Luke Littler has explained why he took a leaf out of Didier Drogba’s book to celebrate during his win over Nathan Aspinall at the World Darts Championship.
Littler beat Aspinall on New Year’s Day to move into the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace in style. The 17-year-old knocked out the two-time semi-finalist with some typically relentless scoring, banging in 15 180s to book a semi-final against Stephen Bunting, who saw off Peter Wright by the same score line.
He has already guaranteed himself a payday of £100,000, even if he loses against Bunting, but he is eyeing up the trophy and £500,000 prize, after falling at the final hurdle against world No.1 Luke Humphries last year. Littler was delighted to see off Aspinall and was seen pulling out Drogba’s iconic celebration as he left the stage after winning a set.
Drogba scored 164 goals over nine years at Chelsea, where he became a club legend by helping them win four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three Carabao Cups and the Champions League. He became well known for his celebration, which saw the striker jut out his hands rapidly while sprinting towards the corner flag.
Littler is a Manchester United fan and was just five years old when Chelsea won the Champions League in 2012. But he is a huge fan of gaming and EA Sports FC – previously known as FIFA – and had been egged on to do Drogba’s celebration by a friend.
He explained: “My mate has been pestering me for months to do it and he was in the crowd tonight and when I was walking off I looked at him and he was doing the celebration so I did it. It’s from FIFA.”
Littler averaged a stunning 111 to race into a two-set lead and managed to maintain his high standards to finish with an average of 101.
Despite only being in his second appearance at the tournament, he has now averaged over 100 on eight occasions at Ally Pally, putting him eighth on the all-time list, behind only Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, Adrian Lewis, Raymond van Barneveld and Michael Smith.
“It’s an amazing feeling to reach another semi-final and start 2025 with a win,” he said. “Overall it was a good performance. We all know Nathan never gives up, but I pinged my doubles when it mattered tonight.
“That was the best I’ve felt in this tournament, and now I want to go that step closer and hopefully get the win tomorrow night. Me and Stephen are good friends, but all that’s in my head now is trying to make that second final.”
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