Luke Littler: How darts' new star handles huge demand on and off the oche

Luke Littler was one of the celebrities tasked with revealing the running total - hitting a bullseye to do so - during the annual Comic Relief fundraiser on the BBC

Imagine sharing stages or sofas with Sir Lenny Henry, David Tennant, Davina McCall, Millie Bobby Brown, Raye, Jonathan Ross and Matt Lucas.

It would take most entertainers years to check off such a list on their showbiz rounds - teenage darts sensation Luke Littler did it in a week.

The youngest ever PDC World Championship finalist is flying on the oche - and his profile is soaring off it.

"It's just been crazy - since the World Championships, it's changed my life," the 17-year-old said.

So how is the youngster, who has earned more than £350,000 in prize money in the past three months, handling such a rapid rise into the spotlight?

• What has Littler's emergence done for darts?

'20-40 emails, calls, messages a day'

Littler's manager is Martin Foulds, whose ZXF Sports Management firm also looks after other top players including World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall.

Foulds believes Littler's amazing ascent is unparalleled - and says interest in the teenager is non-stop.

"It's just another level, completely alien to anything that has happened in the darting world," Foulds said.

The 40-year-old estimates he receives "20 to 40 emails, phone calls, messages, minimum" about Littler every day from commercial or media organisations.

"I probably spend 70% of my working day dealing with Luke-related enquiries - calls, messages, Zooms, Teams meetings, media requirements," Foulds added.

Littler has even had to put on hold the driving lessons he was desperate to begin taking when he turned 17, so tough is it to find time in his schedule.

Already in 2024, Littler has flown to Bahrain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium as well as playing each week in the Premier League and other PDC tournaments across the UK.

But Foulds insists his schedule is being managed carefully to avoid any chance of burnout.

Littler was one of several top players to withdraw from a recent tournament in Germany, a call made easier by the fact he's already lifted two ranking titles.

"It's given him such an advantage [winning those events] - he's pretty much in every TV event for the rest of the year without throwing another dart," Foulds said.

"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. 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's be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school. So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can."

Not that it's easy to tear him away from the game.

"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," Foulds said, laughing.

"He's not at the darts but he's still watching it - he just loves the game."

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'Like a duck to water'

Ascending to the top of the darts world within just months is one thing - Littler has been training, practising, honing his skills since he was a toddler with that end goal.

Adapting to becoming a household name in the blink of an eye, and taking it all in his stride, is perhaps even more impressive.

In the space of a week, he's appeared on Comic Relief on BBC One, the Jonathan Ross Show on ITV, and Fantasy Football League with Matt Lucas on Sky.

"It's clearly unprecedented," PDC chief executive Matt Porter told BBC Sport.

"But it's been really encouraging how professionally and maturely he's dealt with the scenarios put in front of him.

"He's taken to it like a duck to water. You feel like he's been there for a long time, he's composed, he's calm, he enjoys himself.

"There are a lot of demands on his time, but there are a lot of benefits and rewards as well."

Littler's life since mid-December has been the stuff of dreams for most sports-mad teens.

He's had Premier League footballers asking him for photos, met Sir Alex Ferguson and other Manchester United heroes and received messages from David Beckham.

He got to speak to United boss Erik ten Hag and played darts at the Red Devils' training ground with Harry Maguire and Christian Eriksen.

He has more than 1.2million followers on Instagram and another 178,000-plus on X.

"He's modest and intelligent enough to understand he's in a fortunate position and he's grateful for those opportunities - but he's earned them," added Porter.

Porter says Littler doesn't get "starry-eyed or star-struck" - which is apparent to anyone who has seen him play.

Just a few months into life as a professional, he's already beaten virtually all of the game's top names.

"When I was 16 I was playing with Lego and Playmobil - this guy is something else, he's on another level," ex-world champion Raymond van Barneveld told Sky Sports after his World Championship exit to Littler.

His world final defeat to Luke Humphries was Sky Sports' biggest non-football peak - and largest darts audience - attracting 3.71 million viewers.

But it has not been all sunshine and roses. Littler's showmanship on the oche has rubbed up the odd player the wrong way, with Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko accusing him of "arrogance" after an unconventional checkout route.

That is a verdict Foulds firmly rejects.

"It's just the way he is - he just enjoys playing darts, it's fun for him, he loves entertaining," Foulds said.

"You've got three darts in your hand, it's up to you which way you go. There's no right or wrong way."

'Something special', 'a generational talent'

Of course, all this wouldn't be happening if the World Championship had been a flash in the pan.

But he has kicked on massively, beating Aspinall and world champions Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen to reign in Bahrain in January.

He lifted a Players Championship title in February, plus the Belgian Open crown in March - and has hit three magical televised nine-dart finishes too.

"Anything he does now doesn't surprise me - he's just ridiculously good, he's got something special," Littler's former junior coach Karl Holden told BBC Sport.

"He's always surpassed everything I've thought he could do. I've thought 'he can't get much better, this lad' - and then he's always got better."

Foulds says Littler has "two different personas".

"You've got the off-screen, off-stage one - he's quite shy and humble, just wants to talk with his mates, play a game, spends a lot of time on his phone like most teenagers," Foulds said.

"But when he gets on the stage it's like something switches - he's in his element. He loves the arenas, the more fans the better. He seems to thrive with bigger crowds."

"The phrase people are using is 'generational talent' and I think that's quite appropriate," added PDC chief Porter.

"He's clearly done more than the majority of youth talents have done - not just in darts but in any sport.

"He's opened up some doors to a new audience for us - darts was on an upward curve anyway but he's accelerated that growth."

You can follow the PDC Premier League action every Thursday with BBC Sport's live text commentary.

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