Sheffield United vs Luke Littler: fortunes intertwined

Or: why did Sheffield United and darts champion Luke Littler both lose last season, and when will we win again?

David Taylor

Luke Littler is a sporting phenomenon. The young man is the current holder of the PDC World Darts Championship, clinching the title before he even turned 18. He’d already won three major titles, and won the UK Open in March. He’s ranked second in the world. His 16 titles already put him joint-12th for PDC all-time tournament wins, alongside Raymond van Barneveld. He’s Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler.

But for much of the first half of 2025, he was losing. Granted, the darts circuit is even less forgiving than the Championship season, but the red L became more conspicuous, the classically English fist pump less present as The Nuke experienced what can only be described as ‘a minor wobble’, culminating in a loss to Luke Humphries in the final of the Premier League.

A minor wobble is also what Sheffield United experienced towards the end of a season that ended with a final loss – to reach the Premier League. Sport is poetry; unfortunately, this time, we were the limerick.

Littler even took the time during his lean period to respond to some boos in Sheffield at his expense with an Instagram story on the evening of the play off final: “Heard some boos on Thursday night, karma always comes back to bite you 🙈”. Not now, Luke.

For Littler, the losing streak is emphatically over. The last time he lost was on May 7th, to People’s Champion Stephen ‘The Bullet’ Bunting. Since then, he’s played 13, won 13, including completing the darts Triple Crown in July and romping to a convincing 8-4 victory over Luke Humphries last Saturday – a few hours before United slumped their way to their first loss against a side from Wales in 12 games. It’s fun in the second tier, boyo. Iechyd da.

There was some comfort to be had in our joint failures: yes, we lost a play-off final that we really should’ve won. Yes, the club is in a period of transition, meaning results will probably be worse before they get better. But at least darts’ golden child was experiencing a similar blip. Now, we’re left alone, as the Nuke wafts his way to more titles and we waft our way to three losses on the bounce. At least he lost his 222-match 180 streak, a small blessing in which I’m sure the United first team is taking solace.

Will we see a similar renaissance at Bramall Lane? Among the hand-wringing and wailing emanating from some red and white keyboards, let’s retain some context. Poor tactics and mentality in the play-off final have been followed by sizeable upheaval and a completely new approach to games. Bristol City was a surreal experience and Birmingham was a (more) second-string lineup. The Swansea game is the only one of the three that should cause concern on the pitch. Off it, a lack of signings is an understandable source of worry, something that must be rectified this week if we’re to have a chance of channelling Luke Littler’s triumphant recovery. Chaos rarely precipitates long-term success.

Littler has bestowed some of his own success to his girlfriend, who recently made journeys to Australia and New Zealand to provide some familial support, especially as his manager had to leave due to illness. “I’m pretty lucky that my girlfriend has come over because… I would’ve been on my own for two weeks,” Littler told assorted press. “It’s been good to have her here to have some support for myself.”

Rubén Sellés will be hoping for some support around him, although he seems to be under no illusion that he has a way to go before things look a little more like plain sailing. After his team couldn’t muster a shot on target against Swansea, United’s manager reflected both on the job ahead and the fans agitating for better performances. “We need to find our platform, but it’s the nature of football,” he said. “We know how it works, and I can ask them to be calm. But they are going to tell me, probably, ‘fuck off’ – something like that, no?

“Sorry for my English, but I didn’t know any better way to express that one.”

Sounds about right, Rubén. But take faith from the ballad of Luke Littler: if it clicks – when it clicks – there might be no stopping you. Even Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor might not stand in your way. Or, in our case, Stoke City.