As Luke Littler took to the stage 200 miles away at the Alexandra Palace in London for the world darts championship, the young players at St Helens Darts Academy – where he started his sporting career at the age of nine – screamed their support.
They sat with bated breath as they watched their former clubmate and new idol battle it out for the biggest title in darts. At just 16 years old, he was the youngest ever player to make it to the final of the World Darts Championships.
In St Helens, every throw was watched intently and every miss saw the watchers put their heads in their hands. As the match drew to a close and Littler just missed out on the trophy, the agony of those rooting for him was palpable – although no one denied they were delighted with their local darts sensation regardless.
“I’m so proud of him. He’s only 16 and from a small town, so it’s a massive thing for him, and for us,” said 10-year-old Jack Callaghan, who like many of the children in the room was wearing his own personalised darts shirt.
“We’re still so proud of him because he got so far in the tournament. He’s 16 and he can’t win everything,” said Jack Evans, 11. “Thinking that he’s only five years older than me … You can’t get your head round it.”
Like many of the children in the room, he ran off to throw darts in between sets, more obsessed with his hobby than ever.
Littler was a hero in these parts even before his astonishing rise to global fame. In the Sidac social club, where St Helens Darts Academy has been running for just over 10 years, one of the dartboards is named after him, and he is a big draw for the 80 or so young people, aged seven to 19, who attend the club.
“It’s just phenomenal. He’s done so much for the world of darts. The amount of children we’ve got here now who look up to him, it’s fabulous,” said committee member Alison Atkinson.
“You can see from the TV viewing figures, interest in darts has just gone up and up. For these children here, it keeps them off the street, it keeps them entertained, it helps them with their maths. So I think it’s going to explode.”
There’s no denying Littler has a completely unique talent for the sport, but for the young people watching him avidly on the big screen on Wednesday night, he was proof that anything is possible, no matter your age.
No longer the realm of middle-aged men in pubs, darts is becoming increasingly popular among the younger generation, and Littler’s performance has sparked huge interest in the sport. “The numbers coming to the academy have just gone up and up because people want to be like him,” said Evans. “I really hope it’s me one day.”
Littler has charmed the nation with his astonishing talent, but also with his down-to-earth personality and love of fast food – he said he likes to celebrate a win with a kebab. “I don’t know what other food he’s actually eating, because he never loses,” said Karl Holden, who co-founded the darts academy in St Helens.
“He just keeps surprising us, and keeps surpassing what we expect. I would imagine he’s a big worry for some of the top PDC players. But it’s a lot of pressure. If I’m playing at the bar with my mates, I miss my doubles sometimes, but he was playing for half a million.”
Matthew Pearson, 23, one of the older academy members, said: “He’s always been the calm, cool, collected person that just gets up in front of a board and competes. It’s like he doesn’t feel any pressure, but we all know he must feel it deep down.”
“No matter what happened tonight, he’s still a champion in our eyes, making it to the final – no one can take that away from him.”
Holden has been inundated with messages from parents of young people looking to join his academy in recent days, many of whom are hoping to enjoy just a fraction of Littler’s success.
“Luke being in the final has generated such a huge amount of publicity. Everyone is looking at us, wondering what we did, why he’s such a good player,” he said. “But 95% of it is down to him. He’s got something that no one else has got.”
