Nicholson gives verdict on what it takes to beat Littler for £501k on Netflix

PAUL NICHOLSON reckons pub players have “pretty much no point” entering Netflix’s Beat Luke Littler.

The former Players Championship Finals winner believes anyone hoping to land the life changing £501,000 jackpot will need to produce a 95 average just to stand a chance.

Littler, 19, will face 20 amateur stars on Beat Luke Littler, which airs live on October 30.

Regional qualifying heats will take place in Manchester and London during September before the successful entrants earn a one-leg shootout against the world No1.

Nicholson says the best-of-one-leg format gives rookies a chance, but insists Littler remains a huge favourite.

He told Sporting Life: “We can't underestimate how good the best amateur players in the country are.

“There are some fantastic players out there who have never turned professional for a whole range of reasons and if the format isn’t too long, they will believe they have a chance.

“If Littler is fully prepared and taking it seriously then his opponents will need to be good enough to take out a 12-darter.”

The Asset pointed to Littler's astonishing Blackpool statistics as proof of the standard required.

He added: “Across the whole of the World Matchplay, in which he played 107 legs, all but eight of them were over in 15 darts or less.

“There wasn’t any leg in the entire tournament in which he threw 20 or more darts so that puts it into perspective how good you need to be to win a leg from him.

“And that’s if you want to hold throw. If you want to break him, more often than not you’ll need to do it in three or four visits.

“There's gonna be an off-leg every now and again. There was in the final. There was one off-leg. Just one. And 27 legs were played under immense pressure in the second biggest major of them all.

“What we perceive as good darts is not good to him. He's got a different level.”

Nicholson issues a blunt warning to anyone hoping to land the top prize.

He continued: “Even if he was given 1001 to take out, he could comfortably do that in 30 darts and that would trouble most pub players starting on 501.

“If an amateur doesn’t regularly manage a 90 average then there’s pretty much no point even entering.

“The last time he was beaten in a ranked major, he averaged 97. And that’s an off day.

“When was the last time he lost to a mid-80s? It’s extremely rare.

“So you are going to have to be a 95-average player on your best day.”

Littler is no stranger to the entertainment world either, having already crossed over into mainstream TV since becoming darts’ biggest star.

The Nuke appeared on the reboot of Bullseye alongside England cricket great Freddie Flintoff, before featuring on A League of Their Own and The Jonathan Ross Show.

He has also built a strong following away from the oche through appearances on the Sidecast podcast and streams with YouTube star AngryGinge.

Words: Aaron Nijjar

Image: Taylor Lanning