Phil Taylor warns Luke Litter against bad food habits during World Championship: "Never ate before I went on. It keeps you sharp and alert"

The 2025 World Darts Championship will kick off at the iconic Alexandra Palace on December 15th. Luke Littler, last year's surprise package and losing finalist, starts this year one of the top favourites. The Nuke has been sent a word of warning from the great Phil Taylor however. 

Littler has completed his first full year on the Pro Tour in 2024. The 17-year-old Englishman's wins include the Premier League Darts and the Grand Slam of Darts. He is therefore put forward by many people as the top favorite for the upcoming Worlds. However, Taylor, still the unthreatened all time record holder with 16 world titles, sees some possible pitfalls for Littler. "It’s a funny time of the year (the World Championship) as the weather is dropping. The temperature is always cold and you get all of the viruses coming out, the colds, the flu and everything," Taylor says in conversation with Casino Reviews. 

Taylor himself remembers a special incident when he captured his last world title in 2013. "My friend gave me some antibiotics off the doctor and that was when I won my 16th world title,” he recalled. “It fell on New Year’s Day so we had a few days off so I got the antibiotics in my system and was fine from then."

There has been criticism from some quarters over Littler's diet. For example, he celebrated his victories in his debut campaign at Ally Pally last year with late night trips to the kebab. After his Grand Slam of Darts success, Martin Lukeman, the opponent in the final, lamented the fact that his opponent performed so well despite the fact that his snacks consisted only of fast food. Taylor, himself was forced to change his own health and fitness regime during the latter years of his career  in an effort to extend his time at the top. As such, he also advises Littler that consuming junk food during competitions could be counterproductive.

“I was always hungry and never ate before I went on. It keeps you sharp and alert. Two or three hours before I played, I would never eat; I would have something after I had finished,” he explains. “I would eat whatever was open (post-match), a Chinese, an Indian or whatever was available really. We would sometimes make some sandwiches when we got back.”