I used to beat Luke Littler’s grandad all the time at darts – now I’m facing the 17-year-old at World Championship

It’s not often that an athlete can claim they’ve taken on their opponent’s grandfather, but such is the case with Ian White ahead of his clash against Luke Littler.

Littler, 17, booked his place in the third round of the World Darts Championship after a victory over Ryan Meikle last Sunday – as he produced a stunning 140.91 average in the final set to win. 

In doing so, he set up a clash with White – who beat European champion Ritchie Edhouse in the second round – which will take place on Saturday night. 

World No 57 White has not made it past the quarter-finals of a PDC major since 2021, but beat Michael van Gerwen 6-1 in last month’s Players Championship Finals.

Now, however, he has the chance to make history by knocking Littler out of the competition and lifted the lid on his unique connection to the teenager. 

According to The Sun, White, 54, explained: ‘When I first started in darts, I played against his grandad, Phil Littler.

‘That was in Runcorn. I used to beat him all the time! We played for local teams. I played against him loads of times. We had banter.

‘I wouldn’t have seen Luke in those days in the pub – he wasn’t even born then. That was in the 90s. I saw Phil not that long ago. It was a bad time, though. It was at a funeral.

‘When I spoke to his grandad, he went: ‘Watch out, Luke’s playing well.’ But Luke has got to turn 18 yet. He has got to have a beer. He has got to be with the girls.

‘I just want to say that he’s from Runcorn – the same as me – so he’s No.2 and I’m No 1!’ 

White – nicknamed ‘Diamond’ – first played on the BDO ranks in 2005, two years before Littler was born, before later reaching the PDC in the 2010s.

Littler, meanwhile, has only competed within the PDC since 2023 but has seen an astronomical rise since making his debut.

White said: ‘The lad is talented. He has put darts on the map. Everyone wants to come to the darts now. All the sponsors. That’s the best thing that has happened.

‘I have no pressure. I will go out there and play my darts. Hopefully the nine-darters will come in – I’ll probably need about eight of them against Luke.’

While Littler has already won multiple PDC events – such as the Grand Slam of Darts – White will be hoping that he can etch his name into history with a World Championships victory.

The furthest that the veteran has reached in a televised PDC competition came back in 2019 when he made a semi-final run at the Players Championship Finals. 

White continued: ‘Look, Luke hasn’t got to worry about the Poll Tax. He hasn’t got bills to pay. Wait until he has a kid himself! At 17 years old, I don’t think I was playing darts. I had hair down to here.

‘Ripped jeans. Listening to heavy metal. Off to Donington to watch Iron Maiden. With my motorbikes. That’s what I was doing.

‘I have to get up there and silence the crowd or get the crowd on my side. That will be hard.

‘I have seen one of my tops around the place. But you look at how many Luke’s replica tops people are wearing. All these young kids are loving that’.