Luke Littler has stormed his way into his first PDC World Darts Championship final after winning against Rob Cross in the semi-final at Ally Pally – with girlfriend Eloise Milburn hugging him tightly after the dramatic face-off.
The 16-year-old darts prodigy, known as ‘the Nuke’, overcame an early stumble that saw Cross claim the first set in the event at Alexandra Palace in London to become the youngest ever WDC finalist, guaranteeing himself a minimum £200,000 payday.
Reigning junior and world youth champion Littler strode out confidently at the start of the match, shaking hands with fans as he strode onto the stage – before stopping to get a kiss on the cheek from Ms Milburn, 21, whom he met playing FIFA online.
He then fought back against Cross’ first-set starter to claim consecutive wins in the second, third, and fourth sets. While his 33-year-old rival claimed the fifth, Littler could not be fazed and took the sixth, seventh and eighth sets.
It propelled him to 6-2 in the best-of-11 semi-final – and sent Cross crashing out against a rival less than half his age. Littler, famed for celebrating his victories with a kebab, said it was ‘crazy’ to be among the top 32 seeded players in the world.
Luke Littler hugs girlfriend Eloise Milburn after winning the World Darts Championship semi-final against Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace
Luke Littler celebrates his victory with his mother Lisa after thrashing Rob Cross 6-2
Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler roars as he throws a final double-10 to claim victory against Rob Cross in a historic final
Rob Cross, 33, shakes hands with Littler after the game, which saw Cross take an early lead before the youngster won with two lots of straight sets
Luke Littler is embraced by girlfriend Eloise Milburn as he makes his way onto the stage for the World Darts Championship semi-final against Rob Cross
Littler and Ms Milburn hug ahead of the semi-final. If he wins against Rob Cross, Littler is in line for a minimum £200,000 payday
Littler plays during the semi-final; he overcame an early stumble to claim the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh sets on his way to victory
Sealing his victory with a double-10, the Ally Pally erupted in roars. Cross could be seen applauding the youngster before embracing him and congratulating him on his win, slapping him on the back.
Speaking after the final, Littler said: ‘I was happy winning one game but I never thought I could go all the way. You’re playing Rob, he’s a world champion, he won on debut same as me, I’ve got no words.
‘He said: “God bless, I respect you”, and “Do it”.’
Littler’s story has been one of fairytale proportions: the ‘Prince of the Palace’, as he has already been dubbed, made history by recording the highest average ever achieved by a world championship debutant in his first round against Christian Kist.
He continued: ‘It’s crazy. I’ve just settled on that stage (in darts). It takes myself a few legs to settle into a game but once I find that rhythm I’m good to go.
‘I’m just happy to be in the top 32 and go even higher.’
Asked how he keeps his cool, he added: ‘I’ve just got to stay focused throughout the game no matter how long it goes on for.
‘(In the final, I’ll do) what I’ve been doing – in the morning, go for my ham and cheese omelette. Come in here, have my pizza, then I’m on the board, that’s what I’ve done every day.
‘If my game’s there, it’s there. I threw well again and I’ve got over the line again.
The final will take place tomorrow night at 7.30pm and will see Littler take on either Scott Williams or Luke Humphries.
He said of the other semi-final: ‘I’ll be watching. I’m sure it’ll be another cracking game.’
Littler has dispatched opponents with seeming ease, and even told Sky Sports News he was taking his ascension to fame ‘in his stride’ even though his life has already changed dramatically in recent weeks.
He was pictured at Tottenham Hotspur on New Year’s Eve having been invited by midfielder James Maddison.
Littler had around 4,000 followers on Instagram when he started the championship – he now has more than 300,000.
Fans turned out for the semi-final in typically understated style, including this quartet of traffic cones
A pair of darts fans at Alexandra Palace – presumably hoping to disguise themselves on stage
Luke Littler’s ascension to global darts fame at the age of 16 is likely to have fired up young admirers pursuing dreams of stardom of their own
He said of the media coverage: ‘There’s been some nice things, there’s been some horrible things which I don’t look at. Every game I win, you (the media) want to talk to me. I do like it but it does get a bit too much.’
Luke, 16, has been dating Eloise for six weeks; but following Luke’s success at the World Darts Championship, which has seen him become a household name, his girlfriend has faced some online jibes over the couple’s age gap.
Milburn’s parents have revealed their anger at online trolls pointing out their five-year age gap and claiming she is a ‘money grabber’ – joking she cannot even get them tickets to the matches.
Speaking exclusively to , Eloise’s mother Amanda Milburn, 56, fumed: ‘There’s been a lot of horrible stuff being posted online about my daughter and my husband Phil and I are very angry about it.
‘Eloise has been accused of all sorts and that she’s only with Luke because of his money and fame. But that’s a total pack of lies and disgusting.
‘She’s not with him for any of these reasons. She doesn’t care about his money or his fame, she’s with him because she likes him. It’s as simple as that.’
A friend who did not want to be named told : ‘Eloise loves playing darts and FIFA and so does Luke and they’ve got a lot in common. They started speaking on Xbox and things just developed from there.
‘She’s a great girl and is a very decent darts and FIFA player herself so you could say that they make the perfect couple because Luke is also very passionate about both things. She’s very proud of his achievements and is supporting him all the way.’
Away from darts, both Luke and Eloise are avid football fans. He follows Manchester United while her team is Crystal Palace, who she cheered on during their semi-final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley in April 2022.