"I think the only danger for Luke Littler is Luke Littler himself" - Barry Hearn comments on Littler's rise with admiration

Luke Littler has showcased his talent on the oche time and time again, but there is a feel that this most recent World Matchplay title run is the most special yet. He averaged over 109 every match enroute to lifting the Phil Taylor Trophy with a number of the forementioned records obliterated. Barry Hearn shared the influence Littler has had on the sport while stating that the only person who can stop him is himself.

He successfully defended his World Matchplay title with one of the greatest campaigns ever played out. Littler mustered up a tournament average of 111,04, easily trumping the one Taylor had before in 2010. His The 111.53 average was the highest one in the final as Gerwyn Price, among others, were given little chance as Littler rises to new levels of dominance.

Hearn, who had his eye on the two-time world champion from a young age, labelled him a 'generational talent' and was in awe of what he had been producing on the oche.

"Firstly, we've all been watching him, really, since he was about seven or eight years old," he told talkSPORT. "He was a phenomenon on the junior tours, the Junior Darts Corporation and various other events, so it wasn't a secret that he was a spectacular player.

"What we all kept saying was, "Yeah, but how does he cope on the big stage?" Well, the answer is that he loves the big stage even more than any other stage. He is, without doubt, a generational talent."

He put Littler among the most formidable and well-known names in the sport, touching on the records he smashed on Blackpool. "With darts, we've been so fortunate to have a load of characters who can play at world level," he admitted. "Phil Taylor set the bar, Michael van Gerwen edged it a little bit, and then Luke Littler has just destroyed all those records."

A big reason for that was the development of the sport and the money that has now been pumped into it. "It happens a lot in sport. Whether it's different equipment, better conditioning, better training or just more dedication, standards improve. I think because darts is such a big business now, these boys are earning proper money.

"Luke Littler has over £3 million on the Order of Merit, so they can afford to be full-time professionals, which they couldn't 20 years ago. Now they're full-time players, they're proper professionals and the standard has gone through the roof."

The influx of darting prodigies has grown massively in recent times, with Littler being a huge part of that. In turn, he is the biggest with the 19-year-old having dominated the sport these past few years with real class and maturity.

This could be the beginning of an era ruled by 'The Nuke,' or another young talent could come along and make their mark. "Where Littler has taken the standard, who's to say there won't be another one?" Hearn continued. "But I think we're in the presence of a generational talent that we're going to be talking about for a long, long time."

For the time being, the questions are being pondered on if he can break the biggest records in the sport, which include Taylor's World Championship tally. "Whether he can win 16 World Championship titles, I'm not sure, simply because that's 16 years. Although he's only 18 now, whether he can maintain that level for that long remains to be seen. But he may well be able to. He's a one-off. The kid is a fabulous player and a really, really nice lad who loves playing darts in front of crowds."

Darts has grown an astronomical size since the 'Littler effect' first took place at the end of 2024. Hearn has overseen this progress with glowing praise for all involved.

"Obviously it's very satisfying for me to see a sport that we started off with, when the total annual prize money was about £500,000, now knocking on the door of £30 million. I'm very proud that the sport has produced a Luke Littler."

Currently, there is no dart player that can keep up with him. This leads the the 78-year-old to believe that the real danger has been brewed up by Littler himself. "I think the only danger for Luke Littler is Luke Littler himself, because he's inspired kids all around the world and someone else is coming through. There are 10, 12 and 15-year-old kids who are already amazing players. We'll have to see how they progress, but I think Littler will eventually create his own competition by inspiring the next generation."