Luke Littler warned about money months after darts icon claimed it’s ‘gone to his head’

Luke Littler will be the star attraction at the PDC World Darts Championship, but this icon has warned the teenager to ‘keep his feet on the ground’

Luke Littler has been advised to stay grounded by Bobby George after Dennis Priestley feared that fame and fortune may have gotten to his head.

Despite only being introduced to the big stage at Alexandra Palace a year ago, Littler is now hurtling towards the upcoming tournament as favourite, with an impressive £1 million in career earnings and a collection of titles including the Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts, and World Series Finals.

However, 78-year-old George, a two-time world finalist himself, fears that such rapidly-achieved fame could end up being detrimental to Littler’s future.

These concerns come months after another darting legend, Priestley, expressed his concern that the 17-year-old prodigy had let the glory on the back of his achievements and Ally Pally final cloud his judgement.

“A young man like that, earning that money… I’m sure he wants to spend it on the things that we all did,” George admitted. “Nice car, nice clothes – sometimes it can be difficult when all of those things come at once.

“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. His life changed, and he probably couldn’t 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.

“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 more money in his career, that boy.”

George’s cautionary words follow two-time world champion Priestley’s similar concerns expressed earlier in July about phenom Littler, reports the Express.

“It’s a possibility that the money and fame could’ve gone to Luke’s head,” Priestley remarked to OLBG.‌ “He may just look at his bank account in the morning and think ‘oh crikey, there’s £1million here. Where did that come from?'”

As Littler eyes the possibility of becoming a teenage world champion, he could be looking at a whopping £500,000 prize, which would only add to the mounting expectations and his financial assets. However, he’s got a tough first match ahead against either Fallon Sherrock or Ryan Meikle before possibly facing top-seeded players like Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall in his quarter.