Luke Littler is no longer chasing history — he’s hunting domination. At just 19, “The Nuke” is already standing in territory most players only visit in highlight reels. Since crashing the World Darts Championship final as a fearless 16-year-old in 2024, Littler hasn’t just lived up to the hype, he’s steamrolled past it. Titles have stacked up at an almost absurd rate, and his back-to-back World Championship victories — something not achieved for a decade — have pushed him into conversations usually reserved for Phil Taylor and prime Michael van Gerwen. His latest demolition job came earlier this month at Alexandra Palace, where he brushed aside Gian van Veen to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for a second straight year and pocket another £1 million. Add in wins at the UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and even the inaugural Saudi Arabia Darts Masters — where he fired in a savage 112 average just days before turning 19 — and it’s no exaggeration to say darts is currently being played on Littler’s terms. World No.1, ten major PDC titles, eight of the ten televised majors completed. Only two boxes remain unticked: the Winmau World Masters and the European Championship.
That’s why Milton Keynes suddenly feels like the centre of the darts universe. The 2026 Winmau World Masters begins today, and its unforgiving best-of-three-legs sets format leaves no room for slow starts or mercy visits. It’s a tournament steeped in history and awkward quirks, and if Littler conquers it, he edges even closer to a clean sweep that would genuinely redefine greatness in the modern era. Defending champion Luke Humphries headlines the draw against Dave Chisnall, Michael van Gerwen begins his campaign against Damon Heta, but the spotlight inevitably drifts toward Littler. He opens against Mike De Decker, an opponent he’s beaten seven times out of seven, though last year’s World Masters still lingers in the memory. Littler looked untouchable on debut, crushing Andy Baetens and James Wade before being abruptly stopped 4–1 by Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals. That loss stands out now as a rare scar in what’s been near-perfection ever since.
Gian van Veen, the world No.3 and Littler’s most recent final victim, looms again. Making his World Masters debut, the Dutchman hasn’t been shy about shifting the spotlight back onto the favourite. He’s right about one thing: the pressure is permanently welded to Littler now. Everyone expects him to win almost every time he steps on stage, especially with his own admission that the World Masters and European Championship are the last big prizes he truly craves. Van Veen believes that expectation is where opportunity lives, and history backs him up — no one stays untouchable forever. Even averaging over 104 and barely dropping sets, cracks can appear in formats like this.
Jonny Clayton knows that better than anyone. The Welshman still wears last year’s upset with a grin, joking that Littler’s future autobiography will always have his name pencilled into the early chapters. But beneath the humour is genuine admiration. Clayton calls Littler a complete player, someone who uses the entire board and makes awkward doubles look optional. His comparison to Taylor, van Gerwen and Humphries feels less like flattery and more like inevitability. Even so, Clayton insists the World Masters is a danger zone for favourites — short sets, fast swings, and no time to recover if things wobble. Ironically, that relaxed swagger Littler carries might be the very thing that makes him lethal here.
Paul Nicholson adds a more measured warning, pointing to Littler’s struggles in Germany and his underwhelming European Championship record so far. It’s the one environment where the invincibility flickers. Still, Nicholson expects Littler to lift the trophy this weekend, arguing that while the format levels the field, form usually tells in the end — and Littler’s numbers are outrageous. A 115.96 Premier League average, one of the highest ever seen on TV, doesn’t scream vulnerability unless an off-day arrives at exactly the wrong moment.
And that’s the real intrigue. As the Arena MK fills with noise from Thursday through Sunday, this doesn’t feel like a question of talent or hunger. Littler has both in excess. It’s about whether expectation can finally slow him down. Personally, it feels like we’re watching a player who hasn’t reached his ceiling yet, which is frankly terrifying for everyone else. The World Masters isn’t guaranteed — this format can humble anyone — but if Littler survives the early rounds, momentum alone might carry him all the way. Pressure may crack armour eventually, but right now, it still feels like The Nuke is built to absorb it. Whatever happens, darts has never seen a chase for completeness like this, and it’s impossible to look away.