Fans LOVE Luke Littler’s new celebration and reckon the 16-year-old darts sensation has bagged a very big sponsor

FANS appear to LOVE Luke Littler’s new celebration – and they reckon the darts sensation has bagged himself a very big sponsor.

The 16-year-old returned to the oche after his Ally Pally fairytale run to the World Darts Final on Thursday evening at the Bahrain Darts Masters.

ITV X

Luke Littler return to the oche tonight in Bahrain[/caption]

ITV X

The 16-year-old’s new celebration got fans speculating about a new sponsorship deal[/caption]

And he started life as a pro on the PDC Tour with a 6-3 win over Hong Kong slinger Man Lok Leung in front of more than 1,000 people in Sakhir.

But the new superstar, who turns 17 on Sunday, made a rusty return with an appearance far removed from his polished Palace performances.

He missed a number of double attempts across the nine legs in a shaky first-round display.

But whenever Warrington ace Littler did secure a leg – including blockbuster finishes of 151, 136 and then a 120 to progress – he was spotted looking at the large watch on his left arm on several occasions.

His antics did not go unnoticed by his new legion of supporters.

Littler shot to global fame following his Christmas heroics in North London – for which he scooped £200k prize money – and has been inundated with sponsorship opportunities.

And some viewers even speculated it might have been a brand new Rolex on his wrist.

One wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Some watch company is definitely paying Luke Littler to look at his watch all the time.”

Another said: “Loving Luke Littler flexing his new Rolex here.”

While a third added: “Littler looking at his Rolex makes me smile! Fair play mate.”

That’s despite the timepiece appearing to be the same he wore throughout the World Championships over the festive period.

After the record-breaking millions that tuned in to watch him at Ally Pally, ITV bosses scored an own goal by tucking away this World Series of Darts Opener on the ITVX streaming service.

Littler will now face Nathan Aspinall tomorrow in the quarter-finals.

He said: “We practised together before the world championship.

“We both know each other’s game. But it’s the first to six legs, straight legs, no breaks.

“It will be good for our management to see us both play. I cannot wait.”

World champion Luke Humphries, who defeated Littler on January 3 for the crown, crushed Bahraini Abdulla Saeed 6-0 and now faces Gerwyn Price in the top half of the draw.