“He will not miss the darts one little bit” - Gary Anderson issues stark Luke Littler warning after “vile” treatment of darts’ generational star

Gary Anderson has told darts fans to appreciate Luke Littler while they can, insisting the world number one is a talent they may not see again for decades and warning that he would have little reason to look back if he ever decided enough was enough.

Littler has found himself on the receiving end of increasingly hostile crowds throughout 2026. That came to a head again at the recent World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam, where the 19-year-old was booed and whistled against both Danny Noppert and Nathan Aspinall, with referee Charlie Corstorphine forced to intervene during the latter match.

Afterwards, Littler raised the possibility of no longer playing tournaments in the Netherlands. He has already suggested Germany could suffer the same fate following previous problems with crowds there.

Anderson has seen enough. "One thing I can say is he's been getting a bit of dog's abuse at tournaments. It's vile. It is bad," the two-time world champion told Online Darts. "People have got to realise this young lad, what is he now, 19? He's got a gift from God. This boy is phenomenal."

Anderson has been around long enough to know how rare players of Littler's level are. Across more than three decades in the game, the Scot has competed against Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and most of the other defining names of modern darts.

Even against that backdrop, Littler has made a huge impression. "It could be another 50 years before they see a youngster turn up and play darts like this kid," Anderson continued. "This is something special to witness. They'll tell their kids, tell their grandkids, whatever, about this young lad, how he came on the circuit and destroyed everybody, which he's doing."

Littler has hardly slowed down in 2026 either. He successfully defended his World Championship title before adding the World Masters, UK Open, Premier League and World Matchplay, as well as winning the World Cup of Darts alongside Luke Humphries. His hopes of completing a clean sweep of the year's biggest PDC events finally ended in Amsterdam, where Jonny Clayton knocked him out in the quarter-finals.

Away from the stage, Littler has also become increasingly selective over where and when he plays. By mid-September he had entered only two Players Championships and three European Tours, while he also skipped the World Series trips to Australia and New Zealand.

Before Amsterdam, Littler spoke about needing "crucial days off" and said the position he has built for himself allows him greater freedom over his schedule.

"Luke's clever. He's got a lot of things going on," said Anderson. "And if it got to a stage that he goes, 'That's it, I'm finished with darts,' that's not going to make any difference. He's going to have a big income coming in from what else he's doing. So he will not miss the darts one little bit. I think people giving him grief need to back off because this kid's something special."

Littler has rarely been afraid to respond when crowds turn against him. That has brought criticism of its own at times, with his on-stage reactions occasionally labelled cocky.

Anderson sees things differently. "Some say he's cocky, but I think he's just trying to give it back to the ones that are giving him the grief on stage," he said. "I used to give it back to the crowd when they gave me stick. Peter Manley was the same. He used to love it and give it back. He's a young lad with very, very special talent. All the people missing out is the crowd because they're not going to see him on stage playing. He'll stick to playing in Britain and that's it. They're the ones that are going to miss out witnessing something special."

Away from Littler, Anderson also spoke candidly about his own increasingly selective approach to the tour. The 55-year-old has again followed a reduced schedule in 2026, despite remaining inside the world's top 10 and reaching the World Championship semi-finals earlier this year.

"Still breathing, still upright, so yeah, all good," he joked when asked how life was treating him. "Darts has taken a bit of a back step lately. I've got other things on, but that's just life, isn't it?"

Anderson dismissed suggestions that his reduced schedule amounted to an early retirement, pointing to his occasional appearances on the European Tour and a run to the Hungarian Darts Trophy final in Budapest.

At home, there is plenty competing for his attention. "With the kids as well, you're as busy as hell with them," he explained. "We've not got a night where we're home until about nine or ten o'clock. There's horse riding, darts, football with Ty or whatever. It's bloody hectic."

His schedule has left him with work to do in several qualification races. Anderson conceded that his European Championship hopes had effectively been undermined by his own planning, while his place at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead has also come under pressure after missing so many floor events.

"I think I'd kind of left it too late," he said of the European Championship. "Own fault, bad calculations. Maybe next year."

There was no frustration directed elsewhere over his Minehead position either. "I've missed a heck of a lot of tournaments this year, but that's on my shoulders," he said. "If you can tell me how to be in two places at once, I'm quite happy to do it. It is what it is. If I don't make it, it's going to be on my shoulders, so no complaining."

