Luke Littler started playing darts when he was eighteen months old, he couldn’t speak yet, he crawled, and his father would wrap them in cotton so he could throw them at a target he had bought for the equivalent of a euro in a grocery store. everything at a hundred from Warrington, a modest satellite town of Liverpool in the north of England. At just six years old he achieved his first 180 (the highest score), and at seventeen he is the youngest world champion in history.
Littler has earned €650,000 from his victory at Alexandra Palace in north London, the Wimbledon of darts (with mugs of beer instead of Pimms and strawberries and cream), and plans to spend at least part of the purse on a sports Mercedes . But, being a minor, he has neither a driver’s license nor a checking account in the bank. His parents are in charge of managing the money he earns, and give him enough monthly allowance to satisfy all the whims that a teenager may have, and more.
With the 650,000 euros of the prize he plans to buy a Mercedes, but first he has to get his license
The sport has its origins in the 14th century, so that soldiers could kill time without spending too much time in medieval wars. It is mainly British, with branches in Germany and the Netherlands (Littler defeated the Dutchman Michael van Gerwen in the world championship final), and a growing interest in the United States, where New York’s Madison Square Garden occasionally becomes a when in a room for four thousand spectators who watch how the great champions throw darts.
The audience is 75% male, with fans from other countries crossing the English Channel. The World Cup that Littler has won is a classic of the Christmas holidays (it begins on December 15), in which spectators dress up as for Halloween and consume mugs of beer as Cossacks. The smell at the Palace is characteristic, a mixture of alcohol and sweat, like in boxing. The language is not very polite and the atmosphere is similar to that of football, with chants, scarves and all the fishing, but without the defeat of the favorite player constituting a drama. The most important thing of all is to drink.
The World Darts Federation wants to expand the geography and demographics of the sport, and Littler’s success has already created greater interest among young people and women. One of the most important tournaments on the circuit is held annually in Bahrain, and there are plans – of course! – to incorporate Saudi Arabia into the competitions (such as in golf, soccer, tennis, and even the semifinals and final of the Spanish Super Cup).
Luke Littler is already part of the young sports prodigies, like Pelé, Boris Becker and Mike Tyson. He has a million and a half followers on Instagram, he has already pocketed two million euros (although he cannot freely dispose of them and his parents have used them to move to a bigger house). His name is the third most searched on Google (in the UK), after only Trump and Princess Catherine. At 17 you can’t go much higher.
A central element of the strategy to increase the size of the sport is doubling the prizes, which will come in handy for Littler, who, given his youth, aspires to surpass Phil Taylor’s sixteen world titles, as well as win many Masters and Premier Leagues. . The attraction of his figure is so great that the Alexandra Palace World Cup was covered by the The New York Times and other international media, one hundred thousand spectators bought the seats that were put on sale in a quarter of an hour, and the resellers made a fortune. It can be said, literally, that it all started when it was in its infancy…
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