Luke Littler has taken the darts world by storm since his dream run to the PDC World Championship final at the Alexandra Palace and his impact continues to be felt in local pubs
A pub chain will hang dart boards in all 171 of its bars after a surge in demand sparked by teenage sensation Luke Littler. Pub Dart Board
The Nuke, 17, exploded into the limelight afte r reaching the final of the PDC World Championship earlier this year – and sparked a massive increase in the sales of darts and dart boards. Now a pub's boss wants boards placed in all his watering holes to cash in on the sport’s popularity.
James Baer, chief executive of Blackpool-based Amber Taverns, said: “Darts doesn’t sound the most glamorous or exciting thing but, with the interest generated by Luke Littler, there has been a real take-up. It’s another reason to come to the pub.”
Luke, from Warrington, Cheshire, was still only 16 when he made it to the world final at London’s Alexandra Palace in January. Since then, Luke has become a PDC darts professional, raking in more than £250,000 so far.
Amber Taverns is not the first business to benefit from his success. Karl Holden, 54, the owner of St Helens Dart Shop where Luke played as a child, has seen takings soar by £50,000 compared with last year.
Karl said: “Luke has captured a generation of new darts players. Kids are thinking ‘I could be like that. Nine out of 10 people who come in mention him.”
Away from pubs, Littler's impact on the darts world continues to be felt when it comes to TV viewing figures. PDC Chairman Eddie Hearn has claimed his emergence has led to darts challenging even the Premier League.
Where will Luke Littler finish in the Premier League? Share your predictions in the comments below
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, he said: “We’re seeing our viewing figures, you know, the one thing is darts is continuously disrespected really, as a sport. The viewing figures are second only to Premier League football and, actually, during the World Championships they were on the same level as Premier League football."
He added: "No other sport, you go and look at the viewing figures for tennis and golf on Sky vs darts."
Littler is currently in Premier League Darts action. He has enjoyed a bright start in his debut season and sits second having collected 18 points. He won his first event in Belfast and will be aiming to add to that this week in Manchester.
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