Royal Ascot

Sports Home

Golf

Paul Nicholson has his say on the hype surrounding 16-year-old Luke Littler

Is Luke Littler the next Phil Taylor, should he be in the Premier League and was Gary Anderson right to blast the media's coverage of the teenage darting hero?

By Paul Nicholson

23:08 · FRI January 05, 2024

Luke Littler hit the headlines for his fairytale run at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship so Paul Nicholson answers some the key questions surrounding the 16-year-old's future on and off the oche in his latest column.

The teenage sensation claimed breathtaking victories over Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross to become the youngest ever finalist in the tournament's history.

Littler eventually finished runner--up to Luke Humphries but his time will surely come in the years to come and he can head home incredibly proud of the fact he averaged over 100 on five occasions (106x2, 105 & 101x2) at the Alexandra Palace - a feat only previously achieved by Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen at a single World Championship.

There's been talk about how much better Littler could become during his career and whether he can eclipse Phil Taylor's standards while Gary Anderson's damning verdict on the media coverage has also sparked much debate - just three of the topics I will reflect on.

WATCH NICHOLSON'S VERDICT ON LUKE LITTLER AND GARY ANDERSON

* This was recorded and written before the World Championship final *

IS LUKE LITTLER THE NEXT PHIL TAYLOR AND WILL HE BE IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE?

Were you surprised by the standard Luke Littler has produced on his debut?

Not at all. So when you consider how well he's done this year in every tour he's played in, I think in the WDF, he's won the British Classic, he's won the British Open.

If there were more tournaments that weekend, he probably would have won those as well. He's got so much energy for a young man. Obviously, he's been in the Super Series and he's won two consecutive titles there.

It was almost surprising that he didn't win the third. He was eliminated by Sebastian Białecki in the semi-final. But to see him take that form onto the Alexandra Palace stage wasn't surprising for those within the game.

He looked so comfortable on his Lakeside debut 18 months ago and what he's done since then proves he's just very comfortable playing darts under the lights. That's pretty much in a nutshell.

ALSO WATCH: HOW MUCH DO DARTS PLAYERS EARN?

Have you ever wondered how much money professional darts player can earn and whether the top stars are really enjoying a millionaire life of luxury? Paul Nicholson joins Sporting Life's Chris Hammer and Dom Newton to lift the lid on the realities of playing for your livelihood and it's not quite as lucrative as you may think.

HOW MUCH MONEY DO DARTS PLAYERS EARN AND CAN TOP PROS BECOME MILLIONAIRES?

How is he so comfortable in front of that Ally Pally crowd?

I think what people need to understand about Luke is that this kind of exposure to playing in front of different crowds and noises is very normal for him.

When people were coming through 15-20 years ago and even before that, they were very nervous to grace the stage and wouldn't necessarily produce their best darts immediately.

It would take them time to get used to playing in front of big crowds. It took me a bit of time to get used to playing in front of crowds, and it took me years as a county player for Northumberland to feel comfortable playing in front of one or 200 - never mind 3,500 or more than that.

The brain is very malleable at that young age, and it means that he gets used to something quicker at that age than we would in our mid-20. And I think the fact that he doesn't feel a great deal of nerves going on to that stage is testament to the kind of exposure he's had to different tournaments, even at such a young age.

ALSO WATCH: BUILDING THE PERFECT DARTS PLAYER

Paul Nicholson joins Dom Newton and Chris Hammer to combine the talents of some of the greatest players past or present in an effort to create an unbeatable darting monster. We look at prolific 180 hitters, clinical finishers and show-stopping 100+ checkout merchants as well as other categories such as on nerves of steal, stage presence, crowd popularity and walk-on music.

BUILDING THE PERFECT DARTS PLAYER FROM 180 HITTING TO WALK ON MUSIC!

Can he be the next Phil Taylor - or be even better than the GOAT of darts?

I think there is a ceiling of performance within darts that a lot of people are attaining. Everybody wants to have that 120+ average game and not many people attain that.

But he has attained a world-class level a lot quicker than others. And this is something that Michael Van Gerwen did when he was younger. But if he was to maintain that excellent level over the next few years, he would win a lot of titles and create his own little slice of history.

