Luke Littler Darts Record Broken by 16-Year-Old Archie Self
Archie Self, 16, hit a nine-dart finish at the MODUS Super Series on October 28, 2026, reported as the youngest televised nine-darter. Here is how he broke Luke Littler's record and what comes next.
- 16-year-old Archie Self hit a nine-darter against Danny Ayres at the MODUS Super Series on October 28, 2026, reported as the youngest televised nine-darter.
- Darts outlets including Dartsnews and the Mirror say that breaks Luke Littler’s record from the January 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters, set two days before his 17th birthday; no governing body has commented.
- Self plays the Champions Week Finale on October 31; world No 1 Littler faces Netflix's Beat Luke Littler on October 30 and the Grand Slam from November 14.
Yes, a Luke Littler darts record has been broken. On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 16-year-old Archie Self hit a nine-dart finish at the MODUS Super Series, and Dartsnews, the Mirror and SportBible all report that this makes him the youngest player to land a televised nine-darter. Littler had held that mark since January 2024, when he threw a perfect leg at the Bahrain Darts Masters two days before his 17th birthday.
Self, who is a few weeks short of turning 17, did it in the opening leg of a Champions Week match against Danny Ayres in Portsmouth and went on to win his group. Here is how it happened, how Littler set the original record, and what comes next for both players, as of October 29, 2026.
Luke Littler darts record broken: what happened
The record fell during Champions Week of MODUS Super Series 15. The week brings together the 12 players who won a weekly title during the series, with £20,000 and the Series 15 crown at stake, according to Darts World. Matches are shown live and free on Pluto TV, with streams on the MODUS YouTube channel and bookmakers' websites.
On the third and final day of Group A, Self opened his match against Ayres with a perfect leg. SportBible says it went 180, 180 and then a 141 checkout of treble 20, treble 19 and double 12. He won the match 4-1, Darts World reports.
The series' official X account noted he had come close several times in the previous two weeks. Dartsnews quotes Pluto TV commentator Paul Nicholson as saying: "He's doing things that even Littler didn't, Ludicrous". The Express reports the live call as "Yes, young man, it's nine, it's the nine".
Who is Archie Self?
Self is an English teenager who came through the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) junior circuit and now plays on several senior tours, including PDC events, according to the Mirror. His breakthrough came at Lakeside in December 2024, when he won the boys' title at the WDF World Championship aged 15, beating top seed Jenson Walker 3-2 in sets, as Dartsnews reported at the time. The World Darts Federation's results page lists him as champion with a £3,000 winner's prize.
His 2026 has been a steady climb through the ranks:
- August: made his PDC Players Championship debut, drew Littler in round one and lost, then took Keane Barry to a deciding leg.
- September: earned his first ProTour win, against Pero Ljubic with an average above 98, then beat Karel Sedlacek in Den Bosch before losing to William O'Connor.
- October: won his first PDC Development Tour title at Event 22, beating Sam Jackson 5-2 in the final. Darts World says he also won his first senior WDF title at the England Masters this month.
- October 25: won Week 12 of the MODUS Super Series from three legs down against Joe Hunt, sealing it with an 88 checkout in the deciding leg (Darts World). That earned him a second straight Champions Week.
He has already faced Littler twice this year. As well as the August Players Championship meeting, Littler beat him 6-4 in the last 16 of the PDC World Youth Championship in Wigan on October 5, Sporting Life reports.
How Luke Littler set the original record
Littler's record dates from January 19, 2024, at the Bahrain Darts Masters, a World Series of Darts event. In the first leg of his quarter-final against Nathan Aspinall, he hit two 180s and then checked out 141 on double 12, Sky Sports reported. It was only the second nine-darter in World Series history, after one by Phil Taylor.
The Irish Times noted that the 16-year-old had taken the youngest-televised record from Michael van Gerwen, who was 17 when he hit one at the 2007 Masters of Darts. Littler won that match 6-3, beat Gerwyn Price 7-3 and then beat Van Gerwen 8-5 in the final for his first PDC title. "It's just good to get one on TV," he told ITV Sport afterwards, as quoted by Sky Sports.
The two record legs look strikingly alike. Both came in the opening leg of a match, and both ended with a 141 checkout on double 12, by the accounts of Sky Sports and SportBible. The difference is the calendar: SportBible says Littler was two days short of 17, while Self is still a few weeks short of that birthday.
Champions Week: Self's dominant group
The nine-darter capped a near-perfect week. Self won four of five matches on each of the first two days, and his only loss on Tuesday came against defending champion Derek Coulson, per Darts World. On Wednesday he won all five, including a 4-2 win over Coulson, to finish on 26 points from a possible 30. Coulson was second on 18.
Topping Group A sent Self straight into the Champions Week Finale on Saturday, October 31. The Mirror says Self averaged 99.77 across his 15 group matches, more than five points clear of anyone else in the group.
Luke Littler's 2026 form and ranking
Littler, now 19, is still the world No 1 and reigning world champion, as Sky Sports noted on October 25. He retained his world title on January 3, 2026, beating Gian van Veen 7-1 at Alexandra Palace in the youngest World Championship final ever, according to the Press Association report. In July he defended the World Matchplay, beating Price 18-9 with a 111.53 average, and Sky Sports said that kept alive his run of winning every PDC TV major of 2026. ESPN also lists European Tour wins in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The autumn has been bumpier. A loss at the World Series Finals in Amsterdam effectively ended his chance of qualifying for the Players Championship Finals, Sky Sports reported, and he went out early at the World Grand Prix. After beating Self at the World Youth Championship, he lost 6-5 to Cam Crabtree in the semi-finals.
