Luke Littler is being backed to dominate darts after winning the world title aged 17 and rival Nathan Aspinall believes his father’s tough love when he was 12 has helped shape him into a superstar
Luke Littler is being backed to dominate darts after winning the world title aged 17 and rival Nathan Aspinall believes his father’s tough love when he was 12 has helped shape him into a superstar Luke Littler is being backed to dominate darts after winning the world title aged 17 and rival Nathan Aspinall believes his father’s tough love when he was 12 has helped shape him into a superstar
Luke Littler‘s dad once scolded him for losing a match at the age of just 12, according to Nathan Aspinall, who said the tough love had produced an “amazing player” with the 17-year-old now a world champion.
Littler became the youngest player to win the PDC World Darts Championship on Friday after a clinical 7-3 win over three-time winner Michael van Gerwen.
The teenager’s incredible rise has seen him reach last year’s final aged 16 before winning the Premier League Darts in his first season and now he is being backed to dominate the sport.
Phil “The Power” Taylor currently holds the record for most world title wins at 16 and Littler has been tipped to beat his record after winning his first at such a young age.
Now a tale from Aspinall from Littler’s early days has come to light following his world title win, revealing how the youngster’s dad slammed his son for losing to him.
It came despite Littler being only 12 and Aspinall being an established player – but he believes the “hard talk” has helped shape the 17-year-old into the superstar he is now.
“The first time I came across Luke, I think it was in Chester in a tournament and I beat him 4-3,” he said. “I think he was aged four! No, he was around 12 and wow, I just thought ‘who is the kid?’.
“I remember seeing his dad with him and he was dead critical of him because he’d lost. I was thinking mate, he’s 12, and I was in the top 16 in the world at that time and I said ‘give him a break’.
“His dad said ‘no, he needs to learn’ and that hard talk over the years has probably produced one of the best players in our sport. He’s amazing and what else can you say?”
“We’re all [darts players] sick of seeing his face on social media and that’s a credit to him, it’s not just the media who are obsessed with him, he’s bringing them to him.”
“He had an amazing run at the Worlds, then hit a nine-darter against me in Bahrain, then he won a tournament, then he won the first Pro Tour and Euro Tour, so that’s full credit to him.”
Mirror – Sport