by For those who believe you can’t beat the pub with darts, Luke Littler’s story has an unexpected and largely unknown twist. And it’s a turning point that is transforming the darting apprenticeship from a skill once largely confined to smoky rooms with a pint of beer to alcohol-free ‘academies’ supporting children all over the world.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for more than ten years,” says Steve Brown, a former professional who feels that the generations of children (and their parents) may be turned away from the more traditional way, which launched his first academy i. the function room above The Bull in Bristol, a pub owned by his father.
The idea has since been replicated across Britain and as far afield as China, Australia and even Mongolia, with Littler – the 16-year-old who narrowly missed out on a World Championship night Wednesday – being the first product of the Junior Darts. Corporation, a full competitive circuit for children between the ages of eight and 18, to reach this level.
“It was in 2010 when I first got the idea,” says Brown. “I was playing on TV at the time and my son was very interested. I didn’t want him to learn the traditional way I learned, which was going to the pub with my dad, being around lots of adults in that kind of environment.
“We put a little ad in the paper and, in the first week, 30 kids turned up all with their own darts, all with their own styles and darts shirts. They were playing in bedrooms and garages but had nowhere to go. Their parents had the same philosophy as me – so there was a bit of a eureka moment and it blossomed from there.”
With a grading system based on martial arts, where kids start with a white shirt and work their way up to black, the academies organize their sessions in a way that ensures players get equal board time regardless of their current level.
There are now different levels of the JDC, and children could advance to the Foundation Tour before trying to take their place in the top 32 on the JDC Advanced Tour which Littler has dominated for years recently
“We are preparing them for greatness – these are the next generation of PDC superstars,” says Brown, who now oversees a program that even includes a Center of Excellence in Coventry with a media room and streaming studio for YouTube so that players can take advantage of it. to play in front of cameras.
Brown first became aware of Littler (who spent countless hours practicing at home and in pubs with his father Anthony) in 2017, but it was during the Covid-19 lockdown – when Littler was 13 – that he realized he was a special talent. .
“There’s always the next big thing, so I try not to get too excited until they’re out of school, but Luke is an exception to that rule,” says Brown. “I kept waiting for him to go on stage but he just keeps pushing on and on.
“I was still a professional during Covid so I was playing online to keep my eye on events. I ended up playing with Lúcás and he really beat me.
“I thought, ‘Wow’. He was so good I wondered if he was cheating! You wouldn’t see the player playing online – just the program. It was amazing. It changed my opinion.”
Brown saw Littler again at a tournament in Gibraltar shortly before this World Championship and was so sure of the impact he could have that he gave a warning as well as good luck.
“I knew how good he was under pressure because I’ve seen him dominate men’s events on the amateur scene for the last two or three years and the stats don’t lie,” says Brown. “He’s so used to winning now that the thought of losing doesn’t enter his mind – he’s playing without fear and has no battle scars.
“What I meant was, ‘Luke make sure you’re mentally prepared for the next two weeks because your life is going to change – you’re going to get a lot of attention’. But I wouldn’t be doing these interviews if I didn’t think Luke was mentally strong enough. When he goes on stage, he has a different character.”
The invisible impact of the past two weeks, Brown says, is already significant.
“The players are getting younger all the time – and some people are in the same way as Luke, not where he is now, but there were definitely people at the level he was at when he was 12.
“All the academy directors we have around the country are busy and parents are asking their children to find out where the nearest academy is. We have been working hard to change people’s perception of the game and this will go a long way.
“When I was a child I was embarrassed to tell my friends that I was a darts player. It was stigmatized. My goal was to try my best to change the percentage of darts and help make the kids who play darts the cool kids at school. This was huge.”
