HEARN WARNS LITTLER
12/03/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
EDDIE HEARN has warned Luke Littler that his immense popularity won’t last forever.
PDC chairman Hearn believes Littler will eventually have to cope with becoming unpopular at some point in his career.
Littler shot to fame as a 16-year-old outsider at last year’s World championship – where he made it all the way to the final.
‘The Nuke’ lost to Luke Humphries but 12 months on he did become the sport’s youngest world champion aged just 17.
The teen sensation has also picked up FIVE majors in a span of 10 months and had a remarkable 19-match win streak on tour ended yesterday (Tuesday) at the Players Championship Five.
Hearn described the young player as “probably the most instantly recognisable face in sport in the UK” right now.
He told SunSport: “I mean, there isn’t anyone that doesn’t know who Luke Littler is or what he’s doing right now.
“He won again in the Premier League in Brighton, and he’s just going from strength to strength.
“I mean, he’s such an impressive young man in the sense that he’s performing under the utmost of pressure and keeping his head as well.
“So he’s got a great team of people around him and he’s on a meteoric rise.”
World No. 2 Littler claimed the UK Open for the first time earlier this year dispatching 10-time major winner James Wade 11-2 in the final.
Last weekend, Littler successfully defended his Belgian Open title with an 8-5 victory against Mike De Decker.
The Warrington thrower has also made a strong start to his Premier League title defence, already securing two nightly wins.
His consistent performances have cemented his status as darts’ brightest young talent.
Despite Littler’s current popularity, however, Hearn warned that this won’t necessarily continue throughout his career.
He said: “I’m sure there’s gonna be a time where Luke Littler’s not liked like he is now but that really comes with success and that’s just the rollercoaster of fame.
“So like I said, he seems to have a very level head on his shoulders and the PDC and support team do a great job in making sure that he’s prepared for what comes.”
Littler returns to action today (Wednesday) at the Players Championship Six in Leicester.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
