Makinley Cooper-Johnson, a 14-year-old from Wrexham, is one of 24 contestants chosen by Netflix to take part in the streaming giant's 'Beat Luke Littler' broadcast, where a prize of £501,000 is on offer for the first to win a single leg of 501 against the world number one. The teenager, who only took up darts three years ago, is the second youngest to make it past the auditions after impressing a panel of judges that included darts legend Phil Taylor.
After tips from the man they call 'The Power', Cooper-Johnson is not shy about his chances. "Look, I'm not saying I'm world class or anything, but I can hold my own," he told BBC Wales. "I've got a shot at this. I respect Luke for what he's done. But at the end of the day, he knows he's good – but he doesn't know how good I am." If he throws as well as he speaks, the affable youngster may well have a chance at scooping the life-changing sum. Promising to buy his brother a car is first on the agenda, and then setting up his own firm. "Undertakers never go out of business, do they?" he said with a smile. "Money's money!"
Cooper-Johnson says he is yet to hit a nine-darter, quipping "that treble 19 messes with me, man", but he has come a long way since starting three years ago. He initially picked up darts to join his brother and father in the living room, "lobbing darts at an unusual board on an uneven wall…it was shocking!" A Freddie Mercury impression is part of his routine, and there were certainly no signs of being under pressure as hype around the programme builds, with Cooper-Johnson saying he almost didn't hang around to audition. "It was uproar when we got there," he said, mum Stacie adding that the family only found out about his 'joke' application after receiving an invitation to the try-out. "The queues were miles and miles of eager men and women all wanting to challenge one person, which is crazy to think about. I'd had enough of standing around and was walking back to the car before a steward in a high-vis showed me the queues for under-18s. It was still two hours in the rain, but we finally got in, and that's where it all kicked off."
And it ended with telephone tips from Taylor. "My best mate Phil! I was in bed half-asleep when Mum came in with the phone," Cooper-Johnson said. "When you heard who it was, I was out of bed, stood up, almost saluting, and he personally told me I had a place in the live show." Mum Stacie, whose own interest in watching darts was reignited by Littler's emergence, added: "We know how much Makinley loves playing and we've noticed he's got better and better over the past six months. It's been a bit of a whirlwind since the audition, but the family are ecstatic and so proud of him."
They will be in the crowd at the Manchester Central Convention Complex as he aims to beat Littler, with Cooper-Johnson hoping his walk-out song suggestions get the green light – and that he gets an early crack at the champ. "I don't know the order, but if I had to pick, Luke doesn't like playing earlier on," he said. "He likes to settle into his game, so I'd probably like to be in there relatively shortly. But then again, you gotta give the fans a show, haven't you!" Cooper-Johnson is one of three Welsh contestants on the show hoping to make a name for themselves. Tony Cole, 39, from south Wales – known as 'Top Cat' – is a bank business adviser, while Pwyll ap Llyr Edwards from Llanuwchllyn is usually found putting up fences rather than aiming arrows. Edwards has been playing since eight and also keeps bees, as well as playing the sport he has loved since early childhood. "I started chucking a few darts when I was about three years old, then I started properly when I was about eight," he told BBC Radio Cymru. "If I find my A game on the day and he doesn't, I might have a chance. It's going to be a big ask. I have had a few 12-darters and one or two 11-darters. But I will have to start the leg. If that happens, if I get a 12-darter, he has to get a nine-darter. But that's one of my best legs, so crossed fingers."
