Luke Littler retirement: Phil Taylor suggests world No 1 could quit ‘in five years’

Phil Taylor has suggested Luke Littler could retire from darts in five years, arguing that the money now available in the sport could allow the world number one to end his career early.

The 16-time world champion made the prediction in an interview with Sport Bild, reported by Dartsnews. However, Taylor also acknowledged that Littler has the talent to challenge his record.

Luke Littler retirement: what did Phil Taylor say?

Taylor linked his prediction to the financial rewards available to the sport’s leading players.

“There’s so much more money in the sport,” he said. “I could therefore imagine him retiring in five years.”

That is Taylor’s assessment of what might happen, rather than an announcement of a retirement date by Littler. The 19-year-old remains the reigning world champion and leads the PDC Order of Merit.

His next World Championship campaign will offer the chance to win a third successive title at Alexandra Palace, having lifted the trophy in 2025 and 2026.

Can Luke Littler catch Phil Taylor’s world-title record?

Taylor did not dismiss the possibility that Littler could eventually challenge his achievements.

“I think he’s capable of it. He has the talent to become world champion several times,” Taylor said, while questioning “whether he can maintain this consistency”.

There are two records to distinguish. Taylor won 16 senior world championships overall, comprising 14 PDC titles and two BDO crowns. Littler’s two victories both came in the PDC tournament.

Player	PDC world titles	BDO world titles	Total
Luke Littler	2	0	2
Phil Taylor	14	2	16

Littler therefore needs another 12 titles to equal Taylor’s PDC record, or 14 to match his combined total. Either target requires success over many more seasons.

He retained his crown with a 7-1 victory over Gian van Veen in January. Our Luke Littler profile tracks his titles, results and career milestones.

Taylor backs himself against Littler in his prime

Taylor, now 66, also offered his verdict on a hypothetical meeting between the pair at their best.

“In my prime, I definitely would have beaten Luke,” he said.

He qualified that assessment by acknowledging how closely matched they could have been: “But in certain matches it would have been 50/50 between us. I think we would have been good for each other.”

Littler’s European Championship run shows the challenge

Littler’s latest European Championship appearance demonstrated both his scoring power and the difficulty of turning that form into another trophy.

He averaged 114.47 in a 10-5 win over Nathan Aspinall, the second-highest average in the tournament’s history, according to PDC Europe’s review.

A day later, he lost 10-6 to Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals. The contrast gives useful context to Taylor’s consistency question: an exceptional performance in one round does not guarantee a title at the end of the tournament.

Phil Taylor tips Martin Schindler as a World Championship contender

Taylor also backed Martin Schindler to challenge at Alexandra Palace, praising the German’s scoring and finishing.

He suggested that, if Schindler performs to his ability, “then he could be in the final or even win the World Championship”.

Schindler reached his first individual televised PDC major final at the European Championship in Dortmund on 25 October, losing 11-8 to Ross Smith.

His route included a 10-1 quarter-final win over Jonny Clayton and an 11-6 victory against Ratajski in the semi-finals. Our European Championship report covers Smith’s title win and Schindler’s breakthrough.

That run provides a concrete reason for Taylor’s confidence. Reproducing it at Alexandra Palace would be Schindler’s next step, with Littler pursuing a third world crown of his own.

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