PDC chief Hearn says new talent to rival Littler 'blows his mind'

PDC president Barry Hearn says the next young stars to challenge Luke Littler ‘blows his mind’.

The Nuke’s glitzy Netflix show a week ago highlighted the next crop of talent coming into the sport.

Jayden Walker, just 14, lost out to Littler in the event while 16-year-old Renfrew teenager Mitchell Lawrie never got a shot after Fallon Sherrock won her leg over the World Champion.

In recent weeks Archie Self, 17, has become the youngest player to hit a nine-darter on TV and qualified for the World Championship.

Hearn said on talkSPORT: “The talent that’s coming into darts blows my mind. We’re in such a good place. I heard someone the other day, ‘isn’t it getting a bit boring because Luke Littler wins everything?’

“You think, he’s only been here for two years, he hasn’t exactly dominated. He’s not yet, he may well be.

“The man is a great player, but the talent (coming through), and Archie is one of, I can probably reel off a dozen, that just are going to be knocking on the door come Q-School in January.

“They are going to go and want to get their card and these kids are not going to be denied.”

Hearn also believes Lawrie, who turned 16 last week, would have been confident of success against his rival on the Beat Luke Littler Netflix show.

He added: “He must have fancied his chances. It was the luck of the draw really for him because Mitchell Lawrie is a great player.

“We’re looking at him to be the next Luke Littler, can you believe? Luke’s not 20 yet is he, he’s coming up, we’re already trying to replace him. That’s the world we’re living in.

“But Mitchell Lawrie was in group four, the highest-seeded group and once every four balls, one of them played. He just didn’t come out of the hat too early.

“He was left in the hat and I bet his management and him were thinking because Littler looks as if he was tiring a little bit during that, he wasn’t throwing his best darts.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.