Premier League Darts 2025: Luke Littler Responds to Nathan Aspinall’s Retirement Prediction

Teenage darts prodigy Luke Littler has firmly dismissed the idea that he’s considering an early retirement—after fellow pro Nathan Aspinall claimed he could walk away from the sport within the next five years.

Aspinall Predicts Early Exit for Littler

Aspinall, speaking to talkSPORT Drive during the James Maddison Golf Day on Tuesday, cast doubt on Littler’s long-term future in darts, suggesting the reigning world champion may never get close to breaking Phil Taylor’s iconic record of 16 world titles.

“I think he’ll be off in about five years,” Aspinall told talkSPORT.

“He’s 18. He does a lot on YouTube; he’s good mates with Angryginge. I can see him going down that path, in my opinion.”

“He's already getting fed up with playing and travelling all the time, and he's only been doing it 12 months.”

Littler Stunned by Retirement Talk 

But Littler isn’t having any of it.

Ahead of the 2025 Premier League Darts Finals at London’s O2, where he’ll battle Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and Aspinall himself for the title, the Warrington wonderkid batted away any suggestion that his time in darts could be short-lived.

“It’s crazy to even think about retirement at the minute.”

Still only 18 and just entering his second year on the PDC circuit, Littler insists he’s in no rush to call time on a career that’s only just begun. In fact, he’s still chasing his first major goal—completing a clean sweep of every televised PDC major title.

“No, I’ve said plenty of times, I just want to win one of every major title. That’s all I really want to do.”

Can He Catch ‘The Power’? 

And while Aspinall doesn’t think Littler will topple Taylor’s haul, the world champ hasn’t ruled it out himself—though he admits it would take a monumental effort.

“If I’m here to break Phil Taylor’s record, I’m sure I’ve got the ability to do it, but the record it’s going to take some doing.”

That said, if Littler does manage to go on a jaw-dropping run of 16 consecutive world championship wins, he has a very clear plan.

“If I win 16 world titles and the next 16 world championships, then obviously I will retire.”

That would mean retiring at just 33—the same age Aspinall is now.

From Oche to Online? Not yet

Aspinall also predicted Littler could pivot to a career in social media, thanks to his links with online personalities like Morgan Burtwistle (aka Angry Ginge). 

And while Littler admitted that gaming and streaming are passions of his, he’s not planning a switch any time soon.

“That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, be a Twitch streamer,” he told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

“But I think I’m doing alright at the minute,” he joked, hinting there’s plenty more to come before he hangs up his darts for a streaming headset.

“YouTube is massive. Stephen [Bunting] and most of the people, they’re doing it to boost their profiles and get fans to know them more. It’s a good idea, but I don’t know what waits for me yet after the darting world.”

For now, Littler’s fully focused on tonight’s Premier League showdown—and proving that he’s in this game for the long haul.