Where is Luke Littler from? Where does darts world championship final 16 year old player come from - school

Teenager Luke Littler will be hoping that his historic World Championship journey ends in triumph when he faces Luke Humphries in the final tonight (3 January).

The 16-year-old debutant, who is the youngest player to ever make it to the final of the top darts tournament, has had an intense two weeks.

But where is he originally from, where did his incredible darts career begin - and how many GCSEs does he have? Here is everything you need to know about him.

Where is Luke Littler from?

Littler was born in Runcorn, Cheshire, on January 21, 2007 and his introduction to darts began at a very young age - he began playing aged nine - displaying a natural aptitude for the game that captured the attention of those around him.

Littler's journey to prominence in the darts world accelerated as he participated in various youth tournaments, putting in performances that quickly turned heads, drawing attention to his exceptional talent.

In 2019, he won the England Youth Grand Prix and began to rack up tournament wins; he became England Youth Open champion in 2021 and won his first senior title at the Irish Open later that year.

In 2022 he won the Welsh Open and this year notched further senior titles at the Isle of Man Classic, Gibraltar Open, British Open, and British Classic.

Where did he learn to play darts?

Littler joined St Helens Darts Academy - just 10 miles north of his hometown of Runcorn - aged nine.

“The amount of kids I’ve had coming into my shop saying they want to be the next Luke Littler, it’s unbelievable,” Karl Holden, who cofounded St Helens Darts Academy, told The Guardian.

“He’s put youth darts on the worldwide stage and I think it’s going to completely take off. We’ve never had as many young people wanting to join the academy, we’re being inundated with messages, we’ll probably have to limit numbers.”

Recent days have seen a surge of interest in darts in the Merseyside town as the 16-year-old local star advanced to the World Darts Championship final. The academy began with just seven members more than ten years ago, but now, 80 to 90 youngsters attend weekly sessions there.

Many of these students will watch Wednesday's final together at the academy in front of a dartboard named after Littler, who will play Luke Humphries.

Littler had a special talent for the game from an early age, according to Holden, and the academy encouraged him to pursue greater things.

“He’s a completely unique talent. He started playing for fun but when he started smashing really good dart players, grown men, aged 12 we knew he was different. They would say, how can he be so good when I’ve been playing for 30 years?

“We had to tell him he was too good for us, show him the bigger picture and get him into the bigger and better organisations. The way he’s going, he might never work again in his life – he’ll probably be a millionaire by next year.”

Where did he go to school?

Littler attended Padgate Academy in Warrington, where he sat his GCSEs last year. Headteacher Adam McMillan told The Guardian his success inspired a popular darts club at the school, with many of the pupils purchasing dartboards to practise at home.

“He’s putting darts on the map at the moment but he’s already done that here at the school,” he said. “He’s left such an incredible legacy at the school, lots of students have been inspired by him and gone on to be interested in darts.

“Through his sponsors, we were able to get dartboards, and we set up a darts club, which was really well attended. Many students then bought their own dartboards. He’s left his mark here but I think the wider impact will be seen in schools across the UK, we’ll see some sort of legacy from all this.”

Littler's dedication to his sport meant that his formal education had to take a back seat, though given the success of his darts, he's probably not too worried about what the future might hold.

The teenager first told SportsBoom.com that he doesn't have any GCSEs, before realising that he "did pass sport".

"Well, I don't have any GCSEs," he said in the build-up to Wednesday's final against Humphries. "Everyone's probably got more than me; in fact, I did pass sport."