Luke Littler aims to become the youngest player ever to win the World Darts Championship, at just 16 years old.
He has taken the darts world, and to some degree the sporting world, by storm as he raced to the final taking down two previous world champions during his journey.
The teenage debutant started his tournament by beating Christian Kist in straight sets, averaging 106.12, which is the highest ever by a player on debut at the World Championship.
He now faces Luke Humphries in the final, a player Littler was beaten by as a 12-year-old after they played each other in a competition in Hayling Island.
If he is to avenge that defeat, he could make darts history but where will he rank among the youngest world champions across the sporting world?
Lost out in quarterfinals last night at Hayling Island comp to @lukeh180 missed a few chances to go ahead and a bull for a 164 but gave him a great game 🎯 2 Youth comps today Under 14’s and Under 18’s hopefully make tomorrow’s finals on stage @bucker1980 @lisa_littler pic.twitter.com/hTb4Cj0vuW
— Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) November 9, 2019
All-time youngest world darts champions
Sshould Littler triumph over Humphries, he would become the youngest PDC world champion in history by eight years.
Michael van Gerwen currently holds the record for the youngest champion, winning at the age of 24 in 2014.
| Player | Year | Age |
| Michael van Gerwen | 2014 | 24 |
| Adrian Lewis | 2011 | 25 |
| Rob Cross | 2018 | 27 |
| Michael Smith | 2023 | 32 |
| Phil Taylor | 1995 | 34 |
| Gerwyn Price | 2021 | 35 |
| John Part | 2003 | 36 |
| Dennis Priestley | 1994 | 43 |
| Gary Andersen | 2015 | 44 |
| Peter Wright | 2019 | 49 |
Youngest sporting world champions ever
Littler's triumph could put him above a whole host of sporting prodigies in becoming a world champion as a teenager.
Indeed, at 16 years 11 months, he would beat out the likes of Pele and Tiger Woods in how quickly he ascended to the very top of his sport.
The youngest ever grand slam winner in tennis, Martina Hingis, has him beat by seven months — albeit as an imperfect comparison, given tennis has four majors per year up for grabs rather than one true 'world championship'.
| Athlete | Sport | Age |
| Martina Hingis | Tennis (Australian Open) | 16 years 4 months |
| Michael Chang | Tennis (French Open) | 17 years 4 months |
| Wilfred Benitez | Boxing | 17 years 5 months |
| Pele | Football | 17 years 8 months |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | Snooker | 17 years 11 months |
| Darko Milicic | Basketball (NBA) | 18 years |
| Freddie Lindstrom | Baseball (MLB) | 18 years |
| Larry Hillman | Hockey (NHL) | 18 years |
| Aaqib Javed | Cricket | 19 years 7 months |
| Mike Tyson | Boxing (Heavyweight) | 20 years 4 months |
| Francois Steyn | Rugby | 20 years 5 months |
| Tiger Woods | Golf | 21 years 3 months |
| Jamal Lewis | American Football (NFL) | 21 years 5 months |
| Jon Jones | UFC | 23 years |
| Sebastian Vettel | Formula 1 | 23 years 5 months |
