Darts sensation Luke Littler has been told to tread carefully away from the oche with the 17-year-old’s profile set to sky-rocket again at the World Championship
Luke Littler has been urged to sidestep ‘sharks’ eager to take advantage of his fame.
After his scintillating run to the 2024 World Championship final and winning tournaments like the Premier League and the Grand Slam, the 17-year-old is one of the hottest properties in British sport. Littler has won more than £1million in prize money alone over the last 12 months as well as signing some lucrative commercial deals, making him one of the richest teenagers in the country.
With numerous parties wanting a piece of The Nuke, the youngster has been advised to tread carefully ahead of the 2025 tournament, which begins on Sunday. The warning comes from darts maverick Bobby George, otherwise known as the ‘King of Bling’ for his penchant of walking to the stage bedecked in jewellery during his heyday in the 1970s and 80s.
“The reality is, it’s hard for people to expect someone like Luke to behave in exactly the same way he did before Ally Pally last year because he turned into a superstar at that tournament,” George, 78, exclusively told Mirror Sport via Gambling Zone.
“His life changed and he couldn’t probably do all the normal things he used to do. Money and fame, it can be awkward for some people. People can change.
“My advice to him would be to simply keep his feet on the ground and do exactly what he’s done all year: Play darts and don’t get involved in people saying, ‘Sign this contract, do this’ because there’s a lot of sharks out there.
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“When the bees are about, the sharks come out. Luke needs to be very careful who he signs contracts with and who he has around him guiding his career. If his management haven’t been involved with darts, it can be difficult. You need the experience to guide someone.”
Littler is managed after by ZXF Sports Management, who also look after top players like Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey. George added: “The people around him should be focussed on him becoming the best possible darts player he can be, not earning loads of money out of him.
“Just keep your feet on the ground, don’t grow up too quickly. You can go from a hero to zero overnight in darts. If he keeps his head down, has the right people around him and stays dedicated to the game, he’s going to make a lot of more money in his career that boy.”
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