16-year-old prodigy Luke Littler has proved that age really is just a number after lighting up the world of darts with his record-breaking world championship run.
People who don't even watch darts have tuned in over the last few weeks to watch the talented teenager push aside high-ranked players to make it all the way to the PDC World Darts Championship final last night (3 January).
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Sadly for Littler, it was world-number-one Luke Humphries who came out on top at the Alexandra Palace with a 7-4 victory, which saw him lift the Sid Waddell trophy for the first time.
Although Humphries won, Littler made history as the youngest ever player to compete in the tournament and make it to the final, as well as receiving a hero’s reception at the end of the match.
Speaking of the experience after last night's final, Littler said to press: “It’s been unbelievable, I just wanted to win one game and come back after Christmas, that was the only goal I set, so this is a massive bonus.
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“No one likes losing, I have not really lost much, so to lose on that stage I can’t really be angry, the only thing I am angry about is that I lost a lot of legs on my throw and I was just chasing Luke.
“I have won six games here so why can’t I go and win seven here in years to come. I have gained a lot of experience and stage experience, I am in the top 32 now so I could be in everything.
“The past three to four weeks have been unbelievable and now I just can’t wait to go home. I’m sorry I couldn’t give the crowd what they wanted.”
By finishing in second place, Littler has shown a maturity way beyond his years as he's confident of picking up a trophy very soon.
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And it wasn't for nothing either, as the young man also pocketed an eye-watering cash prize along the way.
Littler will be given a whopping £200,000 as runner-up, while Humphries will take away a tidy £500,000 prize.
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However, according to investment platform Saxo, their estimates suggest that Littler will have to pay £76,203 in tax, as well as £7,330 in National Insurance, which means his winnings will be sliced by almost half.
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Although children can usually avoid tax threshold, the World Darts Championship runner-up won’t have that luxury.
Andrew Mangion, Head of Tax Product at Saxo, said: "Everybody needs to pay tax, no matter their age, and under 18s have the same personal allowance as adults. Normally children don’t work or if they do, their pay is generally under the tax free allowance.
"In this case, it's rare for a teenager to come into so much money in one lump sum and we would advise him to take professional financial advice on how to best act on this."
His take home pay is estimated to be around £116,467.
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Still not bad for a 16-year-old, or a person of any age!
Topics: Luke Littler, Sport
Anish Vij