By Frank Dalleres
Teenage darts sensation Luke Littler is set to take the next step in his professional career after being confirmed to play in his first World Series events this month.
Littler is in the 16-man fields for the Bahrain Darts Masters on 18-19 January and the Dutch Darts Masters on 26-27 January, the Professional Darts Corporation said.
The 16-year-old created one of the biggest stories in the sport’s history by reaching the final of its biggest tournament, the World Championship, at Alexandra Palace last week.
The kebab-loving prodigy lost 7-4 to world No1 Luke Humphries but his run earned him £200,000, almost 100 times his prize money from previous ranking events.
Despite it being on pay TV, the match pulled in 4.8m viewers for Sky Sports, a record for a non-football broadcast on its channels.
Littler’s staggering run has already bagged him a spot on the lucrative Premier League Darts circuit, which features eight of the sport’s best known players and has a £1m prize fund.
The Warrington thrower is also tipped to become hot property for certain brands, although he cannot advertise alcohol or betting until he turns 18 in January 2025.
Megastars such as David Beckham have contacted Littler to declare themselves fans of “the Nuke” in the wake of his record-breaking feats, he said last week.
