Leeds and Harrogate throwers aim to beat darts champion Luke Littler and win £501,000
A Leeds civil servant and a Yorkshire soldier with the unlikeliest name in sport are aiming to win half a million pounds by stunning darts world champion Luke Littler in a one-off event this week.
The ‘Beat Luke Littler’ tournament will take place in Manchester on Friday with live coverage on streaming service Netflix. A maximum of 24 players will each take on Littler in a one-leg shootout with the first to beat him winning £501,000. The competition will end if or when Littler loses.
The 19-year-old phenomenon’s opponents include Jacob ‘The Cracker’ Gwynne, aged 27, from Leeds and 30-year-old Harrogate recruitment consultant Will ‘Tempo Kempo’ Kemp.
Though not a full-time professional, Gwynne is a regular on darts’ Challenge Tour and has a three-dart average of 83 this season. He has played Littler in the past, losing 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 PDC Winmau World Youth Championship.
Also in the field is York-based soldier Jasper Scarrott, a 54-year-old who goes by the darts nickname of ‘9 Scarrott Gold’. Scarrot, formerly known as Wayne Scarrod, is originally from the Hemsworth area in West Yorkshire and is the reigning Army darts champion. He recorded a nine-dart finish - the fewest possible in a leg of 501 - at the Modus Super Series last year and has also competed at the PDC’s Q School.
The competition is limited to players who have never held a tour card. Qualifying involved a three-step audition process including having to check out a leg of 501 in 24 darts or fewer. That was followed by an interview with the show’s production team and then throwing in front of a judging including 16-time world champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.
Among the other contestants are Fallon Sherrock, who will take part in her seventh PDC World Championship this year and 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie, who is ranked number one by the World Darts Federation.