Next Saturday the Grand Slam of Darts gets underway in Wolverhampton. Luke Littler starts the tournament as one of the top favorites for overall victory, although analyst Matthew Edgar questions the chances of the 17-year-old top talent. Edgar notes the Littler can still make the necessary progression in major tournaments.
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Littler is assigned to a group at the Grand Slam of Darts that also includes Dimitri Van den Bergh, Keane Barry and Lourence Ilagan. “I don’t think you can look past Luke and Dimitri. But I do have reservations about Luke on the basis that, when we look at his TV form… it’s not TV form full-stop because he’s won the Premier League and World Series events,” Edgar said on the Love the Darts podcast.
“[But] ranking TV titles. He should already be in the top 16. He’s gone out in the first round of all of them. If he had just won a game, he would be in the top 16 already.
“There are just a couple of question marks there. And let’s just say, there are lots of people who want him to do well - but now there are people who don’t want him to do well because he’s become that guy.
Edgar is already applauding Littler's presence at the top of the darts world. He is clearly generating particular emotion among fans.
“It’s great for us and it’s great for the sport. We’re wrestling fans and we know that if you can draw emotion from someone, whether you want them to win or you want them to lose, you’re doing a great job.
“Luke Littler is probably the first person since Gerwyn Price - and hey, Gerwyn Price was the first person for a long time - who has managed to draw that [emotion from fans]. The sport is going in a good way with Luke in there but I would like to see him start winning in the ranking events.”
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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