Luke Littler, the 17-year-old darts sensation, is set to hand over nearly half of his £275,000 Premier League Darts winnings to the taxman. The young prodigy defeated Luke Humphries on finals night at the O2, hitting a nine-darter in his 11-7 victory and becoming only the second player to achieve this feat after Phil Taylor.
Despite his triumphant debut earning him a six-figure prize, along with an additional £40k from his four nightly victories in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool and Aberdeen, Littler won’t be seeing the full £315k in his bank account. According to AltIndex, he’ll be parting with £136,263.60 for HMRC, comprising £127,953 in income tax and a further £8,310.60 in National Insurance contributions.
After 17 weeks in the Premier League, Littler’s estimated take-home pay is around £178,736.40. This sum surpasses what he earned from his journey to the World Championship final earlier this year, which captivated the nation.
In that tournament, Humphries emerged as the victor, leaving Littler with the £200k runner-up prize. From this amount, approximately £73,203 would have been deducted for tax and £7,330 paid in National Insurance, resulting in a final payout of £119,467.
From these two tournaments alone, Littler will have paid roughly £217k in tax, pocketing close to £300k. This doesn’t even take into account his other professional appearances, which have kept his calendar busy since turning pro, reports the Express.
The young champion expressed his gratitude towards his parents for their unwavering support, both financially and emotionally. Speaking to Sky Sports after his victory over Humphries, he said: “It is 100 per cent [the best night of my life],”.
“I couldn’t believe it. I went over to Luke and he said ‘go and celebrate with your family like you said to me’ and I did. I just burst out crying and hugged them.”
“Whenever I win something and go over to them, all the emotions come out because my mum and dad, they put their own money into me, got me the sponsors I have today, and I can’t thank you enough.”
