Luke Littler will aim to become the youngest World Darts Championship winner when he faces Luke Humphries in the final at Alexandra Palace.
The 16-year-old sensation has enjoyed a dream run on his World Championship debut, which has included a win over his idol Raymond van Barneveld and 2018 champion Rob Cross.
Littler had already showed his potential by being crowed world junior champion last year.
He now stands on the brink of the senior title and a prize of £500,000 despite having only just left school.
Amid the teenager’s stunning breakthrough, Mail Sport takes a look at where 10 icons were at the same stage on their rise to the top of their respective sports.
Luke Littler, 16, will bid to become the youngest darts world champion at Alexandra Palace
Wayne Rooney
‘Remember the name, Wayne Rooney‘ was the iconic line delivered by commentator Clive Tyldesley to capture the future England’s legend’s breakthrough moment.
Rooney had memorably come off the bench to score that last minute winner against Arsenal aged just 16.
The teenager striker famously struck from 30 yards out to earn Everton a 2-1 win over Arsenal in 2002, ending the reigning champions 30 match unbeaten run in the process.
Rooney became the youngest Premier League goalscorer at the time, with the effort coming just five days before his 17th birthday. The goal came in his ninth appearance in his debut season in Everton’s first team.
‘Rooney is the biggest England talent I’ve seen since I arrived in England,’ Wenger admitted afterwards. ‘There has certainly not been a player under 20 as good as him since I became a manager here.
‘We were beaten by a special goal from a very special talent.’
Rooney would of course go on to become Man United and England’s record goalscorer in a glittering playing career, with Harry Kane having since surpassed his Three Lions tally.
Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal as Everton beat Arsenal 2-1 when he was just 16
Conor McGregor
At this stage, McGregor was two years away from making his MMA debut and it would take a further five years before he landed in the UFC three months shy of his 25th birthday.
Fresh out of school, the Notorious took a job as a plumber to make ends meet.
‘It just wasn’t for me,’ McGregor told The Mirror. ‘I was waking at 5am and walking in the dark, freezing cold until I reached the motorway and waited for a guy I didn’t even know to take me to the site, where I worked for 12 hours.
‘I know there are passionate, skilled plumbers. But I had no love for plumbing.’
Rather than being one of the sport’s stars, McGregor was still watching on as a fan and attended UFC 93 as a fan in Dublin at 16.
Notorious grabbed a photo with UFC star Chuck Liddell at the event, who he later revealed had inspired his journey into the Octagon. McGregor would later share a photo of Liddell watching one of his fights in 2020 after he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
‘Your work inside the UFC’s famed Octagon inspired me to chase my own fighting dreams, and for that I am forever grateful to you!’ McGregor wrote.
McGregor, who was still living off social welfare payments until he was 25, also revealed he met UFC president Dana White for the first time at the event.
‘When I was 16 years old, I was at my first UFC event as a fan. After the event, Dana stays and takes pictures with the fans,’ McGregor told ESPN in 2014.
‘I ran down to the railings and I seen Dana and I was like, ‘Dana, Dana’. ‘He looked at me…’How much money have you got in your pocket right now this second?’
‘He looked at me with like a weird face and then just kind of walked off. So, I don’t think he liked that too much, but it was fun. I was just a little kid dreaming of the big time.’
Anthony Joshua
Similarly to McGregor, Joshua was some distance away from becoming one of greatest heavyweight boxers of his generation. In fact, Joshua had yet to step into a gym to begin his journey in the sport.
Joshua’s athletic talent had been noticed in different sports having been scouted for St Albans City’s under-18 football team, where he played as a winger.
He was also a sprinter capable of running the 100 metres in just over 10 seconds.
The two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medallist has previously spoken of his troubled teenage years on his path to the top of the sport.
One such incident came at the age of 16, where Joshua was charged with actual bodily harm.
This followed a complaint after Joshua had grabbed an opponent by the neck and thrown them over his shoulder during a football match for Kings Langley Secondary School. Joshua receive a warning for the incident.
He eventually began his boxing career at age 18, after his cousin suggested he attend the local gym Finchley ABC in Barnet.
Even after lacing up the gloves, his troubled teens saw him land in Reading prison for a few weeks in 2009 for ‘fighting and other crazy stuff.’
Anthony Joshua, left, was still two years away from taking up boxing and launching his career
Mike Tyson
Tyson had already displayed his credentials by 16 on his path to becoming the youngest heavyweight world champion at the age of 20 years and four months.
The boxing legend had already won the United States’ National Junior Olympics competition on two occasions.
