world champion, Littler went on – nay plundered – almost all the major televised darts titles thereafter.

He has amassed 10 major titles in his first two years on the PDC circuit, becoming the youngest world No. 1 at 18 years of age. Littler also compiled an unbeaten 21-match streak in televised ranking tournaments, a run that ended at the Bahrain Darts Masters in early January 2026.

Now, with 2026 well under way, Littler has banked more than £3 million in prize money in just over 20 months as a professional. Add to that multi-million-pound endorsements and sponsorship deals – who is to sniff at the bounty that darts bringeth?

Darts, therefore, can be the sport of choice for Asian tiger mums to hothouse their children – as early as 18 months, if the Littlers are any guide.

For a start, darts requires mathematical agility. Players must target combinations from a receding score of 501, with the final arrow needing to land on the outermost ring worth a double score.

Those who can work this out in their heads have an advantage, as they do not have to break the rhythm of their throwing action to choose the correct finishing target.

With the emergence of Littler, the popularity of darts has surged and so has the size of the prize kitty.

The investment is ludicrously low. The earlier you start, the better the seed you sow – Luke Littler’s example to follow.

Malaysian sport may well be ripe for this revolution. It is doubtful that the physical stature of Malaysians will match the lofty heights and sturdy builds of the Japanese and Koreans in certain disciplines.

We have shown that we can excel in squash and badminton – so forget hockey, rugby and footy, and all the politicking and attendant controversy – and consider the oche instead.

If you have a baby on the way, invest in darts. Do not delay.

The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.