Taylor: Littler could be beaten by an amateur darts player

Luke Littler has won every major on the PDC circuit so far in 2026 as he bids for a historic clean sweep; just as Littler is now, Phil Taylor was once the undisputed best darts player in the world; the pair team up on a new Netflix show where amateurs can 'Beat Luke Littler' to win money

Phil Taylor says an amateur darts player could have what it takes to beat Luke Littler in a single leg.

The 16-time world champion made the claim after helping judge thousands of hopefuls at regional heats for a new Netflix show, in which contestants will have the chance to face the world No 1 and compete for more than £500,000.

Taylor was on the judging panel as the search for up to 20 potential candidates to 'Beat Luke Littler ' got under way in London on Saturday.

Taylor believes there is enough amateur talent for someone to have a 'Rocky Balboa' moment and win life-changing money.

"The event is great to be honest, it gives people the opportunity to change their lives," said Taylor.

"It's a Rocky Balboa kind of fairytale really. It will boost the profile of darts even further.

"The standard of the applicants has been really good so far, with a lot of talented players coming through. Any player who can throw a 12-dart leg has a great chance, but it's also about bottle as well as ability, so we'll see."

"The amateur would need to have their best day and pray that Luke has a poor leg to be fair."

Taylor joined Sky Sports pundit Laura Turner and PDC supremo Barry Hearn on the panel tasked with deciding whether applicants who had already made it through two stages of the process had what it takes to beat Littler in a one-off leg of 501.

Hosted by Gary Lineker, the live show will be streamed on Netflix on October 30, with the second qualification heat taking place in Manchester next Saturday.

Taylor dominated darts for the best part of two decades and despite being in retirement since 2018, was emphatic in his belief that he could beat the 19-year-old.

Thousands of amateur darts players aged 12 and over put their skills to the test in a rigorous three-stage qualification process at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday.

They had to check out 501 in 24 darts or fewer before the reality TV element of the competition came into play, with successful players then interviewed by the show's production team.