Luke Littler’s emergence has seen the popularity of darts soar over the past 12 months with one of his rivals admitting every player is now feeling the benefit
Nathan Aspinall admits the exploits of Luke Littler has allowed the profile of darts to soar with the players now reaping the rewards.
The teenage sensation burst onto the scene at the World Darts Championship 12 months ago, eventually finishing as runner-up having arrived as an unknown commodity. He’s in the hunt again this year with his talent and personality leading the sport’s renaissance.
The emergence of Littler, who is part of the same management group as Aspinall, has helped the the individuals within the sport with interest firmly on the rise. Aspinall now admits it is rare for him to go out these days without being stopped and asked for a selfie.
He has compared it to the same nationwide attention Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Alex Higgins and Tony Knowles captured when snooker enjoyed a boom time around 40 years ago – another sport that was managed by Barry Hearn.
Aspinall said: “Being in the spotlight is tough. I do believe we are the snooker players of the 80s. Snooker players in the 80s were hanging around with the likes of Guns N’ Roses. Everyone wants a piece of a darts player now. Everyone loves darts and, yes, it comes from Luke Littler. But Luke Littler is a 17-year-old kid.
“The other lads, myself, Michael Smith, Gezzy Price, they are the ones they can get close up to. I might be out in Manchester on a Friday night and, oh my God, it’s mental. It’s unbelievable but you’ve got to look at it in a positive light. And think, ‘Wow, darts is that popular’. I never thought I was a celebrity until this year. But I am.
“And people love meeting me, love having pictures. What Littler and Luke Humphries have done over the last 12 months, it’s been unbelievable. Every single darts player I know in the top 16, we thank them for what they’re doing because we are going to achieve and make a lot of money.
“Do I know any rock stars? Well, I’m good mates with the guys from Blossoms. I went to school with them. I think the only difference is the fact it’s all about social media nowadays, isn’t it?”
The sport’s bosses are very much looking to cash in on the boom around the sport. Sky Sports are at risk of losing their coverage of the World Darts Championship as Netflix and Amazon Prime join the race to secure TV rights for the annual showpiece. The current tournament is the last festive tournament at Alexandra Palace covered by Sky’s existing seven-year deal.
According to the Telegraph, Sky are prepared to double their rights fee to a sum in the region of £25million, but that is likely to fall well short of Hearn’s demands. Earlier this year he warned Sky that they would need to “up the ante” to secure rights in the future – valuing a new deal at approximately £45m per year. That is over three times more than the existing contract.