Chris Mason fears darts is driving Luke Littler away and hits out at PDC: "There's something wrong in there"

Chris Mason is concerned about the direction in which darts is heading. The former professional and current pundit believes the PDC needs to take a tougher stance against supporters deliberately trying to put players off. In particular, the treatment of Luke Littler during the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam has left him worried.

In an extensive interview with Online Darts, Mason also spoke critically about PDC policy, prize money and an increasingly packed calendar.

Littler revealed during the tournament in Amsterdam that he could consider skipping events in the Netherlands if the whistling from sections of the crowd continues. The Englishman has already opted against playing certain events in Germany.

Mason understands his position. "I think the powers that be have to. You can't afford to have your poster boy not turning up to events because he gets treated unfairly. And that's what it is. I don't think you'd tolerate it in any other sport, would you? So why do we have to tolerate it?"

According to Mason, comparisons with football do not stand up because darts relies far more heavily on concentration and precision. "Snooker players don't put up with it for a reason, because it's very much a game of focus and concentration," he said. "Can you play to your best in that environment? I would say no."

Raymond van Barneveld addressed the Amsterdam crowd during the weekend, asking supporters not to whistle while players were throwing. Mason would like to see the PDC make such messages a more regular feature.

"When you're in Holland, get all the Dutch players and ex-players, especially legends like Raymond, to do a video making people understand that if they want to see the best stars, and if they want to give the players the best opportunity to perform, there's a certain etiquette," Mason suggested.

He believes the same approach could be used in Germany and England. If warnings fail to change behaviour, however, Mason favours much stronger action. "If not, you've got to go all-in. Get a proper security team in, put them in plain clothes and start ripping people out and banning them for life," he said. "Once people start seeing that, and they've paid all this money and travelled there, they'll know it won't be tolerated. It won't happen."

Mason has no issue with supporters creating noise and atmosphere between throws. Deliberately attempting to make a player miss is another matter. "Just let them play darts. You can make as much noise as you like in between. It's still a party atmosphere. But blatantly trying to make someone lose, what kind of pathetic mentality is that?"

He even fears the current situation could ultimately affect the length of Littler's career. "We should be admiring an incredible generational talent and celebrating it. Not trying to bring him down."

Mason points out that Littler is still only 19 and is already making decisions about which events he does and does not want to play. In his view, the PDC needs to ask why the sport's biggest attraction is becoming increasingly selective.

"Look at Luke. I think he'd be quite happy to play the Worlds and the Matchplay and that's it. That'd do him, I think," said Mason. "I mean, that's mad, isn't it? So, there's something wrong in there."

Mason believes the PDC risks driving the biggest name of the current generation away from certain events. "They've just got to go out there and go, 'We're not putting up with it,' because they're going to lose the biggest name in the sport right now."

He even believes Littler's fame has already reached a level comparable with Phil Taylor. "I think more people know who Luke Littler is than know who Phil Taylor is, and that's mad considering what Phil did for the sport."

Mason was also critical of recent comments from Barry Hearn about players withdrawing from tournaments at short notice. Hearn argued that darts players need to act more professionally and plan their schedules more carefully.

"I think it's very easy to be like that when you've got half a billion pound in the bank," Mason responded. "I didn't like it. I didn't like it that much."

At the same time, he stressed that the contribution made by Hearn, Matchroom and the PDC to the development of darts is beyond question. "What they have done for darts is unquestionably remarkable and we should all be very, very grateful," he said. "All of us, especially the ex-players still working in the industry. You wouldn't be doing this for a job if it hadn't been for Matchroom."

In Mason's view, though, the PDC's success has also created a new set of problems. Players now have far more opportunities to earn money away from ranking events and no longer necessarily need to play every tournament on the calendar.

"The players are in such demand now they can earn more money than that doing a show 50 mile away and sleeping in their own bed."

That is why Mason believes European Tour prize money in particular needs to rise, with the winner currently receiving £35,000. "Me and Ray and Glen were sort of laughing, and Vinnie, saying if there was a tournament with £35,000 to the winner, we'd have walked there," he said. "Well, times have changed."

Mason also believes players lower down the professional ladder need greater financial support. A Tour Card provides no guaranteed income, while competing in Players Championship events can still involve considerable costs. "If you're playing three days in Den Bosch next week and having five days off work, four nights in a hotel, the travel, it ramps up the cost."

He would therefore like to see even first-round losers receive some prize money to help cover their expenses. "I don't know why they didn't just go, 'Right, we're not going to give second-round losers £1,250. We'll give them £1,000. We'll give first-round losers £250. At least that pays some of their expenses.'"

Mason rejects the argument that this would simply amount to rewarding failure. "It's not losers. They're part of your event," he said. "Not to reward them for playing in your product I think is scandalous."

He also believes it is too simplistic to tell struggling players that they simply need to improve. "I could give Littler 20 first-round draws and he might only win 10, 12 of them. What are you going to tell him? Get better? This game is tough. There's very little in it across the top sort of 32, 48, 64."

Not everything came in for criticism. Mason is enthusiastic about the PDC's continued expansion into continental Europe.

France will host a European Tour event for the first time in 2027 and Mason believes the location is an interesting choice because of its proximity to several established darts markets.

"It's in a new territory, which again ticks the right boxes. It's close to Belgium so we'll get those supporters, and it's close enough to Germany and Holland to get those," he said. "I think it's interesting."

Mason is also positive about the arrival of a new ranking major on the European mainland. Germany in particular, he believes, deserves a bigger event after years of strong fan support. "The European Tours that are in Germany are always amazing and always pretty much sellouts from the Friday night onwards, and that's their reward."

Yet one question remains at the heart of Mason's concerns about the way darts is developing. The PDC has taken the sport to unprecedented commercial and financial heights, but that success has also given the biggest players the freedom to become far more selective about where and when they compete. "It's almost like the PDC have done it so well that it's creating its own problems."