Who are Luke Littler’s parents Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler?
LUKE Littler’s heroic run to the final of the 2023/24 PDC World Darts Championship has catapulted him into the spotlight.
Here we take a look at the darts prodigy’s parents Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler.
Who are Luke Littler’s Parents?
Luke Littler‘s parents are Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler.
As well as being his parents, Anthony and Lisa are The Nuke’s biggest fans.
They have supported Luke in his darts career since he was in nappies.
What do Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler do?
Luke’s dad Anthony is a taxi driver.
And his mum Lisa is employed at a shop selling scented candles.
Both have a strong work ethic, which they have imparted to their son.
Who is Luke Littler?
Littler was born in Warrington, Cheshire on January 21, 2007 — making him 16 years old.
He is the reigning world youth champion and has hit incredible averages on the Modus Super Series, earning himself a PDC Tour Card for the 2024-25 season.
Speaking about his meteoric rise in August 2023 before this year’s PDC World Darts Championship, Littler said: “I still can’t believe it. I have surprised myself.
“At the start of the year, my ambition was to win one Development Tour title, and I’ve won five.
“I knew I had the ability to beat the best players on the Development Tour, and I’ve beaten quite a few Tour Card holders — Dylan Slevin, Danny Jansen, Lewy Williams, Keane Barry.
“It is unbelievable. Now I’ve got my Tour Card, I can’t wait to prove what I can do on the big stages.”
He added: “This is a massive achievement in my career, I believe it will raise my game because I will be playing against the best players in the world, week in, week out on the ProTour and in qualifying for the European Tour.
“At the moment I don’t practice much. I usually do 30 minutes to an hour a day.
“Some people probably won’t believe it, but if I’m playing against the best, then I’ve got to up my standard.”
He made his PDC debut in March 2023 at the UK Open in Somerset, beating Nick Fullwell 6-0.
In the 2023/24 PDC World Championships, Luke stunned Ally Pally with one of the greatest debuts darts history, as he beat Christian Kist in the first round — and then celebrated that victory with a kebab.
His victory saw Littler become the youngest winner of a match at the tournament and record the highest average (106.12) for a player making his debut at Ally Pally.
The teenager went a step further by beating No 20 seed Andrew Gilding to shockingly become one of the FAVOURITES to win the tournament.
The 16-year-old blew away Canadian Matt Campbell 4-1, dropping only six legs out of 20 in another blistering display in his debut tournament — before breaking down in tears as he hugged his proud mum.
Littler then destroyed former champ Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 with an average of 105 to book a place in the quarter-finals.
In the quarters he stormed past his opponent once again, beating Brendan Dolan 5-1 to progress to the final four — celebrating the historic win by kissing his girlfriend Eloise.
And his unstoppable form continued into the semi-finals, where he brushed aside former world champ Rob Cross in an emphatic 6-2 victory.
Should he go one further and beat Luke Humphries in the final on Wednesday Jan 3, lift the Sid Waddell Trophy and pick up the £500,000 top prize, it will surely go down as one of the greatest triumphs in sporting history.
Luke has since become one of the nation’s darlings, with a picture of him on Christmas Day opening presents going viral, along with old footage of an incredible trick shot while he is still in NAPPIES.
Are his parents Anthony Buckley and Lisa Littler involved in his Darts career?
Luke’s parents certainly helped him get into the sport as a youngster by giving him access to a “proper” dart board — and taking him to the pub.
Discussing his remarkable success with the BBC, Littler said: “By the age of four I got on to the proper board. From 18 months on I have been non-stop.
“When we moved to Warrington when I was eight or nine we started going out to pubs four to five times a week.”
Littler has gained plenty of new supporters this month, but dad Anthony has always been his No1 fan.
Responding to a post from Junior Darts Co on social media, Anthony wrote in 2017: “Watch out for 10-year-old Luke Littler this year!”
And Luke’s mum and dad have been at Ally Pally supporting his astonishing run in the 2023/24 PDC World Darts Championship.
Speaking after his victory over Campbell, Littler said: “I started crying when I saw my mum in the crowd.
“She was nervous. I saw her with her head in her hands. I said to her: ‘The dream continues.’ She said the same thing.”