Luke Littler confirms real age after leaked birth certificate sparks backlash online

If all goes well for him tonight, then Luke 'the nuke' Littler is going to become the youngest ever winner of the World Darts Championship.

He's already the youngest finalist in history, with the 16-year-old smashing the previous record set back in 2008 by a then 21-year-old Kirk Shepherd.

There's no doubt about it, Littler is the new wonderkid of darts and however tonight (3 January) goes at the infamous Alexandra Palace, he's announced himself as one to watch for years to come.

Even people who aren't that into darts have become enthralled by the meteoric rise of Littler, though there have been some who doubted he was exactly what he seemed to be.

If you've only just heard of Luke Littler in recent days then it's possible that learning he was 16 came as a surprise, especially since he's rocking a pretty decent bit of facial hair.

During a recent chat with talkSPORT, he was told that presenter Andy Goldstein had a bet with some of his colleagues that Littler was actually in his thirties.

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However, the darts prodigy quickly shut that idea down and confirmed he really was taking his sport by storm before he's even old enough to order a pint in a pub.

"You’ve had a bet? You’ve lost your money there because I’m 16, I’d say [I’ve had the beard] a good two years now," Littler told talkSPORT when he heard about his age.

It's been quite a time of change for Littler, who said he used to stick Sky Sports News on in the morning and now when he does they're talking about him on there.

Luckily he seems to be dealing with it well, saying he was 'taking it all in my stride' with some darts fans already dubbing him the 'Prince of the Palace'.

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For those who still doubt Littler's age, a copy of his birth certificate did recently leak online and confirm that he really is a 16-year-old.

Already the youngest ever WDC finalist, Littler is putting in the perfect preparation for the biggest night of his life.

In case you were wondering what fuels his prodigious talent, Littler revealed that his preparations involved eating a ham and cheese omelette in the morning while tucking into a pizza later on.

To get this far he's had to beat players he grew up idolising and now he reckons he can go all the way and win it.

"I've pictured myself winning it. I fancy myself. I do fancy myself," he said of his chances of winning.