LUKE & LEARN
‘It’s unsustainable’ Luke Littler’s manager warns as he reveals 17-year-old dart sensation’s brutal schedule
Luke Littler's success has come at a price
LUKE LITTLER’S management claim his darts schedule is being managed carefully to avoid any chance of burnout.
Warrington’s 17-year-old sporting sensation left school last summer and only became a full-time darts player in January.
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Since his epic run at Ally Pally to the final of the World Darts Championship, Littler has earned £357,000 in prize money on the oche.
The PDC circuit is relentless, particularly with the added complication of regular travel around Europe, and Littler is already down for a trip to New York in late May.
It is also likely he will be involved in the World Series events in Australia and New Zealand in August.
Off the stage, he is a lad in demand and recently appeared on BBC’s Comic Relief, ITV’s Jonathan Ross Show and Sky Sports’ Fantasy Football League.
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But while Littler has shelved driving lessons for the time being due to a lack of free time, manager Martin Foulds of ZXF Sports Management insists the teenager is being closely looked after.
Foulds, 40, told the BBC: “He’s pretty much in every TV event for the rest of the year without throwing another dart.
“There’s no off-season in darts. You’ve got to travel to these events – you don’t just time-warp and you’re in Belfast, Graz, Munich, Rotterdam.
“It’s unsustainable for any player to travel and play all of those events.
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“When you’re playing in the Premier League especially, travelling can take its toll on anybody.
“He’s still a teenager, still 17 – if he wasn’t playing darts, he’d be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school.
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“So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can.
“The other day he had to come in, do some paperwork, some shirt signings.
“He’s sat in my meeting room and he’s got two phones on with two different streams of the Players Championship.
“He’s not at the darts but he’s still watching it – he just loves the game.”
Littler will be next in action on Thursday night against Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals of the Premier League Darts in Belfast as he searches for a first nightly win in the £1milllion invitational tournament.
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