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Luke Littler has taken the next step with his new female friend, Faith, as he celebrated his mum's birthday on social media.
The 18-year-old is enduring a rocky period at the oche, suffering a disappointing defeat in the Premier League final last month when he lost against rival Luke Humphries before crashing out of the World Cup in the first round.
Littler, ranked No 2 in the world, partnered World No 1 Humphries at the competition in Frankfurt, but was targeted by the crowd from the first dart and suffered a shock defeat against home favourites Germany.
Away from darts, though, Littler is enjoying life. Having just signed a brand deal with McDonald's and appearing on Gogglebox, he has struck up a close 'friendship' with 19-year-old beautician Faith.
In May, Littler swapped his darts for drinks as he hit the town with Faith and pals, sharing a picture of the group at a table full of beverages in a pink-lit booth in a mystery location, his arm draped around Faith.
Now, the darts world champion has shared another snap featuring Faith, as well as eight other people as they appeared to celebrate Lisa Littler's birthday in Spain.
Luke Littler (centre right) has taken the next step with female 'friend' Faith (centre left)
Littler recently shared a picture with his female 'friend' and pals on a night out together
Fun-loving beautician Faith (left) was spotted cheering on the darts star last month
Littler shared the post on social media, captioning it: 'Happy birthday mum,' with a love heart emoji, Spanish flag emoji and a sunglasses emoji.
Lisa has been one of her son's biggest supporters, often seen at venues to cheer him on in the infancy of his darts career.
In February, the Nuke was left furious by a crowd disturbance involving his mum during his walk-on in a Premier League contest in Exeter, which saw Lisa barged by someone else in hospitality.
Faith, meanwhile, was seen cheering on the darts sensation at the O2 Arena a the end of last month as he missed out on a stunning £275,000 prize pot in the Premier League final.
Faith Millar was spotted on Sky Sports' broadcast during the event - with Millar looking particularly focused next to Lisa and Littler's dad, Anthony Buckley, as Littler battled to get back into the match.
Mail Sport revealed that Littler met Faith in February and that the pair were understood to have become almost inseparable since.
However, both have been keen to play down the significance of their friendship - insisting emphatically that they are not dating or in a relationship.
Millar comes from Wigan, just 15 miles from Luke's home in Warrington, Cheshire. She has already accompanied the world champion to public events including a Q&A session organised by his sponsors BoohooMan in Manchester in March.
Littler went public with his secret 'friendship' with fun-loving beautician Millar earlier this year
It comes after a tough time at the oche after England's shock World Cup defeat in Germany
Eyelash beauty specialist Millar is also believed to have met Littler's parents while visiting the 18-year-old at his mansion.
A source told MailOnline: 'Faith and Luke have become firm friends and enjoy one another's company a lot.'
The blossoming friendship comes nine months after the world number two split from his previous girlfriend 22-year-old Eloise Milburn last June.
At 19, Millar is closer to Luke's own age than Milburn, who was in her twenties when she began dating him while he was just 17 - which saw her face hostility from some online fans, something known to upset both her and Luke.
They split before last year's World Championship, though, and Littler has not said he has had a relationship since.
Littler has since been much more guarded about making his love life a public spectacle than he was when he very publicly dated Milburn at the same time as he was becoming a public figure thanks to his darts heroics at Ally Pally in December 2023.
