Man United fan Luke Littler wants to parade World Darts Championship trophy at Old Trafford after victory over Michael van Gerwen – as teen sensation aims cheeky dig at Liverpool
Avid Manchester United fan Luke Littler has declared his attention to parade his World Darts Championship trophy at Old Trafford after he became the youngest person in history to win the prestigious honour.
He demolished three-time champion Michael van Gerwen 7-3 on sets on Friday night to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy at Alexander Palace aged just 17.
The teenage sensation added the finishing touch to a remarkable year which began with his 2024 Alexandra Palace final against Luke Humphries – where he lost 7-4 – and featured wins in Bahrain, Austria, Belgium and Poland to earn £1million in prize money.
He also won the Premier League trophy before cruising past the likes of Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall at the Worlds.
Littler averaged a little over 102 and threw 12 180s in an imperious display in London. He also landed a whopping 56 per cent of his attempts at double.
It all meant that he practically had the trophy in his hands before the Ally Pally punters had finished their first pitchers but now he has told Sky Sports he plans to give fans of another sport the chance to see the shiny silverware.
Luke Littler is aiming to show off his World Darts Championship trophy at Old Traffprd
The Nuke was unflappable at the oche in a dominant victory over Michael van Gerwen
He smashed the Green Machine’s record as the youngest ever winner, lifting the title aged 17
He said: ‘If they allow me to then I’m sure I’ll go to Old Trafford.
‘Yeah [it’s an honour] I’m glad I beat Stephen [Bunting] yesterday as I’m pretty sure he was going to take it to Anfield on the weekend.’
Littler smashed Bunting 6-1 in the semi-final on Thursday night but ‘The Bullet’s’ Reds are performing a lot better than ‘The Nuke’s’ United, with Arne Slot’s men six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand.
Bunting previously stated his desire to take the trophy to Anfield should he win it.
‘I don’t want to let [the fans] down,’ he said. ‘We can do this, we really can. At Anfield we always say the crowd is like the 12th man and here it’s no different. These fans can take me anywhere. This year it’s going to be a Bunting wonderland.
‘It’d be a dream come true [to take trophy to Anfield]. It would be even more fantastic because we play Man United, that would be unbelievable.’
Instead it is Littler who can show off the trophy to his fellow United supporters after smashing van Gerwen’s record of being the youngest ever world champion.
Comfortably so – the Green Machine was a comparatively elderly 24 years of age when he clinched victory in 2014 against Peter Wright.
There was also a subtle dig at Stephen Bunting who made clear his desire to take it to Anfield
Littler’s beloved Manchester United face a red-hot Liverpool side, who top the table, on Sunday
The Red Devils have had a disastrous campaign, lying in 14th under new boss Ruben Amorim
The Van Gerwen and Littler rivalry may have only begun in early 2024, but watching the pair collide in top competition has become box office stuff over the course of the last 12 months.
The pair had met on 12 occasions since their first match at the Bahrain Masters in January, with both coming out on top six times each.
Littler has had the better of their recent clashes, beating the Dutchman in the World Series of Darts semi-finals and at the European Tour.
After the encounter, the teenage sensation broke down in tears and shared a touching moment with van Gerwen, with the pair congratulating one another.
United’s 2024 could not be further from Littler’s with the Red Devils currently lying in 14th after failing to improve under new manager Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese replaced Erik ten Hag in November with the side sitting in the exact same position. They have lost three matches in a row, including a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.
It is the worst possible form heading into their encounter with rivals Liverpool, who have lost just once all season and also top the Champions League group stages.
