Luke Littler (Picture: PDC)

How could an amateur darts player beat Luke Littler on Netflix to win £501,000?

Darts

Sat August 01, 2026 · 3w ago

Amateur darts players are being given a potentially life changing chance by Netflix to win £501,000 - but they'll have to beat Luke Littler to get it.

The live event - suitably titled 'Beat Luke Littler' - is set to be streamed on Friday October 30 and will feature 20 amateur players hoping to achieve what hardly any professional is able to do at the moment.

Anyone who fancies their chances can head to beatlukelittler.com for details on how to enter and if their application is successful they'll be invited to enter regional heats in London and Manchester this September.

Although the initial advert does include the text 'could you beat Luke Littler in a leg of 501', it's not yet confirmed what format will be exactly, but challengers - who can't have previously played at a professional level - will hope it remains as short as advertised due to Littler's phenomenal record on the major stages.

Fancy your chances against Luke Littler for £501,000?

Apply now for the chance to face him live on Netflix on Oct 30. 🎯 https://t.co/HC1V51q2ap pic.twitter.com/kb4zlsI389
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 27, 2026

The 19-year-old has won an astonishing 14 major titles in just two and a half years as a professional - including all of the last seven dating back to November's Grand Slam of Darts - and on Sunday he won the World Matchplay with the highest tournament average in the event's long history.

The Nuke's match averages of 109.53 (vs Niko Springer), 113.68 (vs Nathan Aspinall), 109.57 (vs Josh Rock), 110.88 (vs Dirk van Duijvenbode) and 111.53 against Price gave him an astonishing tournament average of 111.05 which obliterated Phil Taylor's previous record of 106.32 way back in 2010.

Many fans and pundits are branding his performances as 'unbeatable' so how could any amateur player with no professional experience stand a chance?

Sporting Life columnist Paul Nicholson, who famously beat Phil Taylor in his heyday en route to a major title back in 2010, says he would give any decent pub player odds of at least 100/1 to beat Littler over a short best of three leg format.

Should there be a handicap system?

Nicholson said: "I’m not sure if there’s going to be any stipulation such as a handicap based on his opponent’s ability, such as Luke Littler starting on 1001 in a one-off leg for example.

"But it won’t be made too easy with £501,000 on the line.

"Also, don’t underestimate how good the best amateur players in the country are. There are some fantastic players out there who have never turned professional for a whole range of reasons and if the format isn’t too long, they will believe they have a chance.

"I do hope there’s no handicap and it’s best-of-three legs to make a victory seem a lot more legitimate.

"Imagine how much pressure there would be on the contender if they win a leg and knows they’re one away from £501,000?!

"So it's a lot more anxiety-driven, and there's a lot more edge-of-the-seat action if it's best of three or best of five."

How good does an amateur need to be to stand a chance?

"If Littler is fully prepared and taking it seriously then his opponents will need to be good enough to take out a 12-darter.

"Across the whole of the World Matchplay – in which he played 107 legs – all but eight of them were over in 15 darts or less!

"There wasn’t any leg in the entire tournament in which he threw 20 or more darts so that puts it into perspective how good you need to be to win a leg from him!

"And that’s if you want to hold throw. If you want to break him, more often than not you’ll need to do it in three or four visits!

"There's gonna be an off-leg every now and again. There was in the final. There was one off-leg. Just one. And 27 legs were played under immense pressure in the second biggest major of them all.

"What we perceive as good darts is not good to him. He's got a different level.

"Even if he was given 1001 to take out, he could comfortably do that in 30 darts – and that would trouble most pub players starting on 501!"

"If an amateur doesn’t regularly manage a 90 average then there’s pretty much no point even entering.

"The last time he was beaten in the ranked major, he averaged 97. And that’s an off day. When was the last time he lost to a mid-80s? It’s extremely rare.

"So you are going to have to be a 95-average player on your best day."

So what odds would you give an amateur of beating him?

“Bearing in mind that Dirk van Duivenbode was 25/1 to beat Littler at the World Matchplay, then you’ve got to be looking at 100/1 minimum. Even if it is best of 3 legs or best of 5 legs.

"However, if it is just a one leg shoot out, then I'd possibly make it 50/1.

"It's going to be fascinating to see the standard of the players that come through the auditions to take him on, but unless it's one leg with a novelty handicap system, I think it's highly unlikely anyone will beat him."