Dennis Priestley: "It's a possibility that the money and fame could've gone to Luke Littler's head"

Luke Littler's World Matchplay debut ended in a disappointing first round exit at the hands of Michael van Gerwen last week, with the 17-year-old then having double blow as his relationship with former girlfriend Eloise came to an end.

Littler lost to Van Gerwen in the first round of the 2024 World Matchplay, so now he must also deal with another setback. ''Everyone needs to stop sending hate towards Eloise saying it's here [sic] fault this and that,'' Littler wrote on Instagram Stories. ''I myself split up with Eloise and everyone just needs to give us some time, no need for everyone to message her and give her grief.,'' said the reigning Premier League champion.

However, he is getting advice from former world champion Dennis Priestley. "Luke should just sit back a little bit and make assessments of where he wants to go with life," the 74-year-old says OLBG. "We've all seen that before that young sports stars will go to the top and then a woman comes into their life and it changes some people.

"He'll do what he wants to do and so he should, but a little advice would be to step back and make himself financially safe for the rest of his life - that should be the priority. He's done well so far because his whole life has been in the spotlight and it's a big thing for someone so young like him. I was surprised by the age gap between Luke and his girlfriend but obviously they must've met up through darts and got on well," Priestley continues. "His girlfriend would've been under scrutiny as well. She may or may not have wanted too much attention, we don't know."

Priestley realizes it's a lot to bear for the 17-year-old Littler. "The expectations on his shoulders are really heavy. James Wade was right to say there'll be a dip in form for Luke. James has been around for a long time - he was just a young lad when I was playing. I've seen him come through and if James says something, it won't be far off the truth," he concludes. "It's a possibility that the money and fame could've gone to Luke's head. He may just look at his bank account in the morning and think 'oh crikey, there's £1million here, where did that come from? ' but he's had to work for it. He's had to make sacrifices. He's still so young, so there's a lot of things that could be affecting him. He's such a talent and I'm sure he'll work his way through it."

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