Every now and then, someone comes along to completely change the perception of a sport or activity.
You could argue that Pelé helped to get people excited about football in a way they never had been before, for example, or that Tiger Woods helped to drag golf into the 20th century.
Darts was seen by many as being a sport for overweight, middle-aged men, but in 2024 the world got excited over it when then 16-year-old Luke Littler made it to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship, going on to win it 12 months later.
Luke Littler Gen 1 Darts
Anyone who has ever played darts will know exactly how important it is to get your setup right. From the flights that you use through to the weight of the darts themselves, even the slightest change can have a massive impact on your playing style.
Since he made his professional debut as a 16-year-old, Luke Littler has used the same setup for his darts in order to ensure that he can have a degree of consistency across the board. Made by Target, the company has even changed the name of them to reflect his success.
@officialpdcdartsLuke Littler hits a nine-darter in Cardiff, beating Michael van Gerwen to win his third night of the year! 🤩♬ original sound – OfficialPDC
As a result, if you want to have the same setup as the prodigious young talent, then you want to get yourself some Luke Littler Gen 1 darts, with ‘The Nuke’ having played a role in their manufacture. They are 23 grams in weight and are made of 90% tungsten steel. That isn’t the end of the matter, however.
The front and centre of the grips feature what is known as a ‘dual-pixel tip’. After that, the barrels are covered in a black performance coating of PVD. They are rounded off with the No 6 K Flex in 26mm to make it an all-in-one system.
🚨9 DARTER KLAXON🚨
The Nuke has done it. Luke Littler with a 9 darter in the final and now gets a set of the 30k gold darts
— Online Darts (@onlinedarts.bsky.social) 20 March 2025 at 22:49
They are not to be confused with the Luke Littler Loadout Darts, which the player also designed with Target. They have a radial groove along the barrel, which allows for extra grip, whilst the colour of them is purple and yellow in order to match the top that he wears when he’s playing matches.
Both of the sets of darts have longer tips, which Littler likes because it gives him more room on the dartboard to score a 140 or a 180. Darts with shorter tips bunch closer on the board, offering less room to try to fit the remaining ones in.
What do Other Players Use?
Although Luke Littler has had a huge impact on the darting world, he isn’t the only player to have won major tournaments in recent times. Other players have different setups, which they use in order to ensure that they get the very best out of their game.
Here is a look at ten of the best players in the world, for example, to show you how much things can differ from one player to the next:
| Player | Barrel Type | Weight | Shaft | Length | Flight | Point Length |
| Luke Humpries | Red Dragon Luke Humphries TX1 90% Darts | 22g | Luke Humphries Joust XL | XL | Pentathlon Circuit Board LH Darts Flights | 32mm |
| Michael Smith | Shot Michael Smith Achieve 90% Darts | 24g | Shot Michael Smith Koi Carbon Darts Shafts | Medium | Unknown | 35mm |
| Michael Van Gerwen | Winmau Michael van Gerwen Exact 90% Darts | 21.5g | Winmau Michael van Gerwen Ring Grip MvG Design | Short | Winmau Prism Alpha MVG Green Logo | Unknown |
| Rob Cross | Target Rob Cross 90% Darts | 21g | Target Pro Grip 3 Set White | Intermediate | Target Vision Ultra Rob Cross Std.6 Darts Flights | 35mm |
| Nathan Aspinall | Target Nathan Aspinall 90% Darts | 26g | Target Pro Grip 3 Set Vision Black | Intermediate | Target Nathan Aspinall Pro Ultra NO2 | Unknown |
| Dave Chisnall | Unknown | 22g | Condor AXE Dart Flights – Standard | Long | Condor AXE Dart Flights – Standard | Unknown |
| Gerwyn Price | Red Dragon Gerwyn Price 90% Darts | 24g | Plain Aluminium Shafts | Short | Red Dragon Gerwyn Price Iceman Darts Flights | 35mm |
| Jonny Clayton | Red Dragon Jonny Clayton 2.0 90% Darts | 22g | Winmau Prism Force Black Darts Shafts | Medium | Red Dragon Jonny Clayton Hardcore Dragon Kite Darts Flights | 41mm |
| Damon Heta | Damon Heta Natural 90% Darts | 23g | Harrows Alamo VS2 Red Darts Shafts | Short | Harrows Prime Damon Heta V2 NO2 | 40mm |
| Ross Smith | Unicorn Ross Smith Two Tone 90% | 22g | Condor AXE Dart Flights – Standard – White | Long | Condor AXE Dart Flights – Standard – White | Unknown |
Obviously, these things aren’t set in stone, with players often changing the equipment that they use if they feel as though they’re going to be able to get more out of their game by doing so.
It is also worth noting that the equipment will only do so much, so if you want to emulate Luke Littler, you’d do well by practising, practising, practising.
