Alex Daniel
Jan 04, 2024
Sky Sports
Darts has really hit the big time, after the thrilling showdown between 16-year-old Luke Littler and new world champion Luke Humphries.
Presumably, that’s why prime minister Rishi Sunak is tweeting about it, congratulating Humphries on “a great win”.
He wrote on X/Twitter: “Congratulations Luke, a great win tonight. What an incredible final to end a historic championship.
“I know that [Humphries] and [Littler] will be leading the sport for years to come.”
Teenage sensation Littler’s run came to a dramatic end last night, as Humphries beat him 7-4 to take the world championship crown.
But it came after an incredible few days for Littler, nicknamed ‘The Nuke', has quickly become the most talked-about name in the sport and made it to the final having beaten former champion Rob Cross.
Darts is among the world’s most accessible sports, and is still popular in pubs up and down the country. While pros are now making it big, with a £500,000 top prize for this year’s world championship, it still holds some of its old appeal.
This year we saw player Cameron Menzies go viral after completing a shift as a plumber fixing sinks before taking to the stage to play his debut World Championship first-round match.
By that logic, Sunak, a privately educated former Goldman Sachs banker who is married to a billionaire, doesn’t exactly seem like the target audience – but hey, each to their own.
Nonetheless, eyebrows were raised at his decision to post about the contest, and his brief foray into punditry about the future of the sport.
One person wrote: “Oh look at me, I’m a man of the people and enjoy the arrows…”
Another said: “Coming from someone that misses all their targets.”
And a third added: “Can only imagine the number of dartboards your image is on.”
Ouch.
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