Luke Littler officially the third best darts player EVER just weeks after his 19th birthday as he rewrites history books

Luke Littler officially the third best darts player EVER just weeks after his 19th birthday as he rewrites history books

When Luke Littler was born on January 21, 2007, Michael van Gerwen was already a 17-year-old professional with a BDO World Masters title on his résumé. Phil Taylor, the greatest darts player who ever lived, had already won 12 World Championships. The idea that, barely two decades later, the kid from Warrington would be closing in on their place in the sport’s record books would have seemed fanciful to the point of absurdity.

And yet, just 46 days after his 19th birthday, that is exactly where Luke Littler finds himself.

With his UK Open victory over James Wade in Minehead, Littler’s win was his 12th career PDC major title, moving him into third place all-time for most PDC major titles — behind only Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor. Yahoo Sports

The numbers, when you hold them up to the light, remain almost incomprehensible. Van Gerwen has won 48 PDC major singles titles, placing him second in the all-time list behind Phil Taylor. Wikipedia Taylor, who dominated darts across three decades, won a record 87 major titles. Wikipedia Littler has, of course, a long way to go to reach either of those totals. But the point is not where he is — it is the trajectory he is on and the age at which he is doing it.

He has won 12 PDC major titles ranked third all-time, and a total of 26 PDC titles. Wikipedia To put that in further context: winning his fifth European Tour title at the inaugural Poland Darts Open, he tied James Wade for third-most major titles in PDC history — before the UK Open pushed him clear. Wikipedia

His run of titles reads like a career highlight reel squeezed into the span of just over two years. The teenager has won the last two World Championships and is also the reigning World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam, Players Championship Finals and World Masters champion. Sky Sports The European Championship — won last time by Gian van Veen — is the only major PDC ranking title not currently in his possession, and even that is only a matter of time if recent form is any guide.

Littler has not lost at a premier ranking event since defeat to Wade at the European Championship in Dortmund last October. Sky Sports Think about what that means: through the Premier League, the Players Championship Finals, the World Championship and now the UK Open, the world number one has simply not been beaten at the big stage. The closest anyone came in Minehead was James Wade in the final, and even then Littler ultimately found a way.

The UK Open triumph itself carried its own share of records. Littler became the first player in ten years to win the tournament in consecutive seasons — the last to achieve the feat being Michael van Gerwen. Dartsnews It also made him just the fourth player — along with Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen — to win back-to-back UK Open titles. Sports Mole Each list he joins becomes more exclusive, and each name on it is a former world number one with decades of elite-level darts behind them.

Littler himself, typically, was already eyeing the next record before the dust had settled. “I am always on social media and I think it was a day or two before I travelled down I saw the last person to go back-to-back here was Michael [van Gerwen] 10 years ago,” he said after the win. “I took it game by game and got the job done.” Sky Sports

And his ambitions stretch even further. “Holding all the major titles at once? That’s obviously the main aim,” he said Dartsnews — a feat Van Gerwen himself only achieved in 2017, after years of sustained brilliance. Littler is talking about it aged 19.

Littler is one of just five players in history to have completed what is referred to as a career triple crown — winning the PDC World Darts Championship, World Matchplay and Premier League. Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Luke Humphries are the only other players to have accomplished the feat. ESPN

It is a measure of just how quickly Littler has risen that discussions about where he might rank among the all-time greats feel not only warranted but overdue. He is 19 years old. He has 12 major titles. He has two world championships. He has just become the third most decorated major winner in PDC history.

The history books are already being rewritten. The question now is simply how many pages are left.