Luke Littler’s triumph on finals night of the Premier League saw him scoop the top £275k prize – but he’ll be paid nowhere near that amount
Luke Littler to have nearly half of £275k Premier League Darts prize money taken away
Luke Littler’s triumph on finals night of the Premier League saw him scoop the top £275k prize – but he’ll be paid nowhere near that amount
Luke Littler is set to lose nearly half of his £275,000 Premier League Darts winnings to the tax man. The 17-year-old defeated Luke Humphries on finals night at the O2.
He was crowned champion on debut and even hit a nine-darter in his 11-7 victory over Humphries, becoming only the second player to do so after Phil Taylor.
The triumph landed him the top six-figure prize, adding to the £40k he earned from his four nightly victories in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool and Aberdeen.
But Littler won’t be seeing anywhere near the total £315k hitting his bank balance because according to AltIndex, he’ll be handing £136,263.60 to HMRC. That’s £127,953 in income tax and a further £8,310.60 in National Insurance contributions.
His take home from the 17 weeks of the Premier League is therefore estimated at £178,736.40. That’s more than he earned from his march to the World Championship final which gripped the nation at the turn of the year.
Littler earned £275k for winning the Premier League (Image: Getty)
On that occasion it was Humphries who emerged victorious, leaving Littler to scoop up the £200k runner-up sum. Of that, £73,203 will have been taken in tax and £7,330 paid in National Insurance, with £119,467 ultimately paid to him.
Overall from those two tournaments alone, Littler will have been stung for roughly £217k in tax, pocketing nearly £300k. And that’s without all his other appearances which have seen his calendar stacked since turning pro.
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For him, the best part of raking in the cash is being able to pay back his parents for their financial and emotional support throughout his childhood. “It is 100 per cent [the best night of my life],” he told Sky Sports after beating Humphries.
“I couldn’t believe it. I went over to Luke and he said ‘go and celebrate with your family like you said to me’ and I did. I just burst out crying and hugged them.
“Whenever I win something and go over to them, all the emotions come out because my mum and dad, they put their own money into me, got me the sponsors I have today, and I can’t thank you enough.”
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