17 Year Old World Darts Champion Has Rookie Cards
If you live in the UK, there's a good chance you're familiar with the PDC World Championship, which recently concluded. Luke Littler returned to the final this year after a devastating defeat last year and at only 17 years old has won his first World Championship.
HISTORY. MADE. 🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2025
LUKE LITTLER HAS DONE IT!!!
He is crowned the youngest ever champion as he wins the 2024/25 @paddypower World Darts Championship!
A special talent. pic.twitter.com/HVI8KtWrhh
Over the summer Panini announced a huge partnership with PDC, so that means in the future we are going to be seeing more releases from them.
PDC with Panini and Luke Littler signing their sticker sheets.
— Mitch : LDN Cards (@LDNcards) August 28, 2024
Wonder where that leaves the Topps release? Was teased ages ago now.
Hopefully still goes ahead as it was looking genuinely like something 'new' and accessible.https://t.co/NmwM2OJCZY
You might be surprised to learn that two darts sports card products were released in 2024. Both Panini and Topps launched darts card collections. Panini introduced a full PDC World Championship set featuring some of the biggest names in the sport.
Both finalists this year, Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler, are included in this product's checklist.
Link to ebay listing
Link to ebay listing
In the United States, we’re no strangers to individual players receiving their own sports card sets. Topps took this approach and released a dedicated Luke Littler set. This marks the first-ever Topps darts set and exclusively highlights the young superstar who has taken the darts world by storm over the past few seasons.
The World Darts Championship is a two-week, 96-player single-elimination tournament held since 2008 at Alexandra Palace in London. The tournament concludes with a best-of-13-sets match. To win a leg, players must score exactly 501 points. Three legs are needed to win a set.
Two years ago, one of the greatest legs of darts ever was thrown during the World Championship final:
📅 On this day, two years ago, one of the best sporting moments ever. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/XxFWyY7pHW
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) January 3, 2025
Like prizefighters in boxing or the UFC, these athletes have entrances—and calling them eclectic would be an understatement:
We interrupt the CFP to present you the greatest walkout in all of sports.
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 2, 2025
pic.twitter.com/eRD2I70qgB
Darts isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (UK pun intended), but it has grown in mainstream popularity over the past few seasons, thanks in part to clips like those above. What is the market for darts cards?
World Darts Championship Includes Viral Back-and-Forth Leg in Final
Well, it was significant enough for the two biggest sports card companies in the world to produce products last year. Similar to some of the early Disney cards Topps released, last year’s darts products were UK-only releases, so you’re unlikely to find them at your local Walmart or Target.
If you want to dive into the world of darts here is the social account of the Professional Darts Corporation They post updates on tournments throughout the year.
Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.