“People start saying, 'Oh, it's boring.' It's not boring. It's fantastic to watch” – Russ Bray urges fans to enjoy Luke Littler's success in darts

Luke Littler has been the talk of the town as of late in the darting world. The 19-year-old is coming off the back of a record-breaking World Matchplay campaign where he defeated Gerwyn Price in the final to successfully defend the title. Former PDC darts referee Russ Bray has told fans to enjoy watching Littler in his pomp while admitting that he many not be completely unbeatable in the upcoming Netflix show he is starring in.

Named 'Beat Luke Littler', the world number one will be the centre of attention once more on the oche as he challenges 20 amateur darts players in a single leg of 501. If they can defeat Littler, then they get a lucrative £501,000.

It is a tall order, especially with Littler in the form he is currently in. The World Matchplay was a ridiculous show of darts. He averaged more than 109 in all five matches while conjuring up a tournament average of 111.04, trouncing Phil Taylor's prior record from 2010.

The work does not stop here. Littler will be hoping to secure all the major titles in 2026. Having won the PDC World Darts Championship, Winmau World Masters, UK Open, Premier League Darts, World Cup of Darts and most recently the World Matchplay, there is still a long way to go but he is the overwhelming favourite in all those tournaments as more history awaits.

This new Netflix show starring Littler just showcases how far the sport has come in such a short space of time, something Bray pinpointed when speaking to talkSPORT.

"Like you say, it started off in the Eric Bristow days, then Phil Taylor took over for 20-odd years, with a bit of Raymond van Barneveld thrown in there for a couple or three years where he dominated as well," he said. "But Littler—goodness me—the boy has taken it to another level again."

Bray's last gig on the PDC was the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship final. While Luke Humphries won it, Littler came away as the main talking point after his incredible run as a 16-year-old. "I called that World Championship final when he played Luke Humphries in 2024, my last one, and I turned around and said, 'Let's see what he's like in two years. That'll give you a proper judgement on just how good he is.'"

Turns out he is quite good. "Goodness me, he's more than proved that. He's only got to win the European Championship in October and he'll have won every major title there is. He's averaging 111.53 at times, which is just incredible."

With this greatness does have its negative sides at times. Fans seemed to take a disliking to the two-time world champion following a spat on stage with Gian van Veen in a Premier League Darts match. Littler was seen to be in the wrong and for the rest of the event was on the end of vicious booing and jeering.

While he won the title, it was an ordeal he would never want to go through again, very emotional when lifting the trophy as he unveiled intentions of possibly quitting. Fortunately, the hostile setting once common when 'The Nuke' was on stage has subsided.

"What we tend to do is build sportsmen up," Bray explained. "Look at Frank Bruno. Poor old Frank had two or three unsuccessful world title fights and everybody loved him. The minute he became world champion, people suddenly wanted to find as much dirt as they could on him and knock him down.

"That's what tends to happen. When you've got someone who's successful and winning all the time, people start saying, 'Oh, it's boring.' It's not boring. It's fantastic to watch. Praise the lad for what he is, because he is an absolutely wonderful talent."

Going back to the Netflix show, Bray was confident that Littler would not secure a clean sweep against all of them, having the feeling that he could come unstuck against one of the amateurs at some point.

"Yeah, 100%. I'm not saying Luke won't beat most of them—he probably will—but I don't think he'll necessarily go 20-0 against all 20 players," he admitted.

"The odds and percentages say somebody will have a chance. There are kids out there aged nine, ten and eleven throwing nine-dart legs. If you've got someone like that up against Luke, then he's going to be in trouble. It also depends who throws first. That's another important aspect."

Another factor is that it is live on TV and all the pressure it comes with that. "Goodness me, yes. You've both worked in the spotlight yourselves, so you know what it's like to perform live. You're under a lot of pressure. If you're not used to that, then it's a completely different aspect of the game. So I'm sure Luke will do very, very well."