Enjoyed the week off but safe to say it’s good to be back!❤️🎯🏆
Luke Littler's impact on the sport of darts in recent months cannot be overstated. Away from his spectacular performances on the oche, the 17-year-old continues to inspire a new generation of potential darting superstars.
10-year-old Lennon "The Force" Wharf is one of these particularly talented youngsters. He has already signed for Target Darts - the same brand that also represents Littler, as well as Rob Cross and Raymond van Barneveld, and he threw his first 180 at the age of just three years old, with more than 400 having since followed. He seems to have everything to follow in Littler's footsteps.
"He's calm, he takes it all in his stride - win or lose - and gets on with it," his father, Gary, says in conversation with BBC Radio Suffolk. "It's hard when you're watching because you can't do anything when he's on the stage. You're just hoping that he hits the double to win the game. You're a bag of nerves."
Visits from former world champions
Local darts legend Keith Deller, the 1983 BDO world champion has stopped by the Wharfs to take on young darting prodigy Lennon in the past. And the youngster also faced the 2008 Lakeside world champion, Mark Webster.
Wharf himself was not overawed by the notoriety of his opponents however. "I just play the board, not the player," the 10-year-old explains, showing great maturity and a mentality that will surely serve him well in the future.
Having been inspired by Littler's recent successes and having played against multiple former world champions himself already in his young career, Wharf has dreams of taking the biggest title in the sport of darts for himself one day. "I want to win at least three," he concludes determinedly and confidently. "You want to win three or four maybe to actually remember it."
Enjoyed the week off but safe to say it’s good to be back!❤️🎯🏆