Luke Littler believes he can hunt down Phil Taylor’s record of 16 world titles after becoming the youngest ever PDC world darts champion.

The 17-year-old consolidated his status as the biggest star in the game by winning the PDC World Championship with a comprehensive 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen in Friday’s final at Alexandra Palace in London.

Asked what he hoped to achieve next after securing his first world title, Littler told Sky News: “I’ve said previously, if I can win every major title in my career then I’ll be happy. I’d like to add on the world titles, and deep down, if I want to break the record of Phil Taylor, I’ve got the ability to. If I want it, I’m sure I can do it.”

Littler added that the toughest match of his run to the Sid Waddell Trophy was the first, a 3-1 victory against Ryan Meikle. “I didn’t want to be there,” Littler said of his first match at the Ally Pally since losing last year’s final to Luke Humphries. “To get past that first game meant a lot, and I enjoyed it from then onwards.”

“I just want to try and win as many titles as I can this year,” added Littler, who bounced back from defeat in last year’s final by winning the Premier League, World Series and Grand Slam of Darts titles this season. “I’ve started the year off with one. But just try and add on to that [this year] – maybe win 10, 11 or 12 or even more titles.”

Littler’s emergence over the last 13 months after making the PDC world final as a 16-year-old debutant has changed the sport and opened it up to a whole new audience. He has also earned more than £1.5m in prize money in that time – including £500,000 for Friday’s win – and is now second only to Humphries in the world rankings.

Manchester United fan Littler also received a congratulatory message from the former Red Devils midfielder and England captain, David Beckham. “He said ‘wow, well done’, and I said ‘thank you’,” Littler told Sky News. “It just goes to show how well I’ve done for the sport. To see the likes of David Beckham watching it, it feels crazy.”

“I just can’t believe it, walking around backstage with [the trophy], I can tell myself I’ve won it and it’s mine … but it’s not sunk in,” Littler, who turns 18 later this month, concluded. The sport’s new superstar also earned an endorsement from Taylor, who won 14 PDC world titles and two BDO [British Darts Organisation] crowns between 1990 and 2013.

“He really is a breath of fresh air, and he’s given me the enthusiasm to watch darts again because I didn’t watch it for a few years after I retired, I wasn’t interested,” Taylor told BBC Radio Four. With three titles, Van Gerwen is currently second on the PDC’s all-time honours list, 11 behind Taylor.

Littler’s former coach, Karl Holden, told the BBC that he is far from an overnight success. “He’s spent thousands of hours losing against seasoned campaigners in darts and county players,” Holden said. “You need to learn to win, and to win you’ve got to learn to lose, and when you lose you don’t like it. That’s when you start winning.”

“Luke loves the big stage, he’s got bottle in abundance,” Holden added. “He’s got everything, not just the ability but the mental strength and focus. He’s won a lot this season, he’s not just started getting good this week.”

The chief executive of the Professional Darts Corporation [PDC], Matt Porter, told Sky News: “What Luke’s achieved over the last 12 months has opened up doors for the sport that were closed to us before. We’ve never had a teenager at the top of the world of darts before.”

“I think the best thing for Luke to do is keep trusting the people around him – he needs to manage his schedule, take time off and make sure he doesn’t burn out,” Porter added. “Our priority around Luke is his comfort, his wellbeing and safety. That enables him to produce his best on the dartboard, as often as he can.”

While accepting that to even get close to Taylor’s total of 16 world titles would be “an unbelievable achievement,” Porter expects Littler to keep picking up silverware this season. “He’s got a very mature head on young shoulders, he’s composed, calm – nothing fazes him,” he added.

“The chances of [Luke] having another very strong year are high. He’s got his eye on plenty more titles in 2025. I’ve seen nothing to suggest he will do anything other than take [the world title] in his stride.”