Luke Littler is the talk of the darts world as he prepares to face Michael van Gerwen in the PDC World Darts Championship final, 12 months after he lost to Luke Humphries in the showpiece event
Luke Littler’s former darts coach has revealed that he had to “get rid of” the World Championship finalist before the 17-year-old became a household name.
Littler is back in another Alexandra Palace finale, just a year after losing to Luke Humphries on his tournament debut, and is now set to face off against three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen tonight (January 3).
His rise has been nothing short of extraordinary, but those who knew him during his youth matches felt he was destined for greatness, even if it meant being booted from his club. When asked by the BBC how he managed Littler as an emerging star, Karl Holden of St Helens Darts Academy said: “It might sound bad but we sort of got rid of him out of the academy.
“He knows we didn’t mean that in a nasty way, but it was more like ‘Don’t come here no more you’re just too good’. When he was 13 he was just too good for the Under-21s. He was never going to achieve anything there so we were saying ‘Go and beat all the men in the world’. And that’s what he’s doing, hopefully tonight, every one of them.”
When asked what makes a champion at the highest level, Holden explained: “You need bottle, you need composure, you need to put the hours in as well. He has spent thousands of hours losing against proper seasoned competitors in darts and county players.”
“You need to learn to win and to win you have got to learn to lose, and when you lose you don’t like it. That’s when you start winning.
“If you know you have to hit that double, if you’ve not got the confidence then [you’re] done. You need to hit that double or you won’t hit it in darts, you simply won’t do it.”
Holden, who has been coaching Littler since he was nine, confessed it would be a “dream” to see the Warrington prodigy crowned as world champion at Ally Pally, reports the Express.
He added: “Hopefully he can go that one better this year because I do believe he is better than last year,” said Holden, brimming with anticipation for the upcoming showdown. Everybody can’t wait for it because I think them two are the two best players of this tournament.
“Every dart player has a dream to be world champion but I think I’m well past that stage now so I think for our committee, [at St Helens Darts Academy] it’s a dream for us to produce a world champion, I don’t think there can be a better feeling than that. “
Littler is now gunning for the sport’s ultimate accolade – the Sid Waddell Trophy. His former coach has tipped The Nuke to triumph over Van Gerwen on Friday night, and Littler is aware that he has the full support of his old club.