Luke Littler threatening to sue pub over name designed as tribute to darts champion

LUKE LITTLER is threatening to SUE a pub owner over plans to name his boozer "Nukes Sports Bar".

Owen Williams ran an online poll that concluded his new bar in Warrington, Cheshire, should be dedicated to the town's superstar darts player.

But after splashing out £5,000 on new branding, the 32-year-old was slapped with a legal letter that claims to be from Littler's representatives, banning him from using their famous client's nickname.

That's even though Williams believes it's intended simply as "a tribute to his success" - with Littler ranked No2 in the world and current world champion.

The "infringement of trademark rights" note that purports to be from a legal firm explains The Nuke, Luke Littler and Luke The Nuke Littler are registered trademarks.

It outlines their name and their logo's fonts and purple and yellow style are strongly associated with Littler and could confuse the public into thinking he's linked to the bar.

It demands Williams must cease using "Nukes" in the bar's name by February 21, before threatening to drag him to court if he doesn't.

The dad-of-one believes he hasn't caused an issue since the word "Nuke" has not been trademarked and hopes to resolve the issue.

He posted to Facebook to beg followers to tag Littler and "see if we can stop the little man being crushed".

If forced to change the name, Owen says the £5,000 spent on branding would be wasted and the opening of the bar would need to be delayed.

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He says the ordeal has left him with a "sour taste in his mouth" but doesn't believe Luke is aware of the letter and instead blames his legal team.

The owner noted how Warrington Wolves rugby team haven't had any issues with renaming their stadium "The Luke Litter Stadium" for a game on February 21.

He admits he'll have to change the name if an agreement can't be reached but says it would be a shame given the naming was simply "a recognition of his achievements".

Williams, from Warrington, said: "It's mad. We just wanted to recognise all his achievements.

"When I saw [the letter] I thought 'how can I afford to defend this?'. I've got a five-month-old so I certainly don't want to be fighting legal battles.

"They say they can stop me from using the word 'nukes' because his nickname is very well-known but they haven't trademarked 'nukes'.

"There's bars all across the country named after people.

"We planned to be open in two weeks but this is going to set us back because we've spent around £5,000 on things like signage, window art and social media branding.

"It's set us back financially, timing-wise and it makes me look a bit daft as well so it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

"The Warrington Wolves [rugby team] have just named their stadium the Luke Littler Stadium and it looks as though they're working with him. Maybe I need to invite him here.

"It's obviously not him [Luke]. It's the team he's got behind him, so maybe if he sees this we could work something out.

"I'd like him to hear about this and help out."

The legal letter outlines the darts star - who lost to Michael van Gerwen in the Premier League opener last night - is "concerned" about the likelihood of members of the public mistakenly believing that he is in some way commercially connected to the bar.

They claim that a bar using "Nukes" could also cause confusion between recent food and drink products he's registered his name for.

Williams, who runs another bar in Warrington, plans to contact the law firm to understand if there's anything he can do to keep the name.

He said: "Some might say we're jumping on the bandwagon but it was voted for by the public in Warrington.

"That's the beauty of it. We put out a vote and they chose it.

"It's quite a threatening legal letter and there's no way I can afford to fight it so it looks like we'll have to change the name.

"Hopefully something happens in the next few days to save the money we've spent. I'm going to contact them to see if we can fix it."

Williams is a big racing fan too and says he may rename it McCoy's Bar after the rider AP McCoy.

The bar's post reads: "We are sure this isn't Luke himself and he would be proud to have a bar recognising his achievements.

"Let's tag him and see if we can stop the little man being crushed! Pray for the little man.

"Unfortunately we may have to change our name before it's even begun! Could anyone give us any advice?"

One commented: "I don’t understand this. If Nuke's is now his trademark, every time somebody says the word in a war movie surely he’d have to be paid."

A second said: "It's sad that the people of Warrington actually chose this name on a post you put out.

"You listened to us and named it Nuke's."

A third added: "Surely there's no real problem here. You used the word NUKES, not NUKE or NUKE'S, surely you should highlight that fact?"

However one said: "Yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t want to p*** on your parade but to be blunt, you’ve got the square root of 0 chance of getting away with this."

Luke Littler's representatives did not comment when approached by SunSport.