Luke Littler on his next challenger: Michael van Gerwen said a star is born every 17 years!
Luke Littler has inspired plenty of young people to take up darts as the sport explodes in popularity amid the 18-year-old's staggering dominance; watch the Premier League Darts line-up announcement on Monday at 3.30pm on Sky Sports News
Sunday 4 January 2026 18:02, UK
The question on everyone's lips: Is there a player in darts who will challenge Luke Littler for the next 10-15 years? The reality is we may not have heard of them yet.
Littler became a back-to-back world champion with a 7-1 demolition of Gian van Veen at Alexandra Palace in Saturday's final, checking out on 147 to seal a monumental victory.
That makes him only the fourth player ever to retain their title at the Palace, joining Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Michael van Gerwen on an illustrious and very short list.
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Littler has simply been in a league of his own of late and now holds the World Championship, UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam and the Players Championship titles, is the world No 1, and the first winner of the £1m prize for winning at Alexandra Palace.
New Dutch No 1 Van Veen, Luke Humphries and Van Gerwen make up the top four on the PDC Order of Merit, and are Littler's closest challengers, but it often feels that if he is at his best, he is simply unstoppable.
The Luke Littler effect has been in full force over the last few years since the then 16-year-old went on a magical run to the world final in 2024 before being beaten by Humphries- which is still the only game he has lost in 20 at the Worlds.
His rise has taken darts' popularity into a new stratosphere, and now Littler has to ponder whether he has inspired the person who will one day knock him off his perch.
"There's just so many opportunities for players to be on tour now. Us players, we're only going to get better. We're fighting for the extra prize money this year in all majors. That'll obviously spur the players on," Littler said.
"The Premier League is one of the biggest ones, week in, week out, playing against the best. Anything can happen in 2026 and everyone knows it's darts, anything can happen on the day.
"Just like Michael van Gerwen said, there's a star born every 17 years. There might have been a star born last year, which I don't know about, we'll have to see.
"There's a lot of youngsters that are going to fly through the ranks."
Don't write them off!
Many players at the top of the sport still hold a firm belief they can take down 'The Nuke'.
Van Veen said after his loss in the final that he knows he has the game to beat Littler in the big moments. Humphries has been there and done it. Many in the sport still believe MVG can get back to his best.
"People are going to say me and Gian, me and Luke. Michael will get back to his best. It's Michael van Gerwen," Littler said.
"When (MVG) won the Worlds in 2017, his tournament average was 110. Night One, the Premier League, me and Gian, which is going to be a good game.
"The Premier League is going to be special. Everyone wants to beat me. Even after the final against Luke Humphries, I've had that target on my back and it's not stopping."
The Premier League to take Van Veen to new heights?
One thing that will help World Darts Championship finalist Van Veen is that he is an automatic qualifier for this year's Premier League in which he will battle for 16 weeks with seven other of the sport's top players.
Littler credits his inclusion in the 2024 Premier League with helping build his game and thinks it will only do the same for the Dutchman.
"It will definitely help him playing week in, week out. My first year playing against the best in the world and obviously Gian's one of the best in the world, we're all going to be mixing it up," the back-to-back world champion said.
"It's going to be interesting to see who does get in that Premier League. It will definitely help Gian and he can get a taste of Premier League and then European action and then the Pro Tour action, so we'll see how Gian handles it."
'You're going to be world champion'
With so much attention, so much fame, so much responsibility on his shoulders, you could forgive Littler for being overawed by the last few years.
However, he knows how to separate his darting life and home life.
"There's so much going on. Social media nowadays, you can't miss anything. There's always something there about yourself," Littler added.
"Once I'm at home, that's me at home. I'm just an 18-year-old boy. And then when it does come to darts and the travel, that's when I'm in a competitive mode and want to win."
"When I was a little kid I played in the pubs. All the old men said 'you're going to be world champion, this and that'. I didn't expect it to pan out like this," he said.
"The support I've got from family, friends, sponsors. They've all helped me to get here and I've done my job playing well."
What's next in darts?
Littler, Humphries, Van Gerwen and Van Veen are the four automatic qualifiers for the 2026 Premier League season, with the remaining four names set to be revealed on Monday afternoon.
That announcement will be made live on Sky Sports News at 3.30pm, with the format of the eight-player competition remaining unchanged this season. The opening night is in Newcastle on February 5, with every week live on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
