Luke Littler caps off whirlwind month as he fulfils childhood dream as Man Utd’s guest of honour for Tottenham clash
LUKE LITTLER has fulfilled a childhood ambition today by appearing on the Old Trafford turf.
The darts sensation is the guest of honour for Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Tottenham.
The invitation is in recognition of his exceptional darts exploits at Ally Pally over Christmas and New Year when he raced to the final on his debut before losing 7-4 to world No.1 Luke Humphries.
The kebab-loving 16-year-old, who only left school last summer, is a mad keen Utd fan and was given tickets to tour the ground this year by his girlfriend Eloise as a Christmas present.
Growing up, he loved to play football – his favourite position was centre-half – but aged 10, his dad told him to choose between that or the darts as his main sporting aspiration.
During his epic displays at the Worlds – in which he captivated the global sporting public with six successive wins – Littler received good luck messages from United stars Luke Shaw and Jonny Evans and retired greats Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville.
Following his semi-final win over Rob Cross on January 2, United put out a congratulatory message on their Instagram feed, saying: “We’re right behind you, Luke.”
Before the final defeat to Cool Hand Lane, the darts prodigy revealed that David Beckham – his football hero – had messaged him to wish him good luck in the contest of his life.
The former Red Devils and England icon told the Warrington-born ace “Once a red, always a red” and his son Romeo was among the 2,100 punters who watched live the finale in North London on January 3.
The wonderkid will be in action this week at a World Series of Darts event in Bahrain.
On February 1, he will appear in Cardiff in the first night of the gruelling 17-week Premier League.