Man United fan Littler recently rose to prominence by reaching the final of the World Darts Championship at the age of just 16
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Manchester United-supporting teenage darts sensation Luke Littler has already rubbed shoulders with his sport's biggest stars – and now he's been seeking advice from one of football's all-time greats, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Littler, who turned 17 a few weeks ago, stunned the sporting world by reaching the final of the 2024 World Darts Championship on his debut in the competition – while still aged just 16.
'The Nuke' from Warrington knocked out former world champion Rob Cross en route to the final – where he was eventually beaten by namesake Luke Humphries – and his prodigious rise has seen him tipped to go to the very top of the game.
Luke Littler won £200,000 for finishing as runner-up at the World Darts Championship (Image credit: Getty Images)
And one man who knows exactly what it takes to achieve such greatness is legendary former Man United boss Ferguson.
Littler was lucky enough to get a word in with the 13-time Premier League title-winning manager during United's clash with Tottenham at Old Trafford last month.
"That was good," he said. "My dad has seen their [Manchester United's] glory years – witnessed [the treble triumph of] '99, and so it was good for him to meet him. It was a good chat. I didn't get much out of him because of his accent, but he did say keep going and stick to it."
Ferguson (sat next to new United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe) and Littler watched the Red Devils draw 2-2 with Spurs (Image credit: Getty Images)
Littler's run to the World Championship final saw him included in the line-up for the 2024 edition of Premier League darts.
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In the second meeting of the competition earlier this week in Berlin, Littler lost a thrilling final 6-5 to three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
