Luke Littler

Luke Littler is the world No. 1 in darts and a two-time PDC World Champion [1] [4]. Netflix describes him as the youngest world champion in the sport's history, a title he won at 17 [1]. He was born in Warrington, England, on 21 January 2007 [3]. Most people who search for him now are really asking about Beat Luke Littler, the live Netflix event built around him, so this page covers both the career and the show.

Reaching a final at 16

Littler reached the world final on 3 January 2024, aged 16. He lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries and took £200,000 as runner-up [9]. A year later he was back in the final, and this time he won it [6].

Youngest world champion at 17

In January 2025 he beat Michael van Gerwen in a largely one-sided final [6]. Sky Sports described him as the sport's youngest world champion, at 17 [6]. Netflix uses the same age [1].

Defending the title in 2026

The 2026 final was played at Alexandra Palace on Saturday 3 January 2026. Littler beat Gian van Veen 7-1 [4]. He took the £1m top prize, which Sky Sports called the biggest payday in darts history [4]. He became only the fourth player to defend the World Darts Championship successfully, and the first to do it since Gary Anderson in 2016 [4]. What's on Netflix calls him a back-to-back champion, with titles in both 2025 and 2026 [2].

Number one at 18

In 2025 Littler beat Danny Noppert 16-9 in the semi-final of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton [5]. That win took him past Luke Humphries in the PDC Order of Merit and made him world No. 1 for the first time [5]. At 18 years and 299 days he became the youngest PDC world No. 1 ever. The previous record had been set in 2014 by Michael van Gerwen [5].

He then beat Humphries in the final to retain the Grand Slam. Sky Sports noted that he was only the fourth player to win it back-to-back in Wolverhampton [5]. Before the event the gap between the two on the Order of Merit was £72,000. Reaching the final put Littler £81,500 ahead [5]. What's on Netflix says he sits comfortably as the world number one [2].

Six premier wins, then a defeat in Amsterdam

Sky Sports lists six premier events Littler won in the 2025/26 season: the World Championship, the World Masters, the UK Open, the Premier League, the World Cup of Darts and the World Matchplay [7] [8]. Sky also wrote that he had won every major on the PDC circuit so far in 2026 [8].

That run ended at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, where he lost 10-4 to Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals. The defeat ended his bid to win every major of the year [7]. Ross Smith won that event by beating Gerwyn Price 11-5 in the final [7]. Sky Sports listed the World Grand Prix, the European Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts as events still to come [7].

What Beat Luke Littler is

Beat Luke Littler is a live special on Friday 30 October 2026 [2]. Netflix gives the start as 7 p.m. UK time, which is 3 p.m. Eastern time [1]. Banijay UK is producing the event for Netflix [2].

The prize is £501,000, or $667,000 [1]. Netflix says 24 contestants compete for 20 places, and those players are then split into groups and randomly selected to face Littler [1]. What's on Netflix says the 20 chosen amateur players each get a single perfect leg of 501 against him on live television [2]. The competition ends the moment someone beats him [1].

Gary Lineker hosts the event, Richard Osman is the expert analyst, and Angry Ginge, Laura Turner and Lee Mack also appear [1]. Open regional heats were scheduled for London and Manchester in September 2026, and interested players were asked to register at BeatLukeLittler.com [2].

Counting his titles

Netflix gives Littler's career total as 28 PDC titles, 13 of them majors [1]. Earlier, at the 2025 Grand Slam, Sky Sports had counted eight major titles [5]. The two counts were published at different times, so this page gives each one with its source and does not pick a single total.

Honours

Littler was appointed an MBE in 2025 for services to darts [3].