Luke Littler has secured his second World Darts Championship crown after another dominant display at Alexandra Palace, despite his girlfriend facing online abuse since their relationship became public.
The teenage sensation recovered from losing the opening set before powering past 23-year-old Gian van Veen to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy once again.
Littler, the world No.1 and reigning champion, had been in superb form throughout the tournament. The 18-year-old cruised through the opening rounds before seeing off Rob Cross, Krzysztof Ratajski and Ryan Searle to book Saturday’s final against Van Veen.
His victory earned him a staggering £1million in prize money — double last year’s £500,000 jackpot — while Van Veen collected £400,000 after an impressive run to the final.
Cycling legend and seven-time Olympic medallist Sir Chris Hoy, who is currently battling prostate cancer, presented both finalists with their trophies on stage.
The triumph also saw Littler become only the fourth player in history to win back-to-back world darts titles.
Among those cheering him on at Ally Pally was girlfriend Faith Millar. The 19-year-old beautician from Wigan has regularly supported Littler at major tournaments since the pair confirmed their relationship publicly last May after months of insisting they were just friends.
Millar watched from the crowd during Littler’s semi-final victory over Ryan Searle, where she was spotted alongside singer Lewis Capaldi, I’m A Celebrity winner Angry Ginge, and Sidemen stars Harry Lewis and Ethan Payne.
She also shared a pre-match kiss with Littler on stage, a ritual that has become familiar for the darts star before big matches.
Speaking previously about Faith accompanying him to the Australian Darts Masters, Littler said: “She’s a lovely lady, Faith. I think it’s sort of what I needed. I knew my mum and dad weren’t going to come.
“And as soon as I asked the question, she was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance’. So, I said, ‘You can come with me.’”
But with Littler’s fame exploding over the past year, the teenager admitted he warned Millar about the online negativity that would likely come with dating one of sport’s biggest young stars.
Reflecting on the abuse they received online, Littler admitted: “It’s been tough.”
He added: “At the start of last year, I was always looking at the comments. And she’s been having a look at the negativity.
“But I just said, ‘They’re jealous. They wanna ruin us.’ I just said, ‘Don’t look at it and just focus on what we’ve got.’”
Littler has experienced similar issues before, with his former girlfriend Eloise Milburn previously targeted online because she was five years older than the then-16-year-old darts sensation.
He later defended Milburn again after she received further abuse following their split in July 2024, despite Littler being the one who ended the relationship.
Comments are closed.