Luke Littler believes the message of congratulations he received from David Beckham after his triumph at the World Darts Championship only serves to emphasise the impact he has had on the sport.
The 17-year-old sensation beat Van Gerwen 7-3 in a one-sided final to become the youngest ever world champion.
Victory consolidates his position as the top dog in the sport and avenges the final defeat he suffered to Luke Humphries on debut last year.
Littler was in tears after throwing the winning dart to claim what will surely be the first of many world titles.
He has spent the last 12 months proving that breakthrough run was not a fluke, winning 10 titles in 2024, including the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts.
But this was the big one he wanted and it validates all the hype that has surrounded him over the last 12 months.
The sporting world at large rushed to congratulate Littler, including Manchester United legend David Beckham.
An ardent United fan, himself, the former England captain’s words would have been particularly meaningful to Littler, even though Beckham left his boyhood club for Real Madrid four years before the new world darts champion was born.
‘It goes to show how well I’ve done for the sport,’ Littler told Sky Sports, reflecting on the significance of receiving praise from Beckham.
‘Not only for myself but for the other hundreds of professionals out there but just to see the likes of David Beckham watching it it feels crazy.’
Beckham was far from the only big name to offer words of congratulations with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer taking note of the youngster’s record breaking achievement.
Starmer said in a statement: ‘Mesmerising performance from Luke Littler to win the World Darts Championship.
‘Congratulations Luke on being the youngest ever PDC World Darts Champion. An inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy.
‘You should be really proud of what you’ve achieved tonight, not just for yourself but for the sport of darts as a whole.”
Warrington Wolves posted messages on X that read: ‘CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. We could not be prouder of you @LukeTheNuke180, huge congratulations! Wow. Unstoppable.’
There was also a post from 16-time world champion Phil Taylor which said: ‘Huge Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 what a fantastic performance and now a Champion of the World.’
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