Luke Littler will have to surrender a huge portion of his Players Championship Finals prize money due to tax. The 18-year-old darts sensation, who was defeated in last year’s final by Luke Humphries, added a new trophy to his cabinet on Sunday by beating Nathan Aspinall 11-8 in Minehead.
Littler had to fight hard for the victory as Aspinall narrowed the gap to 9-8 at one point by winning four out of five legs. However, the reigning world champion stood firm and hit an 88 checkout to secure his sixth televised title, just a week after claiming the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton and securing the world No.1 spot. That victory over Humphries earned him a staggering £150,000 in prize money, although nearly half of it went to HMRC.
At the start of the year, Littler made history by becoming the youngest ever PDC World Darts Champion after defeating Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the Alexandra Palace final. The Nuke bagged a colossal £500,000 for that win but UK tax laws meant the teenager had to hand over £223,213 to the taxman, plus up to £12,010 in National Insurance contributions, which cut over £230,000 from his take-home pay.
His most recent victory earned him another hefty £120,000, pushing his total earnings over the past two years to a staggering £1,970,000, though Littler will once again have to part with another £53,500 of that.
Littler first gained widespread attention in early 2024 by reaching the World Championship final, securing £200,000 in prize money despite his defeat to Humphries at the last hurdle.
Following that remarkable achievement, he received a playful jibe regarding his tax obligations from HMRC’s official social media account.
They wrote: “Big congrats to Luke on his fantastic run to the final,” before adding tongue-in-cheek: “We can confirm the existence of income tax.”
Another opportunity to claim substantial prize money awaits when the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship begins in December, with Littler hoping for another appearance in the final scheduled for January 3.