Luke Littler has been left stunned after he was confirmed on the shortlist of nominees for the 2024 Sports Personality of the Year awards.
The teenager became an overnight sensation after his historic run to the final of the 2024 World Darts Championship at the age of just 16.
He followed that up with a sensational debut year on the PDC Tour, winning 10 senior titles and climbing up to fourth in the world rankings.
Littler was announced as one of three nominees for the Young Sports Personality of the Year awards at the end of last week, along with skateboarder Sky Brown and para-swimmer William Ellard.
Luke Littler is nominated for both awards
PA
And the darts star has also been concluded on the shortlist for the Sports Personality of the Year awards as well.
“This is MADDDD,” he wrote on X.
“First young sports personality and now sports personality of the year… huge thank you to @BBCSport for nominating me never thought I would be saying that.”
Littler is only the second sports star to ever receive nominations for both awards after diving icon Tom Daley.
He could also become the first darts player to win a Sports Personality of the Year award with Phil Taylor coming closest with a second-place finish in 2010.
The darts legend won his 15th world championship title that year along with six major titles and a nine-dart finish in the Premier League.
Littler’s the strong favourite to scoop up the Young Sports Personality of the Year award with Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson favoured for the senior award.
World No 1 Luke Humphries will be rooting for Littler on the night, but he wasn’t too pleased at being snubbed from the nominations.
“Of course, yeah. Maybe over the last 12 months, I don’t see any other UK sportsperson that’s dominated a sport and nearly won everything,” he said.
Luke Littler is the second favourite to win SPOTYGetty
“It’s done on personality isn’t it? It’s not about your achievements
.”It doesn’t bother me too much. I’ll go and I’ll be supporting him [Littler] and, if he wins, then it’s good for the sport.
“It’s nice to be invited, I think they acknowledge it a little bit, what I’ve achieved.
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Luke Littler is favourite to win Young Sports Personality of the Year
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“I think it’s another feather in the cap for the sport. I think Keely Hodgkinson is probably going to win it, isn’t she?
“But I think Luke could at least win young sports personality of the year if he doesn’t win the main one.
“That’s still a nice thing to have for yourself.”
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