Hundreds of people in Merseyside cheered on the 17 year-old in the final of the PDC World Darts Championship last night
Darts shop and academies have been inundated with new fans following Luke Littler’s success(Image: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire)
Luke Littler was praised as a “good kid” as he won the PDC World Darts Championship final. The 17 year-old from Warrington defeated Michael van Gerwen in the final yesterday evening.
The ECHO was at the SIDAC Social Club last night as hundreds of St Helens locals turned up to cheer on their hero. Luke may have been born in Warrington but he trained by Karl Holden at the St Helens Darts Academy.
Karl, 55, who also runs the St Helens Darts Shop, was probably relieved to spend some time away from his business, located on Folds Lane, at the watch party last night. Since Luke’s unbelievable rise last year, where he also reached the WDC final, Karl has been flooded with requests with children and their parents in the area who are keen to learn more about the sport.
Speaking to the ECHO before the final, Karl said: “A lot of kids have stopped playing football and have started playing darts. They’d rather get a set of darts than go to Blackpool.
“We’re past capacity and have loads more queries. The shop is struggling (to meet demand) and that’s not going to stop. My sales to people under 21 have gone up 400%.
“We’re going to be opening up a bigger shop in St Helens town centre soon. It needs to come. You can’t understand darts by just buying them online.”
Karl Holden from St Helens Darts Shop(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
This was seen on Thursday evening, when fans queued down the road ahead of the semi-final to get their hands on darts and dart boards ahead of the semi-final. Karl met Luke as an 11 year-old when he came to the academy, and a year later was one of his best students.
Though Luke doesn’t have as much time these days to see Karl, he remembers one recent moment which summed up the joy he’s brought to the town. He said: “He still pops into the shop a sometimes with his mates.
“Once, he was getting some darts for them and some kid came walking up wearing a Luke Littler shirt. We see more kids wearing his name than any other shirt.
“There was nothing better than seeing the kid, gobsmacked, looking at Luke. Luke is a good kid, really down to earth. We won’t be seeing much of him though because he’s so in demand.”
Karl adds it’s not just in St Helens where darts academies are fighting to keep up with increased pressure. He said: “There’s loads of others. There’s one in Warrington which is at capacity. It’s the same in Southport and Liverpool. It’s all down to Luke.”
Karl argued that Luke’s achievements outside of the championships shouldn’t be overlooked either. He said: “Luke’s already won the Premier League Darts earlier this year which is the hardest to win. Only the best players do it and he beat Luke Humphries in the final.”