by Luke Littler has been warned not to cash in on his sudden fame after Barry Hearn said the 16-year-old darts sensation was the game’s answer to Tiger Woods.
Littler saw off hero Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship. And while Littler could become an instant millionaire global star through appearances and sponsorships, Hearn emphasized the need for balance.
Having reached the last eight against Brendan Dolan on New Year’s Day, Littler has been promised £50,000 just six months after completing his GCSEs but is now second favorite for the £500,000 first prize Wednesday.
Hearn, who owns the Professional Darts Corporation’s Matchroom company, believes Littler’s phenomenal success – and the new audience he’s tapping into – will change darts forever but stressed the “sensitive stage” of its development.
“I had it with Steve Davis,” said Hearn, who reckons Littler could “without blinking” get £1 million of show work immediately at a going rate of around £10,000 a night.
“You get the balance right when they still have half a normal life,” Hearn said. “You let them mature as a person without being focused on money. That sounds strange coming from me [but] it’s something that, in the long run, you’ll do much better at.
“It’s clear that he has a lot of work to do, his parents and the group around him are very supportive. Now, they need to look at the money because that will come automatically if you are good enough.
“A lot of great players are coming through because they smell the money. The top darts players are probably earning £2-£2.5 million a year.
“It’s a question of his bad reputation with him. If I were managing it I would raise its fee to an astronomical number and then, according to the laws of supply and demand, that will reduce the possibility of burning it. His biggest job is actually controlling his diary.
“You compare it to [Emma] Raducanization. I wouldn’t be cruel and a flash in the pan on that [Raducanu] it is a one-off program that was not followed up. She’s still a good player – there’s something missing there, no injuries. This kid, you think, could be the face of darts for the next 25 years.
“I think he’s one of those players in 10 years time, we’ll look back and say, ‘That was the moment the game changed again and it went up another level’. People are looking at Luke Littler and going ‘Bloody Norah, why not me?’ It will inspire a generation.”
Hearn, who has managed the likes of Davis, Chris Eubank, Anthony Joshua and Ronnie O’Sullivan, acknowledged the duty of care now shared by the PDC in handling Littler’s workload when the World Championship ends on Wednesday. It follows pleas from 2015 and 2016 world champion Gary Anderson not to “let the boy play darts” after concerns about too much media attention.
“You feel you shouldn’t put too much pressure on the kid and then you watch him play and he doesn’t look under any pressure. He walks up there talking about kebabs,” Hearn said.
“He’s not thinking, ‘500 grand, change my life.’ He’s thinking: ‘Wow, this is bloody amazing.’ It’s just for fun – making him the most dangerous darts player in the world.
“I think I’d like to ask for his passport, just to double check. He plays like he’s not 16 but he is 16. My wife is a great measuring stick. She is not a fan of darts at all and was glued to the screen on Saturday. She’s turning The Voice – a series she watches every week – and wants to watch Luke Littler. Suddenly, a story about a darts player is not just in the sports news, but in the main story.
“It’s done for the World Series where we take darts to distant countries. You can imagine him in New York and Madison Square Garden throwing darts – the Yanks will be absolutely potty because everyone loves this kind of story.”
Hearn said he is also seeing “humongous” ratings on Sky Sports which he believes has just 18 months left on a contract to continue coverage of the PDC World Championships which began when it launched 30 years ago.
“The rankings around the world are off the scale,” Hearn said. “It’s number two on Sky [Sports] behind the Premier League football. I think Sky will be over the moon. Other broadcasters will look at it and say: ‘Why haven’t we got that?’
“I’ve had companies call me that we’ve never done business with before – we did a contract with Bosnia and Herzegovina the other day. Promoters are carried but I am giving up because it is a quantum time for the sport. This is a Boris Becker moment, this is a Tiger Woods moment.
