Luke Littler has admitted money would be the main factor in him staying in darts long enough to overhaul Phil Taylor’s tally of 16 world titles. The 18-year-old picked up the first of what will surely be many World Championships as he trounced Michael van Gerwen at the Alexandra Palace in January.
Littler has continued that form by winning the UK Open while he sits eight points clear at the top of the Premier League ahead of week nine in Berlin. Given his age and immense talent, there has been talk about whether he can surpass Taylor’s achievements in the sport.
The Power didn’t win his first world title until the age of 29, while he was 52 when he won his last in 2013. Taylor also won an incredible 16 World Matchplay titles. While time is on Littler’s side, the competitiveness of darts today and whether he can stay motivated to keep playing for another 20 or 30 years are potential hurdles.
“There’s a record there to be broken, but it’s going to take some doing,” he said during his appearance on Stick to Football with Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane and Jill Scott.
“He also won the World Matchplay 16 times, so he’s won two of the big majors 16 times – it’ll take some doing. It [the competition] is a lot better now. You still had Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow – it was still a good field, but nowadays, I think Phil would struggle.”
He added: “Phil Taylor was my idol. If I can be bothered to stay in darts for that time, I could maybe beat his record. He was 52 when he won his 16th world title. If I want to, then I will.”
On what would keep him going for that amount of time, he confessed: “Probably just the money, to be fair.”
Littler has transcended darts over the last 18 months, leading to more youngsters taking up the game than ever. He added: “I’ve got my own academy set up. There are loads of different academies in Warrington, and up and down the country that have opened, and yeah, I’ve played a big part.”
The Nuke is also keen to make time for his young fans, adding: “If you take a picture with a kid, you can make their day, make their year.”
Meanwhile, amid an exhaustive schedule, Littler admitted he barely practises. He said: “Some people like to practice a lot, but I barely practice during the week.
“I was being honest the other week in my interview about not picking up a dart from the previous tournament. We have the Premier League on a Thursday and usually, we’re then flying somewhere on the Friday for an international tournament, so you’re playing Thursday to Sunday.
“On Monday and Tuesday, we tend to have pro tours and then back to the Premier League on a Thursday. My practice is playing in these tournaments every week.”
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