Luke Littler gets nearly half of his £500k prize money seized from him following World Championship win.
Luke Littler, 17, made history as the youngest world darts champion, collecting a whopping £500,000 in his career. However, he is expected to lose nearly half of his prize money due to taxes.
The youthful darts sensation, who defeated Michael van Gerwen 7-3 at Alexandra Palace, improved on his performance last year, when he finished second to Luke Humphries. Littler, the pre-tournament favourite, won the title, taking home the Sid Waddell Trophy and a large sum of money.
However, UK tax requirements require Littler to pay HMRC a significant £223,213 plus up to £12,010 in National Insurance contributions, according to the Daily Mail. This deduction totals more than £230,000, about half of his Ally Pally wins.
Experts believe that Runcorn’s darting prodigy will take the sport by storm, earning up to £50 million in his lifetime. Marketing strategist Nigel Currie told The Mirror: “It’s just fantastic timing for Luke. Darts continues to expand and is profitable for all players, particularly the top ones. The television ratings are amazing, and money is flooding into the sport like never before.”
He added, “It’s an extraordinary narrative to have such a young athlete at the top. Last year, he received more than £1 million in prize money and, I believe, at least the same amount in sponsorship money, if not more. That is only going to increase bigger, making him a very wealthy young man. The sky’s the limit.
Currie also mentioned the growing interest from brands: “A lot of potential sponsors will have held back last year, waiting to see if it was a fluke tournament.” But he’s demonstrated he’s here to stay. He will continue to be the sport’s pin-up guy for many years. “The sponsors will be queuing.”
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