‘It’s on another level, completely alien in darts’ - the rapid rise of Luke Littler

Luke Littler is the youngest ever PDC World Championship finalist. The 17-year-old has earned more than £350,000 in prize money in the past three months. His manager is Martin Foulds, whose ZXF Sports Management firm also looks after other top players including World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall. Darts star says travelling can take its toll on players.

He says if he wasn’t playing darts, he would be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school. The 17-year-old is still a teenager, still 17, he says. He’s been training, practising and taking it all in his stride. He’s appeared on BBC One’s Comic Relief and Sky’s Fantasy Football League.

He says he’s taken to it ’like a duck to water’ He says it’s been ‘unbelievable’ how quickly he’s risen to top. Littler has had Premier League footballers asking him for photos. He has met Sir Alex Ferguson and other Manchester United heroes. He got to speak to United boss Erik ten Hag and played darts with Harry Maguire and Christian Eriksen.

His world final defeat to Luke Humphries was Sky Sports’ biggest non-football peak - and largest darts audience. Littler’s showmanship on the oche has rubbed up the odd player the wrong way. Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko accused him of “arrogance#34. Foulds firmly rejects the verdict, saying it is just the way Littler is.

Littler won the World Championship in Bahrain in January. He also won the Players Championship in February and the Belgian Open in March. Littler’s former junior coach Karl Holden says he is ‘ridiculously good’ He added: ‘There’s no right or wrong way. There is no surprise in what he does’ Foulds says Littler has two different personas.

The off-screen, off-stage one is shy and humble. But when he gets on the stage it’s like something switches. He loves the arenas, the more fans the better, says Foulds. PDC chief Porter says darts was on an upward curve anyway but he’s accelerated that growth.

Porter: “He seems to thrive with bigger crowds. He“s clearly done more than the majority of youth talents have done” PDC Premier League action starts on Thursday.