However, Tyson had also been in frequent trouble with the law, having been arrested more than 30 times by the age of 13. He had been sent to a reform school in New York, where he had first been taught how to box.
The teenage Tyson was coached by Constantine D’Amato from the age of 14, with the trainer having previously led Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres to world titles.
D’Amato had entered Tyson in amateur boxing matches and non-sanctioned fights to help him learn how to cope with older opponents.
D’Amato would adopt Tyson following the death of his mother age 16, with the boxing revealing his regret that she had not been able to proud of him for something. Tyson was expelled from school shortly after her death for violent behavior.
Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight world champion aged 20 back in 1986
Michael Jordan
Jordan was still some way from NBA stardom at this stage, but he enjoyed a significant breakthrough when aged 16.
After being left ’embarrassed’ after failing to initially make the varsity team at Emsley A. Laney High School in 1978, Jordan had worked out constantly the following summer.
Jordan also grew four inches to stand at 6ft 3inch, which aided his development as a player.
He became the team’s best player during the season and averaged more than 20 points a year during his junior year at high school.
Tiger Woods
Woods made his debut on the PGA Tour aged 16, with the American receiving a sponsors exemption to appear at the Los Angeles OIpen in 1992.
The young American posted scores of 72 and 75 in the opening two rounds, which saw him miss the cut by six strokes.
Woods had become the youngest US Junior Amateur champion a year earlier, before becoming the event’s first two-time champion when he defended his title.
His growing status in the sport was shown by Woods scooping a series of awards, including the National Amateur of the Year prize.
Woods would debut at his first major three years later, while he turned professional age 20.
Tiger Woods played his first PGA tour level event when he was 16 before a stunning career
Lionel Messi
The global superstar made his unofficial debut for Barcelona aged 16 during a friendly against Porto in 2003.
Messi was brought on in the 71st minute of the match by Frank Rijkaard, with the Argentine replacing Fernando Navarro.
The teenager wore the number 14 shirt in the closing stages of the match, which Barcelona lost 2-0.
His appearance also meant that Messi had played in four Barcelona teams that season, representing the Under-19s, Barcelona B and C teams.
Messi’s official Barcelona debut came the following season against Espanyol in 2004.
Lewis Hamilton
Michael Schumacher gave glowing praise to a 16-year-old Hamilton after the German Formula One legend raced the rising star at a World Championship back in 2001.
‘He’s a quality driver, very strong and only 16,’ said Schumacher. ‘If he keeps this up I’m sure he will reach F1.
‘It’s something special to see a kid of his age out on the circuit. He’s clearly got the right racing mentality.’
Schumacher’s praise came despite Hamilton struggling in the Formula Super A category that season, but his talent had been obvious for some time.
Hamilton had become the youngest driver to be contracted by a team when McLaren boss Ron Dennis signed him to their driver development support programme aged 13. The offer included the option of a future Formula One seat.
The offer came after Hamilton’s success in cadet level karting events. In 2000, when Hamilton was 15, he secured World Cup and European karting titles.
Hamilton began car racing in 2001, with his Formula One debut coming six years later. The Briton now shares the record of seven world titles with Schumacher.
Lewis Hamilton’s ability was known from a young age with Ron Dennis, right, snapping up the young prodigy to McLaren when he was only 13
Novak Djokovic
Poll
Who will win the PDC World Darts Championship final?
- Luke Littler 1659 votes
- Luke Humphries 1138 votes
The future 24-time Grand Slam champion turned professional at the age of 16, with the prodigy having demonstrated his potential in his junior career.
Djokovic had been crowned as European champion in the under-16 age group, as well as winning five ITF junior titles.
The Serbian teenager did not claim any junior Grand Slam titles, with his best showing coming with an Australian Open semi-final.
He has since won the senior title 10 times in his career.
Djokovic could have opted to have another year competing at junior level, but opted to join the professional ranks.
This followed him playing his first professional event at the age of 15.
Michael Phelps
The most decorated Olympian of all time had already made a significant splash by the time he was 16.
Phelps became the youngest male to make the United States Olympic swimming team in 68 years when aged 15 he qualified for Sydney 2000.
He underlined his potential to be a future Olympic great by finishing fifth in the men’s 200 metres butterfly final.
Phelps would set the world record in the same event the following year, becoming the youngest male swimmer to achieve the feat aged 15 years and nine months.
He would lower the world record again when claiming the first world title of his career aged 16 in Japan.
It would prove the first of 23 Olympic and 27 World Championship gold medals during his legendary career.
