Luke Littler’s performance was described as “mesmerising” and “inspirational” by Sir Keir Starmer as the Prime Minister congratulated the 17-year-old for his historic World Championship triumph.

Twelve months on from finishing runner-up on debut to Luke Humphries, the teenager from Warrington became the youngest world champion ever as he beat three-time winner Michael van Gerwen 7-3 at Alexandra Palace.

Sir Keir said in a statement: “Mesmerising performance from Luke Littler to win the World Darts Championship.

“Congratulations Luke on being the youngest ever PDC World Darts Champion. An inspirational performance under such pressure to lift the trophy.

“You should be really proud of what you’ve achieved tonight, not just for yourself but for the sport of darts as a whole.”

Warrington Wolves posted messages on X that read: “CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. We could not be prouder of you @LukeTheNuke180, huge congratulations! Wow. Unstoppable.”

There was also a post from 16-time world champion Phil Taylor which said: “Huge Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 what a fantastic performance and now a Champion of the World.”

World number one Humphries wrote: “Congratulations to @LukeTheNuke180 on becoming world champion. I think it was very well deserved! Unlucky @MvG180 never gave in and showed a valiant effort!”