In one year, Luke Littler has gone from obscure darts talent to a British sporting icon and a household name.
The 17-year-old from Warrington, Cheshire, first attracted attention by going on an incredible run all the way to the PDC World Darts Championship final in January, before adding a staggering ten titles to his trophy cabinet over the course of this year. Victory over rival Luke Humphries to land his first Premier League title, and glory in November’s thrilling Grand Slam of Darts, have only ensured that the Littler hype train continues full steam ahead.
The ‘Nuke’ has ascended to fourth on the PDC Order of Merit, earned himself a BBC Sports Personality of the Year award nomination, and has his sights set on the World Darts Championship again – going in as the bookies’ favourite this time around as a mere teenager.
With Littler beginning his quest to become world champion on Saturday evening, his close-knit team will no doubt be there to support him every step of the way. And Mirror Sport will now look to shed light on the darts phenomenon’s inner circle.
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Dad
Littler’s dad, Anthony Buckley, has played a huge role in his successful career. Previously a taxi driver from Warrington, Anthony stopped his nine-year-old son from playing football, instead convincing him to focus on darts in a move which clearly paid off.
In fact, he bought Luke his first magnetic darts board from a pound shop when he was just a toddler, putting him on a path to greatness. Soon after, Littler was training at the famous St Helens Darts Shop, coached by Karl Holden – who once called him the “Cristiano Ronaldo of darts”.
Littler recalled on BBC Radio 2: “My dad said, ‘hang your boots up let’s focus on darts’. I was like, ‘I love it though’. My dad said, ‘I think your ability to be a professional, you’ve got high chances.’ Six years later here I am.”
Buckley told The Times: “He was a good footballer. He loved football. All kids do. But I said to him at nine, hang your boots up. Concentrate on darts. You can still play football here and there. But if there’s a darts comp on at the weekends, go to darts first.
“Make that your priority, because I thought he could make it at darts — and he has done. When I said to him, you need to keep playing darts, he was OK with it. We put him in every competition that was online. Sometimes you’re getting up at 7am on a Saturday — my only day off — just to play darts. There were no lie-ins.”
Mum
Luke’s proud mother, Lisa, has also been supporting her son every step of the way. Her social media is somewhat of a shrine to Littler’s astonishing achievements, having famously posted a video of an 18-month-old Luke throwing darts at a board while still in a nappy.
She worked as a sales assistant at a shop selling scented candles before taking time off to support her son. Given Luke’s phenomenal rise, it is unclear whether she has since returned to work at Yankee Candle.
Thanks to her son’s success, Lisa and the rest of their family recently moved into a lavish five-bedroom detached house on the outskirts of his hometown, which Littler secured on a £6,000-per-month lease. His parents posted photos of themselves enjoying a dip in their very own swimming pool.
Sister
Another family member who has been seen cheering Littler on is his older sister Caitlin. While she maintains a relatively low profile and keeps information about her career private, she sometimes interacts with the darts prodigy on social media.
She described herself as the “proudest sister ever” earlier this year and referred to Luke as the ‘GOAT’ after he won the Jack’s World Series of Darts Finals in September.
She does, however, regularly post videos on TikTok, where she has 27,000 followers. Her and Luke also have another brother, named Harry, who tends to avoid publicity.
Manager
Littler’s long-time manager is Martin Foulds of ZXF Sports Management. He acts as a mentor for the rising star and accompanies him to public events, including football matches and the Silverstone F1 Grand Prix, where he took a picture with Lando Norris.
Their relationship reportedly started four years ago when Foulds was informed of his talent and decided to watch him play. He has played an important role in keeping Littler grounded, as well as helping him make huge sums of money.
Martin, who like his client supports Manchester United, has stressed the importance of Littler’s parents in his success. He said in the past: “Not enough is said about the parents who have sacrificed so much for Luke and travelled the world with him to help him achieve his dream.”
Girlfriend
Littler has somehow managed to juggle his hectic schedule with romance over the past 12 months. He first began dating Avon sales rep Eloise Milburn last year, just weeks before he became a star.
They met while playing FIFA 23 online and quickly bonded over football and darts. Eloise, who is four years older and an amateur darts player herself, began to attend Luke’s matches up and down the country.
They broke up in the summer, with Littler reportedly “upset”, though they agreed to stay friends. But, before long, he had accidentally revealed a new alleged female companion on a video game live stream.
Whilst playing a boxing game in October with popular streamer Angryginge13, called Morgan Burtwistle, a female’s voice could be heard talking to Littler in what immediately fuelled speculation about the Nuke having a new relationship.
An unidentified voice was heard saying: “I’m gonna try and get some sleep because I’m so tired.” AngryGinge wasted no time in probing Littler – who played for his viral EA FC 24 Pro Clubs team ‘Girth N Turf’ – on who was talking to him.
“Who the f*** is that? Who’s that Luke? Who’s that Luke? He’s had a rotter there! Luke’s had a rotter,” Burtwistle jibed, whilst other streamers in the party laughed at the darts star’s expense.
Littler tellingly replied: “F***’s sake,” after realising that the jokes were showing no signs of slowing down. AngryGinge added: “Let her get to bed, Luke, come on.”
Littler soon recognised that viewers were also able to hear the female’s voice. He took his gaffe in good spirits by laughing: “Your chat is going mad, F*** off. If someone has screen recorded that, it’s in the papers in the morning. Yep, well played. Why’s the volume all the way up, you f***ing idiot?”
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