Luke Littler discusses taking a £1 million Premier League Darts spot despite first suggesting he wouldn’t.
Following his inclusion in the Premier League Darts 2024 lineup, Luke Littler has made his voice known.
Luke Littler, who had earlier indicated he would turn down the lucrative offer, has expressed his excitement following the PDC’s announcement that he has been included to the 2024 Premier League Darts roster. The 16-year-old phenom, who lit up the World Darts Championship this winter, will take part in the £1 million competition.
With 3.71 million viewers, Littler’s incredible journey to Wednesday’s final at Alexandra Palace captivated the country and set a record for Sky Sports’ non-Premier League viewership.
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However, Littler’s Ally Pally stage performance persuaded the PDC to hold a seat for the adolescent rider, increasing his £200,000 earnings as the World Championship runner-up.
Joining Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, and Rob Cross in the all-star lineup, he will get a minimum of £60,000 in prize money.
Unlike Chris Dobey, who was unfortunate to lose out, Littler had already said that he wasn’t sure if he was prepared for the 17-week extravaganza.
He continued: “I think the PDC are going to keep me out of it because that will just be gruelling like everyone has said.”
He is eager to begin competing in the well-known competition, though, which will take him to places outside of Warrington, where he was raised, such Manchester and Liverpool.
“It will be right up my street, and I can’t wait,” Littler remarked. Naturally, my hometown of Warrington is very close to Manchester and Liverpool, and I’m excited to visit the amazing Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Cardiff, and Brighton.
“The experience is going to be incredible. Playing darts against the top players in the world, in front of tens of thousands of fans, every week is a dream come true.
“I’m looking forward to the Mercedes-Benz arena – it’s massive, and they have a nice crowd over there in Germany.”
“It will be a fantastic experience and a good test for me, but if I wind up playing Gezzy [Gerwyn Price] there on the opening night when he gets the crowd behind him, it might get lively in Cardiff.
“But that’s the nature of the Premier League – I’ve just got to do what I do and show why I’m there every week.”
With almost 775,000 Instagram followers at the World Darts Championship, Littler has now surpassed all other darts players in the world in terms of followers.
If he performs as well in the Premier League as he did on the biggest stage in darts, his reputation will only grow. In Cardiff, the campaign kicks off on February 1.