Meet the Welsh teenager hoping to beat Littler
Fourteen-year-old Makinley Cooper-Johnson from Wrexham is among the contestants hoping to beat reigning world champion Luke Littler in a televised darts challenge. He says he believes he has a chance, and hopes to use any prize money to help his brother and start an undertaker business.
Cooper-Johnson is one of 24 people selected for Netflix’s Beat Luke Littler, where the first contestant to win a single leg of 501 against Littler can claim £501,000. He took up darts three years ago and earned a place after auditions judged by, among others, Phil Taylor, who later gave him personal tips. His family will watch him compete at Manchester Central Convention Complex.
In short
- A 14-year-old from Wrexham will challenge Luke Littler at darts.
- The first to win one leg of 501 gets £501,000.
- Cooper-Johnson hopes to start an undertaker business.
Explained simply
Darts is a game in which players throw small, pointed darts at a circular board, aiming to reduce a score to exactly zero. In the popular 501 format, each player starts with 501 points and subtracts the value of each throw; a leg is won by reaching zero with a double, a section on the board’s outer ring.
Luke Littler is a professional darts player from England who became world champion and is widely known for his success at a young age. Phil Taylor, who helped judge the auditions for the challenge, is a former world champion and one of the sport’s best-known players.
The televised contest brings members of the public into a head-to-head game with a top professional, giving them a chance to win a large prize. It also introduces viewers to darts and its rules, while showing how the sport can attract players and fans of different ages.