It's very easy for people to say that he could be the next Phil Taylor. We're never going to get another Phil Taylor. Let's just make peace with that. No one's going to win 16 world titles - not even Littler because there's just too much competition. Like I've just mentioned, he won two Super Series titles and he was beaten by Poland's number three or four.

So these defeats are more likely now than when Phil was racking up titles three, four, five, six, seven years in a row. So I want him to be the first Luke Littler, and I want him to have the freedom to do what he wants over the next five to 10-15 years. And is he going to be the next Van Gerwen? No. He's not going to be anything like Michael.

He's going to be the first Luke Littler, which is very exciting because he could bring a different brand of darts to the next generation, which we needed. When Phil retired here seven years ago, Michael took the mantle just before that and has run with it since then and other people have helped him.

But with Michael still searching for more titles and he will over the next few years, we are maybe finding a period now where some players are troubling Van Gerwen and more and you know, the likes of Littler and Gian van Veen and others coming through and Josh Rock.

ALSO WATCH: HOW TO BECOME A DARTS PROFESSIONAL

Leading pundit and former major winner Paul Nicholson joins host Dom Newton and Sporting Life's darts expert Chris Hammer to discuss the 'darting pyramid', the importance of averages, how to crack Q School and other factors such as choosing sponsors, nicknames and walk-on music.

How to Become a Darts Professional!

Did Gary Anderson have a point to blast the media over their treatment of Luke Littler?

I know exactly what Gary means. And he makes an incredible, really important point.

I'm going to go back a little bit in time because during COVID, we started a coaching course with the Junior Darts Corporation.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH GARY ANDERSON'S RANT ABOUT THE MEDIA'S TREATMENT OF LUKE LITTLER

GARY ANDERSON BLASTS MEDIA OVER LUKE LITTLER

But going through that course, we went through some training about safeguarding. Luke is still a child. He's under 18. And what we have to do is we have to look after these young players who are under 18. And we also need to look after the players when they go post 18 as well. So what Gary is trying to say is that the media may be going after the big story, but we must do that in a responsible manner.

Otherwise there will be mistakes made, whether it's from the journalists, whether it's from Team Littler. That's up for speculation. Things have happened. Gary has been somewhat lambasted by some people for making a very aggressive point but I don't think it's aggressive at all.

I think what he's trying to say is as a father and as someone who is an advocate, a senior and a vintage player, he's trying to look after the future of the game, but more importantly, trying to look after Luke Littler as a 16-year-old boy and that's the important thing. He's got a young boy.

And I'm sure that if Luke was his boy, he wouldn't have been in the same position over the last few days with so much media knocking on his door. Now, if that was your 16-year-old boy, would you allow the media to knock on your door and start writing stories without clearance from certain people like the PDC and that kind of thing?

Safeguarding is hugely important for Luke's future, his immediate future. Gary's right. Let him go and play darts and in the meantime, let the stories write themselves. Let him do the press conferences, let him do his one on ones with established networks and websites and things like that. Beyond that, they just let him practice, let him be a kid.

Would Luke Littler be included in the Premier League if he wins the world title? And what if he doesn't?

Yes, he would. If he's allowed in this tournament, he can be in the Premier League. I don't see the problem with that. And the the media bombshell around him would obviously heighten if he's world champion and if he's in the Premier League as well.

I go back to words said in 2017 when Phil Taylor was about to retire before the final.

What if he wins the tournament and the world champion is not in the Premier League? I've remembered that line because if Littler is not allowed to play in the Premier League, then you may have a situation where the world champion is not in it.

If he wins the world title and lifts the trophy, then he has to be in the Premier League. It's as simple as that.

If he doesn't win it then it's in his best interests not to be included. He'd still have an awful lot of money to start his professional career in February. He should take January off, get himself rested after what's been an incredibly tiring year for him. He's played a lot of darts. Go on holiday, spend some time with family, Do what you want, come back fresh in February, start your pro career at the age of 17.

But for him to be in the Premier League, I feel he's got to win it.

Darts: Related content

Like what you've read?

Link

Join for free!

Access to exclusive features all for FREE - No monthly subscription fee

Race Replays

My stable horse tracker

Offers and prize draws

Exclusive content

Next Off

Fixtures & Results

Fetching latest games....