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Who are the youngest darts players to win the World Championship?

Teenage sensation Luke Littler strolled into the PCD World Championship final after beating Rob Cross 6-2. We look at the youngest players to win the title.

Andy Hall
Teenage sensation Luke Littler strolled into the PCD World Championship final after beating Rob Cross 6-2. We look at the youngest players to win the title.
TOLGA AKMENEFE

A dream start to the New Year just got even better for Luke Littler who few people had even heard of just a few months ago. The 16-year-old from Warrington beat Rob Cross, who at 33 is more than twice his age, 6-2 at London’s Alexandra Palace to book his place in the 2024 PCD World Championship final.

Big name scalps at Ally Pally

“No words… It’s crazy to even think I’m in a World Championship final on my debut. I was happy winning one game. Now, I could nearly go all the way,” an ecstatic Littler said after his victory over Cross, the latest triumph in a whirlwind journey that has taken him past Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan - a clutch of seasoned pros all left by the wayside.

He is set to face fellow Brit and world ranked No.1 Luke Humphries in the final, back at Ally Pally tomorrow. At 28, Cool Hand Luke is vastly more experienced and goes into the match after an equally productive year during which he scooped the BoyleSports World Grand Prix, Grand Slam and Players Championship as well as reaching the semis of the World Series and World Matchplay.

Dubbed “The Nuke”, Littler has sailed through this World Championship completely unfazed and apparently oblivious to the pressure. If he beats Humphries in Wednesday’s final, he will become the youngest player to win a major PCD darts tournament.

Dutch player Michael van Gerwen, a three-time PCD World Champion, holds the record. He was just 24 years old when he beat Peter Wright to lift the title for the first time almost exactly a decade ago. James Wade was the same age but only slightly older than Van Gerwen when he picked up the PCD World  Matchplay in Blackpool in 2007.

Adrian Lewis was 25 when he beat Gary Anderson 7-5 to lift the first of back-to-back World Championships in 2011. He is followed by more seasoned winners, all in their 30s when they lifted the title. Let’s take a look at them in order:

  1. Michael van Gerwen (World Grand Prix 2012) - age: 23
  2. James Wade (World Matchplay 2007) - age: 24
  3. Adrian Lewis (World Championship 2011) - age: 25
  4. Dimitri van den Bergh (World Matchplay 2020) - age: 26
  5. Rob Cross (World Championship 2018) - age: 27
  6. Nathan Aspinall (UK Open 2019) - age: 27
  7. Luke Humphries (World Grand Prix 2023) - age: 28
  8. Paul Nicholson (Players Championship Finals 2010) - age: 30
  9. Colin Lloyd (World Grand Prix 2004) - age: 31
  10. Daryl Gurney (World Grand Prix 2017) - age: 31