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Luke Littler is being tipped to easily pocket over 10million during his career by darts legend Dennis Priestley.
The 'Nuke' has been a dominant force at the oche since turning pro in 2024, and his win at the PDC World Championship against Michael van Gerwen in January has only added to his status as a rising star. Currently, Littler's balance on the PDC Order of Merit reads a cool 1,300,500.
But that figure is just from ranking tournaments and doesn't include prize money from other events like Premier League Darts or sponsorship deals the 18-year-old might have. With all this in mind, Priestley, who famously thrashed Phil Taylor in the 1994 World Championship, believes raking in 10m will be a walk in the park for the youngster.
Speaking to OLBG about Littler's recent domination, Priestley predicted that Littler will out-earn darting deity Taylor, saying: "Luke Littler and several other young players will win more prize money than Phil Taylor ever did, by a long way. But getting to 100million like players in other sports will be some ask.
"Getting to 10million will be simple for Luke if he keeps his head down with the new 1million prize money, then he can go from there." Taylor is estimated to have earned between 7.5m and 10m from his illustrious career.
Priestley, meanwhile, did, however, share his doubts about Littler's ability to reign supreme over the sport as Taylor did during his extraordinary career. He added: "I reckon there has been three or four players better than Phil in the game, but what none of them could do is dominate like he did for so long.
"Luke Littler is among those names talent wise, but dominating like Phil did for so long? I don't think it can happen. What Phil did was incredible and we might not see that in the darts ever again."
With a trophy cabinet boasting 16 World Championships, 87 major titles, and numerous PDC Player of the Year accolades across a span of thirty years, 'The Power' Taylor's legacy as one of the all-time darts greats is unassailable. So, it's hardly shocking that Priestley harbours scepticism about anyone emulating Taylor's unparalleled dominance, reports the Express.
Nonetheless, Littler is tipped as the next big thing in darts, thanks to his prodigious skill and impressive list of accomplishments at such a tender age. He has already bagged five major titles from seven finals, reigned supreme in the 2024 Premier League, and clinched victory twice in the World Series.
Sitting pretty at World No. 2, Littler's upcoming test is a face-off with Gerwyn Price in the Premier League play-offs semi-finals on Thursday night. In the other semi-final match-up, Nathan Aspinall takes on World No. 1 Luke Humphries.
Last year, Littler showed his true capabilities by finishing first in the league standings with four event wins and two runner-up places. The youngster then saw a 10-5 win over Michael Smith in the semis, before besting Humphries 11-7 in the final of the event.
With six wins this season and once again in pole position headed into the play-offs, Littler will hope to defend his Premier League title when the final four meet at London's O2 on Thursday evening.
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