Luke Littler has revealed what he feels will be the ‘next big step’ on the road to establishing himself as the greatest player in history. The teenage superstar has enjoyed an unprecedented rise since his incredible run to last year’s World Darts Championship final. He went on to win the Premier League in his debut season before securing Alexandra Palace glory at the second time of asking.

The reigning world champion will be hoping to make a successful defence of his title in 2026, where a huge amount of prize money will likely be up for grabs. Littler received £500,000 for beating Michael van Gerwen back in January but is expected to take home significantly more if he achieves back-to-back wins.

It has been widely reported that next year’s champion will receive a £1million payday, with the amount of prize money set to be doubled. The PDC are yet to announce the proposed changes but Luke Humphries all but confirmed them in a recent interview.

Littler believes that winning seven figures would help to propel him towards even greater stardom while also helping the sport in general by increasing its profile.

“I’ve not been told anything, but obviously, it’s been going around for many years,” said Littler. “It’s been £500,000 for the past however many years, but I think that’s the next big step for us players.

“Obviously, whoever wins it, they’ll obviously go straight to number one. So, if it’s this year or if it’s next year, I do feel 99.9 per cent sure it’ll happen.”

Only time will tell if Littler can secure back-to-back titles at Alexandra Palace next year, with Humphries likely to be his closest challenger once again. Cool Hand recently claimed that a potential increase in prize money is already common knowledge despite the lack of any official announcement.

He told talkSPORT: “I’m not fighting desperately to be world number one. I’d rather be world champion, which he [Littler] is, so for him, I’m sure he’d be happier to be world champion than world number one.

“For me, it doesn’t matter what happens in the next six, seven, eight months. It’s all about the world championships. We all know that the world champion is going to get a million quid.

“So, whoever wins that is going to be world number one. If I win that, I’ll be world number one for a long time. If Luke wins that, he’s going to be world number one for a long time.”