On his extraordinary march to the world championship semi-finals, Luke “the Nuke” Littler, the 16-year-old darts sensation, has always made time to embrace his mother and father despite the cauldron of the Alexandra Palace arena.

And after a New Year’s Day victory that guaranteed him at least £100,000, Luke also managed to squeeze in a fervent kiss with the latest addition to his burgeoning fan club – his new girlfriend.

Cameras showed Luke kissing Eloise, a beauty consultant and amateur darts player, after his victory over his 50-year-old opponent Brendan Dolan in the quarter-finals. It was less a win and more of a thrashing of the men against boys variety, albeit in reverse.

Eloise has been at Luke’s side for much of the tournament, although she has remained largely in the shadows. Luke’s delighted grandfather Phil Littler, 67, also a decent amateur player, said that “she’s a darts player herself” but insisted that the boy’s parents were the bedrock on which his astonishing rise had been built.

On Monday, he reposted a message from Eloise on Instagram in which she had shared a picture of the pair together and Luke on stage. She added the message: “The dream carries on. Incredibly proud of you!”

On her Instagram profile, she posted more pictures of them together, as well as many that show her attending darts tournaments as a competitor.

Luke is in with the chance of winning a half-a-million pound cheque should he go on to win the tournament. Bookmakers immediately made him the tournament favourite after it appeared his biggest obstacle was a wasp that stung him on his throwing arm during the quarter-final.

His next game is on Tuesday night against the former world champion Rob Cross with the final just 24 hours later. MPs urged the broadcaster Sky to show the final – should Luke reach it – on a free-to-air channel to allow a greater audience to witness it.

Luke, from Warrington, in Cheshire, was watched live by his mother Lisa Littler, 40, and father Anthony Buckley, 43, whom he thanked for their support in the immediate aftermath. “My Mum and Dad have supported me, told me to get on the board in lockdown. Just a massive help – them two are the main people,” said the teenager after the win.

His father had encouraged him to concentrate on darts from a very young age but his progress accelerated during the Covid lockdown. Luke said his older brother had been “better than me at one point” but now has a young child to bring up, leaving the younger sibling as the best darts player in the family.

The only threat to his emphatic four sets to one win was when the “Ally Pally wasp” that has been buzzing around the arena in north London appeared to sting him midway through the match. “I felt a little zap, I saw it fluttering around near the end. It’s my throwing arm. It didn’t bother me. I felt a little bit,” he said.

His thrilled grandmother Carol Littler, 64, said she and husband Phil were hoping to make the trip down to London from their home in Runcorn, Cheshire, for the final, provided she could get the day off work. She will make a special plea to bosses at the local town hall where she works.

She identified her grandson as a star at the age of just two when he first started playing the sport. She said Luke’s talent came from his grandfather Phil, a keen amateur player.

Mrs Littler told The Telegraph: “He started playing darts when he was two and you could see it [the talent]. He was born to play darts. He gets it from his grandfather.

“He is so laid back that he just doesn’t worry. He has nothing to worry about. He is 16.”

Phil Littler said: “I was never as good as he is. At the age of four he was playing on a proper board but needed a stool so he could reach up and pull his darts out.”