Teenager Archie Self Breaks Darts Record And Nears World Spot After Wa

Teenager Archie Self Breaks Darts Record And Nears World Spot After Wayne Rooney Praise

Sixteen-year-old schoolboy Archie Self broke Luke Littler's age record by hitting a nine-darter on British TV and is on the verge of qualifying for the PDC World Darts Championship.

NationPulse Desk

Oct 30, 2026 · 12:01 AM 3 min read

Key takeaways

Archie Self hit a nine-darter at the MODUS Super Series in Portsmouth on Wednesday at age 16.

He broke the age record previously set by Luke Littler in January 2024.

Self is on the verge of qualifying for the PDC World Darts Championship through the Challenge Tour Rankings.

Wayne Rooney praised the teenager on X, calling the achievement unbelievable.

Self comes from Thatcham in West Berkshire and started playing darts when he was two years old.

Wayne Rooney understands the experience of making a major splash as a sixteen-year-old athlete. He joined those praising young teenage prospect Archie Self, who is enjoying an extraordinary week.

On Wednesday, Self delivered a nine-darter during the MODUS Super Series in Portsmouth, establishing himself as the youngest individual to accomplish this feat live on British television.

This achievement surpassed the previous age record held by Luke Littler, who managed a perfect leg in Bahrain in January 2024 shortly before turning seventeen.

By Thursday, the schoolboy from Berkshire moved to the brink of securing a spot in his first PDC World Darts Championship.

Known as The Archer and approaching his seventeenth birthday next month, Self benefited from competitor Tommy Morris advancing to the Pro Tour final in Den Bosch.

Despite Morris losing 8-4 to Chris Dobey in Players Championship 32, the world number 111 is positioned to qualify for Ally Pally through the ProTour Rankings.

Consequently, Self advanced into the World Championship qualification spots via the Challenge Tour Rankings.

While his position lacks final mathematical confirmation, extraordinarily unlikely outcomes would be required to keep him out of the 128-player tournament field in December.

Assuming no sudden disruptions to his path, his arrival in North London for the opening round will find him slightly older than Littler was during his debut appearance at age sixteen in December 2023.

Rooney, who commands 14.2 million followers on X, replied to footage of the nine-darter by writing that sixteen years old is unbelievable and calling him brilliant.

Self is represented by Invictus Darts Management, a division of the Triple S Group that invests in people, businesses, and ideas, and also manages former England and Manchester United forward Rooney.

Despite the agency link, Rooney's encouragement is genuine. Having burst onto the professional scene at a tender age, he recognizes the milestone better than most.

Observers recall his memorable strike against Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman while playing for Everton at Goodison Park on October 19, 2002.

At sixteen, Rooney scored in the final moments to halt Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run in the Premier League as Everton triumphed 2-1.

Following the fixture, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger remarked that Rooney was the greatest English talent he had witnessed since arriving in the country.

Rooney, currently forty-one, ranks among England's football greats with 53 goals across 120 matches, a total surpassed only by Harry Kane.

During 13 seasons with Manchester United, he secured five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups, one Champions League, one Europa League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Although competing in a different discipline, Self draws motivation from figures like Rooney and Littler.

Self resides in Thatcham, West Berkshire, began throwing darts at age two, secured the 2024 WDF World Boys Championship at fifteen, and competes on Saturday in the Champions Week Finals Night.

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