Luke Littlers impact on Darts

Littler vs Taylor

Who is the GOAT?

Being this successful at a young age has posed an interesting question to the dart’s community. Will Luke littler be considered the greatest darts player of all time by the time he retires, or could he take the crown earlier?

Currently Phil the power Taylor is considered the greatest of all time after winning 85 majors in his 30-year career. Taylor won 16 world championships, 16 match plays and 11 grand prix across his career. In his era of darts, he was the most known player in the whole tour and the closest thing to a household name that darts really had.

Phil Taylor got darts to a good point financially however darts still hadn’t reached its full potential. Taylor retired from the PDC main tour in 2018. He never crossed over with Luke.

Littler has 73 more majors to win to equal Phil Taylor despite not being 20 years old. Since his breakthrough year Luke littler has averaged 5 trophies a year. This currently has him on track to match and then potentially beat Phil Taylors record within 20 years before he turns 40 years old.

One key difference between the 2 players is the era they are playing in. Lots of people believe that darts right now is as competitive as it has ever been with no easy game. Phil Taylors era of darts influenced people to get into darts and that can be seen as the current tour is filled with multiple major champions.

I asked long time darts fan Martin if he think Littler could catch Taylor and how quickly he could do it. Martin said “he absolutely can, the only problem he might have is the pro tour being so competitive at the moment that you cant afford one little mistake and even the best players have mistakes in them”

This might be something that could stop Luke from dethroning Phil Taylor, however when it comes to impact on the sport it’s safe to say Luke Littler has changed the game.

Darts in the community

Beyond all of this his rise has had a massive impact on local communities across England. Darts clubs, pubs and youth centres have all had an increase in interest since Littler became somewhat of a household name.

Across the country people who may never have considered darts before are now buying boards and even joining local leagues whilst watching the PDC tournaments every week.

One of the biggest reasons for the sports growth is how relatable people feel to Littler. Unlike many sports stars he comes across as a normal teenager despite becoming world famous. Fans can connect with his personality, confidence and love for darts.

Young players now believe that darts is a sport where age doesn’t matter and opportunities come quickly if the talent and dedication are there. Before Littler many of the younger generation viewed darts as a sport mostly played by older generations in pubs as many people called it a ‘pub sport’.

Now school sports clubs and youth academies are starting to include darts because of the excitement he has created for the sport.

Around England local darts shops have also massively benefited from the “Luke Littler effect”. Sales of dartboards, darts and merchandise have risen as more families look to get involved in the sport.

Many pubs have seen packed dart nights with younger crowds attending regularly. Community leagues that previously might have struggled to get numbers are now seeing waiting lists for new teams and players. In some areas youth darts tournaments are being created for the first time because demand is so high and they can get enough players for a full league.

When speaking to a local league player about the growth and he stated ‘ a couple months after the final the numbers had doubled and we had like 3 new leagues starting’. Josh said ‘it was great for the pub as its income was probably doubling just because of the amount of people coming to play darts’.

Social media has played a huge role in growing the sport. Short video clips of Littler hitting huge checkouts or scoring multiple 180s quickly spread online and can attract millions of views within hours.

This has helped darts reach an audience much more than its usual fanbase. Younger audiences now follow darts players in the same way they follow football teams and football players or even some influencers.

Because of this sponsors and companies have started investing more money into the sport and it’s also helped other players make more money of new sponsors as well as increasing prize funds and opportunities players in the future.

With all of this the atmosphere at live darts events has changed a as well. Premier League nights and major tournaments now feel as big as they ever have with fans travelling across the country to come and watch live matches.

 Fancy dress and packed arenas have always been a major part of British sporting culture especially in darts now with the added factor of being able to watch a young phenom take on some of the best players every week the PDC is as hot as it has ever been.

We spoke to a fan who had been to a couple of events. Charlie said ‘the darts has always been a good laugh but with Littler its added that something extra of what feels like watching a superstar’

While it is still too early to say whether Luke Littler will eventually overtake Phil Taylor as the greatest darts player ever there is little doubt that his influence on the sport is already historic and already more impactful than any other darts player. He has helped inspire a new generation bringing darts the viewership and together and helped it reach levels of popularity that few people ever imagined possible.