Littler is saving Britain’s pubs – despite the fact that he isn’t sufficiently old to purchase a pint

On Mar 4, 2024

The ‘Luke Littler effect’ has seen a serious increase for pubs providing prospects the possibility to play darts.

Figures have revealed an enormous spike for boozers that includes basic pub video games for the reason that 17-year-old thrower sensationally reached the World Championship ultimate. Sales at bar chains Flight Club and Electric Shuffle jumped by a whopping 28% final 12 months, reveal newly revealed monetary outcomes.

And regardless of the rising star not even being sufficiently old to purchase booze, he’s being credited with serving to the struggling business to buck the pattern. Bosses at operators Red Engine plan to increase their 33 areas with new Flight Club watering holes in Liverpool and Oxford and the most recent Electric Shuffle set to open in Manchester.

The British agency and its companions final 12 months launched two new Scottish venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and already runs websites in Denver, Colorado, and Freemantle, Australia. Its first Flight Club darts saloon opened in Shoreditch, east London, in 2015 and is credited with sparking a pattern for ‘competitive socialising’ – or just ‘pub games’ as they had been as soon as generally identified.

Unseeded then-16-year-old Luke ‘The Nuke’ shocked the sports activities world by nearly being topped world champion in January regardless of barely being out of faculty. He has been credited with drawing the sport’s largest TV viewing figures for many years, in addition to inspiring a brand new technology to fall in love with arrows.

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Pubs are thriving due to the 17-year-old
(Image: Getty Images)

Simon Tate, of Darts Academy North East in Blyth, runs a weekly class for youthful gamers and has seen a surge in curiosity for the reason that begin of the 12 months as the game beneficial properties reputation. He mentioned: “This is probably the Luke Littler effect.

“Not everyone can play football, not everyone’s a great swimmer, but I think everyone of all ages and all abilities can throw darts.” Red Engine chief monetary officer Ross Shepley-Smith mentioned: “As we head towards the 10-year anniversary of the first Flight Club it’s incredibly rewarding to see the business grow from strength to strength.”

Littler misplaced out within the UK Open on the weekend
(Image: PA)

He added: “All our sites hit new sales records in 2023 and our newest Scottish additions to the estate far exceeded our expectations.
“With a pipeline of eight more locations planned for 2024, we look forward to continuing to grow our brands, but more importantly remain focused on our mission to make groups of friends everywhere ridiculously happy.”