More than a million pounds in prize money; 10 major tournament wins; four perfect nine-dart finishes; the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year. Luke Littler’s 2024 was a fairy tale, but he would still have traded all that for the big one that got away.

Teenage star Luke Littler has reached the final at the world darts championship — again. Still just 17, Littler routed Stephen Bunting 6-1 on Thursday to give himself another shot at the title, one year after his unlikely run brought waves of new fans to the sport.

Luke Littler turned down the chance to practice with Stephen Bunting ahead of the World Darts Championship, preferring to stick to his own routine. Littler and Bunting meet in the Alexandra Palace semi-finals on Thursday night after the Nuke beat Nathan Aspinall and the Bullet downed Peter Wright on Wednesday evening.

Luke Littler turned down the chance to practice with Stephen Bunting before the World Championship - and now the two will meet in a semi-final clash tonight.

The Nuke’ will defend his title after starting the year as world champion following a win over Michael Van Gerwen in the final at Alexandra Palace