LITTLER WARNED TO TAKE BREAK
25/03/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
LUKE LITTLER has been warned he should take a break from darts to avoid burnout.
‘The Nuke’ has won FIVE major titles in the past 10 months.
Teen sensation Littler became the youngest World champion at just 17 this year.
Littler is also the reigning Premier League champion.
World No. 2 Littler has continued to shine in the Premier League this term, too.
The Warrington thrower has picked up 21 points via three nightly victories to sit six clear of Luke Humphries at the summit.
Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price make up the rest of the top four, with Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting trailing in their wake.
But darting icon Dennis Priestley reckons Littler would benefit from stepping away from the oche amid the relentless schedule.
Priestly, 74, said: “Luke Littler says he didn’t pick up his darts for a week, but he probably doesn’t have the time to practise.
“They have such a full schedule with midweek and weekend competitions usually, he has been racing around hotels in different cities and he probably doesn’t have the time.
“He is playing so often that might mean he doesn’t need to practise, but he does need to be careful he doesn’t burn out.
“Maybe at some point he will need to take a break.”
Priestley then paid Littler a huge compliment by saying he’s the best darts player to never be world No 1.
He added to OLBG: “You can say that Luke Littler is the best player in history never to have been world number one – but that is certain to happen this year.
“The money list being over two years is what is stopping him at the moment, he’d be top if it was one year.
“That’s the only reason he isn’t top and it’s now only a matter of time.”
Meanwhile, though Littler has been shining, Van Gerwen has struggled.
It recently emerged the Dutchman has struggled with illness since January, which may explain his inconsistent displays.
And Priestley believes Van Gerwen will struggle to keep pace with Littler in the coming weeks, months and years ahead.
The two-time world champ concluded: “Van Gerwen won’t get to the level he needs to be able to compete with Littler.
“He has had an incredible career and he will still keep on practising to try and get back to that level, but Littler has age on his side and looks like he is finding it easy at times.
“Van Gerwen can still win events but when it comes to matching the level that Luke Littler is showing I think he has no hope.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
