"I've never feared him, but Luke Littler has an aura... He's bullying players" - Michael Smith shows admiration for rapid rise of 'The Nuke'

Michael Smith has already gained enormous admiration for Luke Littler over the course of the latter's short period in the PDC. 'The Nuke' was virtually unknown to the general public 12 months ago, but is now considered one of the sport's biggest superstars.

Smith was a guest on the latest episode of William Hill's YouTube show Club 501, which is presented by former darter Wayne Mardle. There, 'BullyBoy' shared his admiration for the teenage darting sensation. "Luke Littler has proven he’s not just a kid, he’s an established player," the former world champion said with some awe. "I’ve never feared him, I don’t know if other players have. Some players do think, ‘I’ve got Luke, maybe I can get a couple of legs and snatch it somewhere,’ but I don’t think the big players think like that. The likes of Michael van Gerwen won’t be scared of him, but he has got an aura around him at the moment."

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As an example, Smith points to the final of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. “Martin Lukeman was the same in the Grand Slam final. He just looked like he was happy to be there. It shouldn’t be that way, people should want to go for it against him and smash him off the board, but no one wants to do that at the moment," Smith explains. "He’s bullying players with his one-dart bull finishes and double doubles.”

For Smith, the World Darts Championship begins on Thursday, Dec. 19, with a duel against Kevin Doets or Noa-Lynn van Leuven. Last year, 'Bullyboy' faced Doets and then the Englishman narrowly managed to win 3-2 in sets after a thriller. “Walking out as the reigning World Champion was a weird feeling,” Smith recalled. “Being back at the Alexandra Palace and seeing your face on the wall, you’re walking on hoping it’s not the last time you’re called the ‘reigning and defending’ World Champion, because if you lose then you’re the ‘former’ World Champion and I’ve got no time for that title. I had all that going on in my mind, which is why I think I started slowly against Kevin Doets.

Another factor was that Smith was already playing on opening night. "I didn’t want to get beat. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the tournament watching it from home – my Christmas would’ve been ruined!" he concludes. "If you win your first game, you have a really good Christmas and you can actually watch it on TV. The worst bit for me, though, would’ve been being called the ‘former’ World Champion.”

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