Is Luke Littler’s rise to greatness a guaranteed good thing for darts? | Jonathan Liew
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The 17-year-old could reign supreme for years but at some point his unassailability risks dulling the sport’s edges. You know what? I reckon this is the year Luke Littler could finally be ready for the Premier League. Obviously we all still want to wrap him up in cotton wool. Obviously we’re all still deeply concerned about how the attention and pressure could affect his game. But my bet – if the evidence of the last 12 months is any guide – is that he might just be able to handle it.
![[Jonathan Liew]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2019/11/25/Jonathan_Liew.png?width=180&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Premier League champion, Grand Slam champion, a slew of victories across eight different countries in the Pro Tour, the European Tour and the World Series. Nine-dart finishes falling out of his sleeves. Had he not also gone on to win his first world championship at the age of 17, we would still be toasting one of the most remarkable full debut seasons ever seen in the sport’s professional era.
![[Luke Littler has showed remarkable poise during his first proper season in professional darts.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f4f6a63133e46c8e84a085f8bac1faf84c266607/2_142_2121_1273/master/2121.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Now, after beating Michael van Gerwen in Friday’s final, Littler talks of bridging the gap to Phil Taylor, a mere 15 world titles ahead of him, and maybe you think that’s realistic and maybe you don’t, but either way it’s a debate worth having. Imagine what more he might have been able to achieve if – as Gary Anderson so acridly warned this time last year – the media hadn’t been busy ruining him.
![[Luke Littler becomes the youngest world champion in darts history – video]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1e8e75731efddc713b3da6b2ab635787c15d40e0/0_316_4444_2499/4444.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
For Littler, who looked utterly exhausted as he posed with the trophy on Friday night, there will be the briefest of respites before the 12-month treadmill starts again. In the short term the milestones will keep piling up: a first Premier League title defence, a first Masters appearance at the end of this month, an England debut in June as he and Luke Humphries take on the World Cup of Darts (yep, good luck to everyone else there).
