Even though darts originated as a British pub game, Luke Littler, a losing World Championship finalist, is still too young to be able to legally purchase alcohol at age 16.

Only months after his high school exams, the adolescent debutant earned a runners-up cheque for £200,000 (231,941 euros) for his run to the all-English championship final on Wednesday at London’s Alexandra Palace. There, he lost 7-4 in sets to world number one Luke Humphries after having a dart to lead 5-2.

The tale of Littler, who was ranked 164th in the world before his debut game two weeks ago but now has close to 500,000 Instagram followers and 100,000 on X, formerly Twitter, enthralled sports enthusiasts, including Premier League athletes.

“I’ve had a message off Luke Shaw of Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand and I had a message off Gary Neville and Jonny Evans…so it’s just crazy,” said Littler, whose home in Warrington, northwest England, is some 18 miles from Old Trafford, before the final.

Littler defeated five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 on his way to become the youngest darts finalist in history. This victory helped the sport draw millions of viewers to television.

In the semifinals, he defeated Rob Cross, the 2018 champion, 6-2.

Supporters of the game argue that darts is a game of math prowess and fine motor abilities, made more difficult at the professional level by boisterous, frequently intoxicated spectators.

Standing more than seven feet (2.37 meters) away from the board, where the most valued “treble” sections are also the tiniest, players attempt to strike certain little targets.

The goal is to finish on a double on the board’s outer edge or in the center bullseye, using the fewest darts possible to get from 501 to exactly zero.

Every player gets a turn throwing three darts; the maximum score is 180, or three treble 20s.

Luke the Nuke, as Littler was known, hit 16 180s versus Cross.

Darts has been called “the working man’s golf” by promoter Barry Hearn, a pivotal role in the 1980s UK televised snooker boom.

Omelette, pizza and kebabs

Littler’s pre-match preparation at the World Championships is unlikely to pacify the skeptics, though, as some doubt if darts can genuinely call itself a sport given the lack of athletic effort involved.

“I don’t wake up until 12, in the morning go for my ham and cheese omelette, come here and have my pizza, and then go on the practice board,” said Littler, also known for celebrating his victories with a post-match kebab.

The Economist, a publication renowned for its political commentary, published a feature on this year’s World Championship that discussed the “debauched collision of fancy dress (the fans) and elite sport” in darts.

And after the final, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted, “Congratulations Luke, a great win tonight. What an incredible final to end a historic championship.”

Littler is no overnight success story, however, having first played as a small boy and attending the St Helens Darts Academy from the age of nine.

“When he first came as a kid you could see he was very special and he just got better and better,” said academy co-founder, Karl Holden before the final.

“He hardly lost so we said, ‘What do we know?’ We put him into the elite group, which is our best players, and he had just turned 10.”