Teenage prodigy Luke Littler is now a millionaire in prize money winnings after picking up his tenth title in 11 months.
Littler, 17, demolished Martin Lukeman to win the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, in his competition debut.
The victory – which included taking 15 straight legs for a 16-3 win – puts Littler’s career earnings over the £1 million mark.
Luke the Nuke beat Gary Anderson in a nail-biting semi-final before his dominant performance in the final saw him take home the £150,000 prize pot.
As well as officially becoming a millionaire in prize money earnings, Littler now moves to fifth in the world rankings, up from 164th a year ago.
Speaking after the victory, Littler said: “I’m just so glad to win it. I’ve been playing well all week long. But it’s paid off.
“I’ve always got to have the scoring power with me. I can’t afford to drop off in any leg, I had a slow start but I kicked on from there.
“I knew coming into the tournament if I did get my hands on the trophy I’d be up to No.5 in the world. But No.5 in the space of 12 months. There’s another two more rankings tournaments to come. I hope I can go higher from five.”
Littler’s opponent in the final, Martin Lukeman, was full of praise for Littler.
Lukeman said: “He’s just different gravy. He’s brilliant isn’t he.”
It was Lukeman who took the early lead in the final, going 2-0 up before Littler hit his stride and never looked back.
The youngster took the next 15 legs in a row before Lukeman took a third, consolation leg near the end.
Luke Littler’s Run To Millionaire Status
Littler only turned professional in January, but his incredible run had already earned him £405,000 – £200,000 of which came from the World Championship final.
Since then he made history as the youngest ever Premier League Darts champion, netting another £315,000.
His exploits on the World Series of Darts tour added £150,000, with this latest title pushing him past the £1 million mark.
The stats that explain how Luke Littler has won 10 titles and banked £1million in prize money at the age of 17 in his debut season. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/NaOiWctHqn
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) November 17, 2024
In winning a tenth title of the year, Luke Littler is in mighty company. He joins Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright who have also each won ten titles in a PDC year.
And the manner of victory made it all the more impressive. Winning the semi-final 16-15 after an incredible match, Littler came back from 13-9 down to beat Gary Anderson.
He then showed his star quality to completely outclass Lukeman in the final, taking a dominant victory and making headlines once more.