Anderson also revealed why he turned down an invitation to the World Series of Darts Finals. Having not played on the World Series circuit itself, he did not believe he should take a place in the season-ending event. The same principle has previously seen him refuse to chase Grand Slam qualification through the last-chance qualifier when his results during the year have not already earned him a spot.

"I stick to my guns on things," he said. "I'm the same with the Grand Slam. It was always that you've got to get to a final, so if I've not made a final in 12 months, then that's my fault again. I'm not going to try sneaking in through the back door with a qualifier. I just won't do it because I don't deserve to do it. It was the same with the World Series."

Asked whether that meant Wolverhampton would be off the agenda unless he forced his way into the Grand Slam through his remaining results, Anderson had another option in mind. "I might come down fishing."

For all the events Anderson has missed, his results when he has played have remained significant. He reached the World Championship semi-finals, made the World Matchplay quarter-finals and went all the way to the Hungarian Darts Trophy final, while still admitting there can be long spells where he barely touches a dart.

"I've been doing it 32 years," he said. "I'll not throw darts for weeks and weeks and weeks. Then I'll go and have a throw and say, 'I've not thrown a dart for donkeys.' Within five minutes the 180s and 140s are going in. We play the 121 and batter through that, and they go, 'I don't know how you do it.' I don't know if it's luck or whatever, but it's one of these things. I do know age is catching up with me. I'm feeling it now."

Long tournament days have become particularly difficult. Anderson recalled Scotland's run alongside Cameron Menzies at the World Cup of Darts, where the long gap between sessions proved awkward.

"I found it hard at the World Cup with Cammy," he said. "I think we played early in the day and then had about a six-hour break. I don't know what to do with myself. Do you go back to the hotel? If you do that, you fall asleep and wake up feeling like crap. Or do you sit at the venue? That's what I struggle with, the three matches in one day. A five or six-hour break destroys me every time."

Another major title has not been completely ruled out. "I've been at it a long time," Anderson said. "I don't put a tenth of the work in that these boys put in now. I scrape by. It's one of these things. It's good when I turn up and play well. I surprise myself. I think if I could get the time and spend more time on the practice board, I think I could come back. But we don't know if we do."

Anderson was rather less engaged when the conversation moved towards the PDC's planned changes for 2027, including expanded fields at the European Championship and Players Championship Finals.

"I don't know what you're on about!" he laughed. "I don't watch this crap. I don't know what's going on. I just turn up to tournaments and get told what's going on and what's changing. People change things. Everything's getting changed all the time. You get used to one thing, it gets changed. You get used to that, it'll get changed again."

The practical cost of playing the tour brought a rather more detailed response. Anderson came through at a time when the financial rewards in darts were far smaller, and remembers entry fees of £50 and £100 being significant commitments for players trying to establish themselves.

"There have always been a hell of a lot of good darts players in Scotland," he said. "They just weren't wanting to risk everything to turn professional and play darts."

Young players now have more prize money available, but also face significant travel and accommodation costs across an increasingly international calendar. "It does cost a fortune," Anderson said. "They would need to at least be guaranteed something that covers their costs and puts a couple of quid in their pocket. People have bills and mortgages to pay."

He stopped short of arguing that every player on the professional circuit should simply be guaranteed a comfortable living. "If they think they're good enough and they come across and they're not making it, what does that tell you?" he added. "Sorry, mate, you might not be good enough to play in it. Does somebody come along and get an easy ride, or make an easy penny, or do they have to put the graft in?"

For players trying to make the jump full-time, Anderson believes sponsorship can still be crucial. "If you're going to do the circuit, you need sponsors behind you because if you're losing first round, first round, first round, it's tough. But that's also a kick up the backside to say, 'Actually, am I good enough to be doing this? Should I be doing this?' Do you give up your job and go for it full-time? It's a big risk. It's not easy. People think it is, but it's not."

Anderson's own next stop is much more familiar territory. He is due back on the TV stage at the World Grand Prix in Leicester before another winter build towards Alexandra Palace, where his selective 2026 schedule will matter considerably less than what remains in his arm when he walks onto the stage.