'Do you think they'll fall for that?' - Luke Littler posts shock retirement video amid swirling rumours of FC26

The darts world was left stunned on Thursday evening when Luke Littler shared a video on his Instagram that appeared to announce he was stepping away from the sport. The Englishman, still only 18 and already nicknamed The Nuke, has just completed two whirlwind, wildly successful years.

Back in July, Littler became the youngest ever winner of the coveted ‘Triple Crown’. In just fifteen months he lifted the Premier League, the World Championship and the World Matchplay, joining a select group of only five players in history to achieve the feat. Yet in his video, the world number two seemed to suggest that after this meteoric rise he was already ready to walk away.

"I've had an awesome career, I couldn't have asked for much better for myself," he began. "You know it's been full on for two years, I've done many great things, the Premier League at the age of 17 on debut, the nine-darters on tele, winning the World Championships at 18 - the youngest to ever do it."

"I just want to say thanks to all my fans for the support over the last two years, it's been phenomenal," continued the current world number two. "It'll shock some people that I'm taking a step back, it's not been an easy decision, now I want to do something that I love."

"Do you think they'll fall for that?"

The speech sounded deadly serious, until the camera kept rolling as Littler walked away. As the music faded and he left his darts on his chair, draped with his famous purple shirt, he was heard with a mischievous grin saying: "Do you think they'll fall for that?"

Speculation over the stunt ran wild online. One user responded: "Is this rage bait or what?" while another offered support: "Do what you have to do Luke, we will support you all the way bud." A third joked Littler was preparing to replace under-pressure United head coach Ruben Amorim after his disastrous start to the campaign, quipping: "Littler is about to break the internet… Next Man Utd Manager?" Yet many fans were quick to connect the dots, suggesting the teenager was in fact teasing his involvement with the launch of EA Sports FC 26. Littler is a well-known devotee of the franchise, and with pre-release access starting on September 19 ahead of the full launch on September 26, the timing appears far from coincidental.