Voting has closed for SJA members to decide the winners of three major categories at the British Sports Awards 2024; winners will be announced live on Sky Sports News on Wednesday 20 November; Stuart Broad, Mary Earps and Manchester City’s men’s team claimed the 2023 honours; who will take the top prizes this year?
By Jack Whittaker
The UK were swept up by Luke Littler mania at the beginning of the year as ‘the Nuke’ exploded onto the scene to finish runner-up in his PDC World Championship debut.
Since then Littler, now 17, has continued to take the darts world by storm, frequently locking horns with the biggest names in the game and more often than not coming out on top.
With a demeanour of nonchalance and displaying the unwavering poise of a veteran in the sport, Littler has accumulated eight titles, including two European Tour victories and a Premier League of Darts title after he also topped the regular season table with 40 points.
In the Premier League final he saw off Luke Humphries, the man four points behind him in the league standings who had bested him in the World Championship final.
This time the teenager demonstrated the long way he had come in such a short space of time, nailing the hallowed nine-darter in the 11th leg on his way to an 11-7 victory.
Following the culmination of the Premier League, the momentum has continued apace and Littler recently dispatched two former world champions to win the World Series last month.
The world champions in question were Michael Van Gerwen and Michael Smith, both of whom fell to 11-4 defeats, with Littler boasting a three-dart average of 102.21 across the tournament.
These numbers have not been uncommon either as he boasts the second highest three-dart tournament average this season as well as besting his opponents average 74% of the time.
The 17-year-old’s mesmeric form over the course of this year has seen him break multiple records including being the youngest player to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final, and the youngest ever player to hit a televised nine-dart finish.
Littler is undoubtedly the biggest draw darts have ever had, with his 2024 World Championship final attracting the biggest non-football audience ever recorded on Sky Sports. He is now on the journey of transcending the sport.
With appearances on the Jonathan Ross Show and the Fantasy Football League series, along with a Forbes magazine cover shoot, Littler has propelled darts back into the mainstream. His Wrestlemania inspired walkout song even garnered the attention of legendary wrestler John Cena as well as the WWE who invited him to a non-televised event.
Littler’s remarkable ascendency has not only seen him win multiple titles and break multiple records but he has also helped the sport gain publicity at an unprecedented level.
Such impact in a sport warrants recognition and that is why Luke Littler is a clear contender for the Sports Journalist Association’s Sportsman of the Year award.
Visit our SJA British Sports Awards 2024 hub article for more information.
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