Luke Littler defended by ex-PDC chairman Barry Hearn after ‘downturn’ claim
Published: 8:24, 25 Jul 2024
Updated: 8:25, 25 Jul 2024
Luke Littler is a darting genius and criticism after his loss to Michael Van Gerwen is harsh.
That is the thoughts of former PDC chairman Barry Hearn, who has come out in defence of the teenage sensation, who fell to a 10-6 defeat against Michael Van Gerwen at last week’s World Matchplay.
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Van Gerwen defeated Littler in a relatively tight encounter
Van Gerwen defeated Littler in a relatively tight encounterCredit: Rex
Littler faced criticism from the likes of darts pundit Wayne Mardle and semi-finalist James Wade, who suggested it could be the start of a ‘downfall’ in the coming months.
But Hearn believes everyone has an off day, and considering his three-dart average of 101, it is the nature of the game at the elite standard.
“The trouble is when you are dealing with geniuses, which they both are, you set the bar ridiculously high,” Hearn told talkSPORT.com.
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“They can both do magical things, but I have sat down with him once and I really like Luke.
“He’s a very sensible man, and has a good team around him giving him good advice. He’s 17-years-old, and he’s probably earned a million since January.
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“There is only one Luke Littler per million of darts players, one Michael Van Gerwen and one Luke Humphries.
“They will all have days when they are slightly below par. You can’t criticise geniuses, it is wrong.
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” I have to allow him his own freedom, every genius is impossible to handle because they are so original.”
“Luke Littler gets bear 10-6, a couple of moments it could have been the other way around.”
Prior to his tough exit, Littler has had an incredible year since bursting on to the scene as a finalist at the 2024 World Darts Championship.
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He has won several tournaments including in Bahrain and Poland on the Masters circuit.
But he showed his quality consistently in the elite-level Premier League, where he prevailed in the long campaign beating all of the sport’s leading players to the coveted trophy.
In the aftermath of the counter eventual semi-finalist Wade, who has been on the PDC Tour for 20 years, claimed Littler no longer needed to play the sport despite just playing for half a year on the tour.
He told Sportsboom.com : “I heard Glenn Durrant say he’ll [Luke Littler] either dominate for only two years or over 10.
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“I’m not sure which one it’ll be, but I do actually agree with that. Let’s be honest, Luke’s probably earned more money than most dart players, if not al
l dart players, in a year of his existence.
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