"There will be envy" towards Luke Littler from other players according to Barry Hearn: "'Littlermania' is spreading everywhere"

Luke Littler reached the final of the 2024 World Darts Championship early this year as a 16-year-old debutant. Since then, "The Nuke" has become a true superstar and the entire darts world is benefiting from that.

For PDC president Barry Hearn, Littler was by no means an unknown when he made his World Championship debut last year. "We've been watching his progress since he was about seven. He was on our radar, but we never anticipated what would happen. The next thing we know 'Littlermania' is spreading everywhere," Hearn told BBC Sport.

In 12 months, Littler's followers on Instagram have increased from 4,000 to 1.3 million. Commercial sponsors include a clothing line, breakfast cereal and train company, and he is set to appear on a new edition of the ITV darts program Bullseye. Thanks to his success, Littler darts, boards, cabinets and shirts are being purchased in large numbers.

Littler's success has also led more and more children to play darts. "We've seen so many inquiries from around the world, it's been such a boom. It took us 14 years to get 1,600 members and within 12 months we have over 3,000, and waiting lists," said Junior Darts Corporation president Steve Brown. There are 115 special groups offering youngsters equipment, tournaments and a place to develop, with courses in Australia, Bulgaria, Greece, Norway, USA and Mongolia. "When I played darts as a child, I was quite embarrassed to tell my friends what my hobby was. All these kids playing darts now are pretty popular at school. It's a bit rock 'n roll and recognised as a cool thing to do."

Darts has become increasingly popular thanks in part to Littler. Hearn has long dreamed of tournaments in Saudi Arabia, but the alcohol ban has so far proved an insurmountable hurdle. "They will change their rules in the next 12 months probably for certain areas having alcohol, and we'll take darts there and have a party in Saudi," he says. "When I got involved in darts, the total prize money was something like £300,000 for the year. This year it will go to £20m. I expect in five years' time, we'll be playing for £40m."

Besides Littler, world champion and world number one Luke Humphries is the other player of the moment. "Luke Humphries is another fabulous player who is going to be around for years. Sport is a very brutal world. It is about winning and claiming the high ground. There will be envy around," Hearn concludes.