Luke Littler has been touted by many to break every record darts has to offer. To do that, the 19-year-old will need to stick around for some time with Phil Taylor's 16 world championship titles the ultimate goal. However, 'The Power' seemingly believes that his tally is insurmountable for the time being with an early retirement in store for 'The Nuke.'

These last few years at times have been almost a precession for Littler, who is dominating the sport and taking it to new heights. There was one point in 2026 that he was on for the major clean sweep, but those lofty ambitions will have to wait for another year after losing early in three successive major events.

While his form has fallen off slightly, he is still regarded as the best player in the world by a distance by many, with him the overwhelming favourite to clinch a third PDC World Darts Championship title at the start of 2027.

The world number one may be the dominant force in the sport, but early retirement talk is rife. Taylor noted that the injection of cash in the sport could help Littler make that decision earlier than expected. "There's so much more money in the sport," he said in an interview with Sport Bild. "I could therefore imagine him retiring in five years."

The two-time world champion is already being put in the same bracket as the likes of Taylor as a legend of the sport, but the 66-year-old still believed that he would have got the better of him on the oche if their paths would have crossed. “In my prime, I definitely would have beaten Luke,” he commented.

At 19, Luke Littler already has two world titles to his name

It may not have been totally one-sided in all matches. “But in certain matches it would have been 50/50 between us. I think we would have been good for each other.”

Taylor may have hinted at Littler quitting the sport when still quite young, but he admitted that his 16 world championship titles could be vulnerable. "I think he's capable of it. He has the talent to become world champion several times," he said, but with one added caveat. "Whether he can maintain this consistency".

Schindler touted as surprise world championship contender

With the PDC World Darts Championship commencing in just over a months time, there are loads of players looking to make their mark. One of which is Martin Schindler, who is still coming off from that high on home soil.

After just squeezing into the European Championship, he reached his first ever major final before losing out to Ross Smith despite a valiant fightback.

His big stage form has not been great until that point, reaching just a brace of quarter-finals in 2023. At Ally Pally, he has never made it past the third round. That has not stopped Taylor from believing that the German number one could pick up a famous title in North London.

Taylor described him as "a really good scorer and can also check out well. Martin plays at the World Championship the way he's capable of, then he could be in the final or even win the World Championship."