Promoter Barry Hearn said Luke Littler had “taken darts from a sport to a mass sport”, but added that the teenage star would not have a “monopolised” darts like Phil Taylor.
Littler rose to fame earlier this year after his impressive run to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship.
The junior and world junior champion, who entered the tournament ranked outside the top 100, defeated Brendan Dolan, Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross to reach the Alexandra Palace final before suffering a painful defeat to Luke Humphries.
Nicknamed ‘The Hack’, Littler has won World Series titles in Bahrain and Poland, as well as European Tour events in Austria and Belgium.
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Littler and Lando Norris turned hot laps around the Silverstone track after competing against each other in the Darts Challenge.
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While touring headquarters, Littler receives an unexpected message of support from WWE Champion Cody Rhodes!
And after being selected as a wildcard for this season’s Premier League, the 17-year-old answered the criticism by winning the title in his debut season, as well as earning top prize money of £275,000.
“There was a feeling within the Professional Darts Corporation that it was too early to be putting that kind of pressure on a young player. With a minimum of 10,000 fans expected every Thursday night for 17 days, there was a lot of talk about ‘Can he cope?’ ‘Will it affect his long-term future?’” said Hearn, the Matchroom Sport boss. Sky Sports.
“Eddie and I sat down to discuss it, and the first thing Eddie said was, ‘Age doesn’t matter, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ and that our job is to give people a chance and roll the dice. According to me, hasn’t that brought tremendous rewards!?
“He’s a lovely boy. He’s got a long career ahead of him. The standards in darts are so high and there are so many great players that you can’t win every game. That’s what makes it such a great sport.”
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Littler won the Premier League title on his debut, beating world number one Luke Humphries 11-7 in the final.
Hearn seems convinced that Littler popularised darts and that the teenage craze is inspiring many ambitious youngsters.
He said: “This young man has his feet on the ground. He’s got the right attitude and behind Luke Littler there are dozens of other Luke Littlers from all over the world and that’s exciting.
“This dart game hasn’t even started yet. Everyone thinks it’s huge and it really is, but it’s still a long way to go.
“Littler really brought us into the mainstream of sports. All of a sudden kids were watching, grandmas and grandpas were watching, parents were watching. That’s what we’ve always looked for in sports. It’s narrative. It’s about character and the stories behind the characters, and getting people involved and enjoying the sport from different angles.”
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Watch Littler’s 9-darter from every angle as ‘The Nuke’ goes full force on Premier League final night.
Littler may already be on par with Jude Bellingham in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list, but what does his future hold in darts? Hearn doesn’t think the Warrington ace can match Phil Taylor’s record of 16 world titles.
“Phil Taylor’s title run is probably untouchable,” Hearn admitted. “He was an absolute legend, but the competition wasn’t as fierce back then as it is now. These darts players were earning millions of pounds a year and there was a huge future ahead of them, so it attracted a huge amount of talent from a much wider range of people who wanted to try darts.
“It’s not a difficult game to understand, but it’s a very difficult game to master, but the power we have is that we use ordinary people, but they have extraordinary abilities. So I think Luke Littler can win it multiple times. He won’t have a monopoly, but he’ll have periods of dominance.”
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Littler and Jose de Souza both scored 120 Premier League goals, but who did it better?
What’s next for Sky Sports?
Luke Humphries won the World Grand Prix title in Leicester last year.
The next darts event on Sky Sports is the 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix.
The annual £600,000 tournament takes place at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena from October 7-13, with 32 of the world’s biggest stars competing for the coveted title, previously won by Luke Humphries.
Humphries won his first TV ranking title last year by beating Gerwyn Price, and the world number one will return to defend his title later this year.
Six-time winner Michael van Gerwen is also set to feature, while teenage superstar Luke Littler will make his East Midlands debut with two starts.
In a change from last year’s format, the semifinals on Saturday, October 12 will be best-of-nine sets, and the final set on Sunday, October 13 will be best-of-eleven sets.
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We look back at the thrilling World Grand Prix Final held in Leicester last year.
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Take a look back at the breathtaking debut of a teenager who made history at the World Darts Championships.
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