LUKE Littler’s rise to prominence during 2024 has seen him earn a prestigious award.

The Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) have named Warrington’s teenage darts sensation as their men’s breakthrough athlete of the year after a stunning first year on the senior circuit.

He was also nominated for their Sportsman of the Year prize, but that went to Team GB's Olympic gold medal winning triathlete Alex Yee.

Having swept the board in the junior ranks, the then-16-year-old catapulted himself into the public consciousness with a superb run to the World Darts Championship Final, seeing off former world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross in the process before losing to world number one Luke Humphries.

Throughout the year, however, he demonstrated that run was no fluke as he continued to pick up titles on both the EuroTour and the World Series of Darts.

His World Championship exploits saw him invited to compete in the PDC Premier League – the sport’s annual big-stage roadshow – and he excelled, picking up nightly wins in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool and Aberdeen to finish top of the table before emerging victorious on Finals Night in London to pick up the trophy.

That is one of 10 titles Littler has claimed this year, with the latest being the Grand Slam of Darts – his first major ranking title – and has moved up to number five in the world rankings.

He has one more tournament to play – this weekend’s Players Championship Finals in which he faces Cross in the first round tomorrow – before returning to Alexandra Palace for this year’s World Championships as the bookies’ favourite for victory.