Twelve months ago there were whispers of an up-and-coming teenage talent named Luke Littler who could impress at the World Darts Championship. And impressed he really did.

​​​​​​A few months away from Alexandra Palace in 2023, Littler went to the World Youth Championship final against favorite Gian van Veen, winning 6-4 in Minehead at the age of 16.

It earned him £10,000 and a place in the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. Now he has earned over £600,000 in prize money and won that very Grand Slam event in November, reeling off 15 sets in a row in the final against Martin Lukeman.

Littler has since gone from strength to strength, claiming 10 titles: Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts, World Series of Darts, Bahrain Darts Masters, Poland Darts Masters, Austrian Darts Open, Belgian Darts Open and Players Championship (x3) .

This feat of winning 10 titles in one year is something only previously accomplished by Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Peter Wright, a symbol of just how impressive the 17-year-old has been.

While he was sure he could cause a stir, even Littler himself couldn’t have imagined what a year he’s had.

“Not a chance. But that (World Youth Final) was the one that really got it for me,” Littler said.

“Then obviously went on to Worlds and did good things, and then got invited to the World Series, the Premier League and then played on the Pro Tour and the European Tour.”

Littler credits his Premier League campaign, where he hit a nine-darter in the final against Luke Humphries, as the tournament that spurred him on to more.

“It was definitely good to win, but obviously early on I was, I wouldn’t say struggling, but I was always fourth, fifth without a nightly win, so I was always scoring,” he added.

“But when I won in Belfast I really thought I could win a lot more, obviously winning Manchester, Liverpool and then Aberdeen.

“But hitting that winning double against Luke meant a lot.”

In shape for the worlds? It certainly helps!

The last two winners of the World Darts Championship have made it to the Ally Pally as winners of the Grand Slam of Darts.

In 2024, the player with that title is Littler himself.

While many love a superstition, “Nuke” only sees it as a ranking title that only helps him pursue his ambitions.

“It will definitely help, winning anything would help going into Worlds,” Littler said.

“It’s just training until the WC and championships.”

One thing that Littler will always have in his favor at Palace is the crowd that backs him in every game.

Littler admitted that he really enjoyed the chants from recent Worlds and hopes to hear a certain one again this year.

“Obviously it means a lot, when I go on they sing ‘There’s only one Luke Littler,'” he said.

“Hopefully the song ‘You have school in the morning’ will come back this year, I’d like to hear that again!

“It definitely helps me a lot and it’s going to make me push it even more, just to win for them, but obviously it’s a win for myself.”

Everyone from the Manchester United squad, come and watch me!

With Littler’s stratospheric run at Worlds bringing a whole new barrage of media attention, Ally Pally began to see more and more celebrities watching the 17-year-old in action, including Manchester United legend David Beckham sending him well wishes ahead of the 2023/24 final .

For Littler, his dream face to see in the crowd is just about anyone from the Manchester United squad.

“I don’t really know, I know James Maddison was there, I’m pretty sure some of the Newcastle boys were there, I know Dan Burn was there,” he said.

“I would just like anyone from the United squad, anyone, to just come and watch me.”

However, the 17-year-old knows that Worlds, as always, will be tough as players raise their game, especially to face him.

First up for Littler is a potential clash with either Fallon Sherrock or Ryan Meikle and he is “fully focused” on performing well to return after Christmas.

“You’ve always got to be on your A-game, but obviously as the game goes on you know if they’re playing well you’ve got to step up and you’ve got to compete against them,” Littler added.

“We’ll just see how it goes, obviously you can only beat what’s in front of you so you just have to look at your next opponent at worlds.

“It will be a game before the Christmas break so be fully focused on that, have a Christmas break and then we travel back down hopefully another long December, early January in London.”

When will the World Darts Championship take place?

The tournament kicks off at Alexandra Palace on Sunday 15 December, with three first round matches and a second round match on the opening night.

There will be live darts played on each of the following eight days, including seven afternoon sessions, with the usual three-day break from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day before returning with the third round and a double session on 27 December.

The third and fourth rounds will be completed by December 30 before a night off on New Year’s Eve, with the quarter-finals over two sessions on New Year’s Day before the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday, January 3.

The full day-by-day schedule for this year’s tournament is available here.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch all matches exclusively live from 15 December to 3 January on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sports with NOW.