"Money and attention is great, but it can cause problems": Nicholson urges caution as Luke Littler hype continues

The hype around 16-year-old darting prodigy Luke Littler, shows little signs of dying down. Especially after the Englishman recent took his second MODUS Super Series title of the year. Ex-pro turned darts analyst Paul Nicholson however, is urging caution.

"Luke Littler is undoubtedly one of the most exciting teenage prospects in darts today, but what are the realistic expectations for him at the age of just 16?" 'The Asset' questions in his column for Sporting Life as Littler, having virtually secured a spot at the Alexandra Palace, finds himself in the top 16 of the bookies tournament favourites.

"It’s absolutely crazy to think Luke Littler is as short as 66/1 to win the next World Championship – which is the same price as you can get for the likes of Chris Dobey, Joe Cullen, Ryan Searle and Damon Heta!" Nicholson elaborates. "He’s shorter in places than James Wade, Danny Noppert and the reigning European champion Ross Smith!"

"Everyone above him – and there’s only around a dozen – are the biggest names in the sport! There’s many dangerous, seasoned professionals like Daryl Gurney and Krzysztof Ratajski, Gabriel Clemens, Raymond van Barneveld and Jose de Sousa are much bigger three-figure prices."

"The same happened with Josh Rock last year when he went into his debut World Championship with very little senior experience behind him as one of the shorter priced players," Nicholson recalls before putting Littler's current level into some perspective. "He’s won four titles on the Development Tour this season and his seasonal average is 91.63 after 112 matches. If you compare that to the averages on the Pro Tour, he’d be ranked around 64th position."

"It’s crazy to think we’re even talking about this rather than the logical next step for him which is the PDC World Youth Championship, where he’ll obviously be among the favourites."