Raise a glass to Luke Littler as darts’ boy wonder turns 18 and prepares for another year packed with celebrations

LET’S raise a glass to Luke Littler, who turns 18 today.

The star’s birthday may have fallen on — in his own words — a “sluggish Tuesday” but, now he is legally allowed a pint, he certainly has plenty to celebrate.

RexLittler can now practise in a pub and have a beer while doing it – legally[/caption]

In just over a year, Littler has established himself as a legend of the darts drinking classes.

Now he is allowed, by law, to walk into a pub and buy his own beer — and toast becoming one of the most astonishing breakthrough artists in British sporting history.

In the 18 months since he left school, with only one GCSE to his name, Littler has become a worldwide celebrity and multi-millionaire.

It has been a whirlwind ride in which he banked more than £1.5million in prize money, signed several lucrative sponsorship deals, won 11 titles, thrown a flurry of nine-darters and gained more than one million social media followers.

And, most significantly, he became the sport’s youngest world champion.

So what do you get a young man who seemingly has it all and achieved so much in such a short space of time?

Littler has been coy about his plans. Yet one of his boyhood dreams came true on Sunday when he paraded the Sid Waddell Trophy in front of Manchester United fans at half-time of their Premier League clash with Brighton.

If only Ruben Amorim’s sorry men could have copied his lead and learnt how to cope with pressure as they were humbled 3-1 by the Seagulls.

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Life will be different now for Littler, not just in terms of what he can do but perhaps how he is treated by those around him.

There has been a feeling that once he turns 18 his rivals might be more outspoken in press conferences.

It would not have been a good look for them to call out or attack a child in public.

But now he is officially a man, they can speak openly and attempt the mind games.

It is not that Littler has done or said anything wrong — on the contrary, he has always acted in a respectful manner, even if he does have a swagger about him.

It is just that this is professional sport and the players’ lounge does include some bitter, old and envious people.

Nathan Aspinall, a close pal, revealed as much at the Worlds when he said Littler “hasn’t got many mates on the tour because a lot of people are jealous of him”.

RexThere are certain to be many more celebrations for Littler in 2025[/caption]

Then there is the ‘Manchester United syndrome’ as Phil Taylor once noted, where everybody wants to beat you because you are an established name — you cannot afford a complacent performance.

We know that showman Littler loves a big stage and comes alive in front of crowds.

But the bread-and-butter of the sport are the behind-closed-doors ProTours in Wigan, Milton Keynes or Leicester.

Not even Peter Wright gets his Mohawk dyed for those matches.

Speaking long before they met in the World Championship final, Michael van Gerwen wondered how Littler would cope with the treadmill of being a top player.

The Dutchman, 35, said: “There’ll be a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

Instagram @lukethenukelittlerLittler is the apple of his proud parents’ eyes[/caption]

“He’s good enough to deal with the situation, definitely, but sometimes I see him at ProTours and ask him, ‘You don’t really want to be here, do you?’

“Then he’s like, ‘No’. That is the bit that worries me. It’s so busy now, even for him. He was never expecting to be so busy.

“He had a nice week or two off, on the PlayStation. Now he has to turn himself on. Be a Duracell (bunny) five days a week. That’s different.”

Littler might have been a boy up to yesterday but he has never acted like one in the environment of a darts tournament.

The Nuke has a few days off before travelling to Holland for the Dutch Darts Masters, where he could face Van Gerwen again.

Then it is off to Milton Keynes for the Winmau World Masters — his first walk-on in the UK since becoming world champion.

The 17-week Premier League roadshow begins in Belfast on February 6 and this will be the first major title he will have to defend.

But all that can wait as he celebrates his personal landmark.

Happy birthday, Luke!