On October 25 he lost 10-6 to Krzysztof Ratajski in the European Championship quarter-finals in Dortmund, a night after posting one of the highest averages in the event's history against Aspinall. It is still the only PDC major he has not won. "The wait for this one goes on," Littler said, per Sky Sports. Ross Smith won the title, beating Martin Schindler 11-8 in the final, ESPN reports.
What's next for Archie Self and Luke Littler
Archie Self
- Saturday, October 31: the Champions Week Finale in Portsmouth, live on Pluto TV, with £20,000 and the Series 15 title on the line.
- Tour Card: SportBible says he missed the Tour Card places on both the Development Tour (ninth) and the Challenge Tour (fifth), where only the top two earn a card. That leaves Q-School in 2027 as his next chance to win a two-year PDC Tour Card.
Luke Littler
- Friday, October 30: Netflix's live "Beat Luke Littler" special from Manchester Central at 7pm GMT, where beating him in a single leg is worth £501,000, according to Dartsnews.
- November 14–22: the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, where he is the defending champion, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
- December 11, 2026 to January 3, 2027: the PDC World Championship, where he will try to win a third straight title.
How to follow it
MODUS Super Series matches, including Saturday's finale, are free on Pluto TV and the MODUS YouTube channel, and Darts World reports on every session. For Littler, Sky Sports covers the Grand Slam in the UK, and the PDC website carries official results and rankings.
Our take
Based on the reporting, the record is genuine but narrowly defined. It rests on the word "televised": the MODUS Super Series is a streamed event on Pluto TV and YouTube rather than a PDC tour broadcast. As of October 29, 2026, we found no statement on the record from the PDC or the WDF, so expect outlets to keep framing it slightly differently.
What stands out more is the pattern. Self already has a world youth title, a Development Tour win, two Champions Week appearances and now a perfect leg on camera, all before turning 17. Littler showed what can follow a teenage nine-darter, with two world titles within two years of Bahrain. Self is a long way from that, and his immediate tests are Saturday's finale and Q-School.
Frequently asked questions
Who broke Luke Littler's darts record?
Archie Self, a 16-year-old English player nicknamed "The Archer", broke it on October 28, 2026. He hit a nine-dart finish in the first leg of a MODUS Super Series Champions Week match against Danny Ayres, which he won 4-1. Dartsnews, the Mirror and SportBible report it as the youngest televised nine-darter.
What record did Archie Self break?
He broke Luke Littler's record as the youngest player to hit a televised nine-dart finish. Littler set it at the Bahrain Darts Masters on January 19, 2024, two days before his 17th birthday. Self is a few weeks short of turning 17.
What is a nine-dart finish?
A nine-dart finish, or nine-darter, is a perfect leg: scoring the full 501 points in the fewest darts possible. Both Self's and Littler's record legs went 180, 180 and then a 141 checkout finishing on double 12, according to SportBible and Sky Sports.
Is Archie Self a PDC Tour Card holder?
Not as of October 29, 2026. SportBible reports that he finished outside the Tour Card places on both the Development Tour and the Challenge Tour, so his next chance is PDC Q-School in 2027. He has played PDC ProTour events as a non-Tour Card holder.
What is next for Luke Littler?
Littler, the world No 1, plays Netflix's live Beat Luke Littler special on October 30, 2026, then defends his Grand Slam of Darts title in Wolverhampton from November 14 to 22. The PDC World Championship, where he is the two-time defending champion, runs from December 11, 2026 to January 3, 2027.
Sources
- 16-year-old Archie Self becomes youngest player to hit a televised nine-dart finish, Dartsnews
- Darts wonderkid makes history after breaking stunning Luke Littler record, SportBible
- Luke Littler's record shattered by darts sensation, 16, as commentator goes wild, Mirror (via AOL)
- Darts wonderkid, 16, smashes Luke Littler record in historic performance, Express (via AOL)
- Nine-Dart Self Surges To Group A Success, Darts World
- Self Maintains Group A Lead, Darts World
- Coulson Defends as Self Returns for Champions Week, Darts World
- Last-Gasp Self Snatches Final Champions Week Place, Darts World
- Luke Littler hits incredible nine-darter in Bahrain Darts Masters before booking spot in final, Sky Sports
- Luke Littler throws nine-darter as he wins first PDC title at Bahrain Masters, The Irish Times
- World Championship Open Youth 2024, World Darts Federation
- Archie Self is the new boys' world champion at the WDF World Championship, Dartsnews
- Darts results: Luke Littler stunned by Cam Crabtree at the PDC World Youth Championship, Sporting Life
- Luke Littler: World No 1 to headline World Youth Championships with chance to reach final at Minehead, Sky Sports
- Luke Littler smashes Gian van Veen to clinch back-to-back World Championship titles (PA), Absolute Radio
- World Matchplay Darts: Luke Littler thrashes Gerwyn Price 18-9 to defend title, Sky Sports
- Luke Littler suffers shock defeat to Krzysztof Ratajski at European Championship Darts in Dortmund, Sky Sports
- European Championship darts 2026: Results, schedule, prize money, venue, ESPN
- What time does 'Beat Luke Littler' start? How to watch, Dartsnews
How we wrote this
GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 19 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 29, 2026, and we update the post when they change.
