Luke Littler: Barry Hearn says teenage darts star can turn into a a number of world champion | Darts Information

Promoter Barry Hearn says Luke Littler has taken darts “from a sport to mainstream” however the teen sensation “won’t monopolise” the sport like Phil Taylor did.

Littler rose to fame by embarking on a exceptional run to the ultimate of the PDC World Darts Championship earlier this 12 months.

Coming into the match ranked outdoors the highest 100, the junior and world youth champion defeated Brendan Dolan, Raymond van Barneveld and Rob Cross on his solution to the Alexandra Palace remaining earlier than an agonising defeat to Luke Humphries.

Littler, nicknamed ‘The Nuke’, has gone on to win World Sequence titles in Bahrain and Poland in addition to European Tour occasions in Austria and Belgium.

And after being picked as a wild card for this season’s Premier League, the 17-year-old answered his critics by successful the title in his debut marketing campaign – and the £275k high prize.

“There was some feeling within the Professional Darts Corporation ‘Is this a bit too early to put a youngster under that type of pressure?’ There were going to be 10,000 fans minimum every Thursday night for 17 nights – ‘Can he cope?’ ‘Will it affect his long-term future?’ blah, blah, blah,” Hearn, who’s the president of Matchroom Sport, advised Sky Sports activities.

“Eddie and I sat down to debate it and the very first thing Eddie mentioned was ‘It would not matter what age you might be, if you happen to’re ok you are sufficiently old’ and our job is to offer individuals an opportunity and roll the cube and my phrase, did not that repay in spades!?

“The kid is a lovely boy. He’s a talent that’s going to be around for a long time. He’s not going to win every match because the standard of competition within darts is so enormous, so many great players, which is why it makes it such a superb sporting spectacle.”

Hearn appears satisfied Littler has taken darts into the mainstream with the teenager sensation proving an inspiration for a lot of aspiring kids.

He mentioned: “This young man has got his feet on the ground. He’s got the right attitude and behind Luke Littler are dozens of other Luke Littlers coming from all over the world and that’s the excitement.

“This recreation of darts hasn’t actually began. Everybody thinks it is huge and it’s however there is a lengthy, lengthy solution to go.

“Littler took us from a sport to mainstream. All of a sudden kids were watching, nans and grandads, parents were watching. It became what we always look for in sport – a narrative. It’s about the personality and the stories behind the personality, getting people involved so they can enjoy the sport from several different angles.”

Littler could have already joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Below 30 Europe checklist, however what does his future within the recreation of darts maintain? Hearn would not suppose the Warrington ace can catch Phil Taylor’s haul of 16 world titles.

“Phil Taylor’s title run is probably untouchable,” admitted Hearn. “The man was an absolute legend but the competition wasn’t as good then as it is now. Because these darts players are earning millions of pounds a year, have got a huge future, it’s attracted an awful lot of talent from a much wider range of people who want to try darts.

“It is not a tough recreation to grasp, it is a very tough recreation to grasp however now we have the energy to think about that we’re utilizing extraordinary individuals however they’ve extraordinary means, so I feel Luke Littler generally is a a number of winner. He will not monopolise however he can have intervals of domination.”

What’s subsequent on Sky Sports activities?

The 2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is subsequent on the Sky Sports activities darting calendar.

The annual £600,000 match will happen on the Mattioli Enviornment in Leicester from October 7-13, as 32 of the world’s high stars compete for the coveted title which was gained by Luke Humphries.

Humphries celebrated his maiden TV rating title with victory over Gerwyn Value in final 12 months’s match, and the world No 1 will return to defend his title later this 12 months.

Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen can also be set to star, with teenage famous person Luke Littler poised to make his double-start debut within the East Midlands.

In a change to final 12 months’s format, Saturday’s semi-finals on October 12 shall be contested over the most effective of 9 units, with the ultimate set to be performed over the most effective of 11 units on Sunday, October 13.

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