debtFive days after beating world number one Luke Humphries to win the Premier League Darts title. Sensational nine-dart finish At the O Hall in London, 14,000 fans were in a frenzy.2 Arena’s Luke Littler faced a much more relentless foe on Tuesday afternoon: Manhattan rush-hour traffic.
Media crews who had been milling around New York City all day promoting this weekend’s U.S. Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden created chaos when the driver of Little’s black Cadillac Escalade ESV went to the wrong place for Ariel Helwani’s live studio appearance. The MMA Hour PodcastThe show’s genial host struggles on air. Finally arriving at his Financial District offices nearly 40 minutes late, the 17-year-old sensation known as Luke the Nook slides silently into a chair on set. His entourage, including his parents, girlfriend and best friend, crowds into his dressing room to watch. They’re all painfully aware of the same lesson New York newbies learn early on: The subway is always faster.
Jetlagged but gradually warming up, Little chats for half an hour with Helwani, a popular combat sports commentator who has become a darts fan over the past year. He gives his opinions on everything from Nando’s (“overrated”) to his beloved Manchester United (“Ten Hag should do another season”). He hints at an entry into influencer boxing, even mentioning TikTok user Bevo, who slurped potatoes on camera, and wholeheartedly entertains the fantastic suggestion that Helwani face Phil Taylor in a one-off for Netflix. Little describes him as a sporting idol. We’re at the penultimate stop of a gruelling day of press appointments that began on November 24th. CNN hit There’ll be a photo shoot with Flaunt Magazine at 8 a.m., a press conference at MSG and a visit to Bleacher Report’s midtown offices before Barstool and WWE on Thursday.
Until Wednesday’s traffic woes, Littler’s first trip to New York had been going without a hitch. Since arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport from Manchester on Monday afternoon, he’s been relaxing at the Times Square Renaissance Hotel, just a short walk from the Gardens. As we spoke between stops during Wednesday’s marathon, the Warrington native heartily praised New York’s food scene. McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and 99 Cent Fresh Pizza are his three favorite meals since arriving in New York. He also reflected on a full day of sightseeing on Tuesday, which included stops at the Brooklyn Bridge, the Twin Towers Memorial, and the USS Intrepid. “For a lot of people, this is a once in a lifetime thing,” Littler told me. “It’s like coming here and seeing the Statue of Liberty and all that stuff. For me, it’s like a great dream come true.”
That dream begins Friday night when Little makes his U.S. debut at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden, headlining a 16-star field that includes Humphries, current champion Michael van Gerwen, former world champions Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross. “It’s just crazy when I think about the other guys that have played here,” he said, rattling off the names of his two favorites, Conor McGregor and Anthony Joshua, despite different results.
It’s been a few years since Littler started playing. At 18 months On board My father bought Littler won a darts match at a pound shop. This time last May, he was still attending secondary school at Padgate Academy in the town halfway between Merseyside and Greater Manchester, where he grew up and still lives. But his world championship debut at Christmas and fairytale run to the final at Alexandra Palace catapulted him to British sporting prominence and has since risen to 25th in the Professional Darts Corporation world rankings. Even before his emotional Premier League victory last Thursday, Littler had been a central figure in darts promotion, beating the rival who had beaten him in December to become the youngest player ever to win a major tournament and collect the £275,000 ($350,450) first prize.
Littler’s profile at home has led to growing reports that organisers may take the once unthinkable step of relocating the world championships’ long-standing venue, Ally Pally – a 3,200-capacity venue in north London that is considered the sport’s home – to a larger site to cope with demand. Littler tells me he’s not only open to the change, but is willing to go further afield. “Can you imagine going to Saudi Arabia to play darts?” he says with a smile. “I know I’ve been to Bahrain [for a January event]but think about a World Championship in Saudi Arabia.” Asked if he feels a responsibility to grow the sport, which originated in the UK, Littler echoed the company’s line. “The PDC will of course change things if they want to,” he says. “If we get numbers overseas or elsewhere they will do what is best for the sport and I am confident the players will follow whatever direction they choose.”
The rigors of the Premier League circuit, which a PDC spokesman described to me as a rock tour that stretches for 17 consecutive Thursdays between February and May, have taken a toll on Little. Little says the biggest challenge has been getting used to the rigors of travel, as well as the increasingly frequent days of Wednesdays as the organisation looks to capitalise on Little’s popularity.
Littler has an easy calm that may be a liability in today’s noisy news economy, but which seems to be his most valuable asset, the foundation of his extraordinary nerve. Asked if he has developed any routines or superstitions to keep him confident and focused, Littler recites a surprisingly simple one. (“I just do what I do,” he says. “I just get in the zone.”) It’s reminiscent of what David Foster Wallace said about the genius of elite athletes: 30 years ago“The real, much veiled answer to the question of what goes through the mind of a great player when he stands in the middle of a roaring hostile crowd and takes a game-winning free throw is probably: nothing.”
After making his Garden debut in the semi-finals and finals on Saturday night, it’s time for a much-needed break. Littler and company gleefully recount stories of his fourth visit to Orlando, the place he first visited as an impressionable teenager in 2017 for WrestleMania 33, a return visit to Universal Studios and a long-awaited first trip to Disney World. After that, it’s back to work, with dates in Poland and France looming. Hard work, to be sure, but better than working.
“I just take it all in stride,” he says. “I’m just a 17-year-old boy who enjoys playing darts.”
