By Sohaib Shams
Netflix will stream "Beat Luke Littler" live on Friday at 7pm GMT, pitting 19-year-old reigning world darts champion Luke Littler against 20 challengers who do not hold a PDC tour card. Each contestant needs to win a single leg against Littler to claim the £501,000 prize, while Littler must win 20 consecutive legs to survive.
How the competition works
The format is straightforward: if any challenger checks out before Littler in a leg, they win the prize and the game ends. Littler must win 20 successive legs to deny them. The 15-year-old world youth champion Mitchell Lawrie has suggested a "bull-up" to decide who throws first each leg. Littler said he will not go easy on opponents and will prepare as normal.
Contestant selection
Thousands applied, with auditions in Manchester and London whittling the field to 24 before Netflix confirmed the final 20 on October 22. Applicants first had to check out from 501 in 24 darts or fewer, then impress producers for entertainment value, and finally face a PDC judging panel including 16-time world champion Phil Taylor, PDC chief Barry Hearn, and Sky Sports presenter Laura Turner. The 20 contestants range in age from 14 to 57 and include a bin man, a restaurant manager, a pharmacist, a civil servant, and professional darts player Fallon Sherrock, the first woman to win at the Darts World Championship in 2019. Netflix defined "amateur" as not holding a PDC tour card.
Host and broadcast details
Gary Lineker will host the event, with Richard Osman as expert analyst, alongside comedian Lee Mack, YouTuber Angry Ginge, and former professional Laura Turner. The show airs live on Netflix on Friday, October 30, at 7pm GMT.
Full contestant list
The 20 players are: Kasey "Smiffy" Smith, 16 (student, Manchester); Makinley "Mighty Mak" Cooper-Johnson, 14 (student, Wrexham); Taylon "The Trash Man" Forrester, 18 (bin man, Bedford); Tony "Top Cat" Cole, 39 (bank business advisor, South Wales); Katie "The Dublin Diamond" Sheldon, 22 (wire assembler and darts player, Dublin); Zac "Boy In The Corner" Griffiths, 25 (electrical engineer, Hereford); Lauren "Bloomy" Bloomfield, 30 (restaurant manager, Kent); David "Wozzysonfire" Wawrzewski, 50 (commercial removals, London); Jayden "The Young Gun" Walker, 14 (darts player, Christchurch); Zac "Zachariah The Electrifiah" Spain, 30 (professional jockey, Melbourne); Jasper "9 Scarrott Gold" Scarrott, 54 (British Army, York); Jarod "The Finisher" Becker, 23 (nursery teacher, Hildesheim); Mitchell "Wee Sox" Lawrie, 15 (WDF World No 1 darts player, Renfrew); Ashley "The Prince of Darkness" Coleman, 29 (powder coater, Suffolk); Mark "Who Are Ya" Pooke, 57 (maintenance technician, London); Fallon "Queen Of The Palace" Sherrock, 32 (hairdresser and darts player, Milton Keynes); Pwyll "Cambi One Eighty" ap Llyr Edwards, 34 (fencing contractor, Bala); Will "Tempo Kempo" Kemp, 30 (recruitment consultant, Harrogate); Sonny "The Viking" Johal, 29 (driving instructor, Derby); Brett "Jarra Arra Junior" Todd, 25 (British Army helicopter technician, Ipswich); Théodore "The Moustache Kid" Wallich, 23 (student, Paris); Jacob "The Cracker" Gwynne, 27 (civil servant, Leeds); Bhav "Breaking Bhav" Patel, 36 (pharmacist, Kent); Pearse "Fierce Pearse Mackle" Mackle, 21 (student, County Cavan).
