Gretton in Northamptonshire only boasts a 1,240 population but has eight different darts teams and its own league, after being inspired by the heroic antics of Luke Littler
An entire village has taken up darts – due to the ‘Luke Littler effect’. Gretton only boasts a population of 1,240. But the Northamptonshire outpost has eight different darts teams – and its own league.
Two teams feature youngsters who had never played the game before. All have been inspired by the antics of teen superstar Littler who earlier this month won his second successive world championship.
The 19-year-old pocketed the sport’s first ever £1m prize for lifting the trophy at the Ally Pally. And he has signed a sponsorship deal worth £20m. Luke’s record-breaking has inspired nearly all the kids in the village, near Corby, to hit the oche.
They are set to battle it out against their neighbours to be crowned Gretton Summer League darts champion.
Lee Wright, who plays for village side The Odd Bods, said: “The Luke Littler effect has encouraged a lot of youngsters in the village to take darts up. Having these young lads come out on a Friday night and just throw some darts is really good.
“We’ve seen lots more 180s – mainly from the young lads. It’s brilliant and really, really good for the future of Gretton darts.”
League organisers said there had also been an increase in women taking up the game. The Gretton ladies’ team is one of the newest sides in the competition.
Emma Nicholls, who captains the women at Gretton Sports and Social Club, said: “When we said we were going to start a ladies’ darts team we were struggling to get anyone to play. Now we’ve got about 12 players to pick from on a Friday.”
Meanwhile darts clubs in Hull have been swamped with children wanting to take up the sport thanks to Luke’s success. Coaches say dozens of youngsters in the city are on the waiting lists to join clubs.
They are having to put on extra junior sessions. The Hull Junior Darts Academy has seen its numbers almost double in the 12 months since Littler won his first world title. Children are travelling to the club from up to 50 miles away to play.
Head coach Mike Laws said they were getting a ‘massive volume of kids’.
“Just over 12 months ago we had 18 kids coming down. Straight after the final we went up to 30 within a few weeks,” said Mr Laws.
“Now we’ve got 30 people on a waiting list and we probably have four or five people, at least, every week enquire to see if they can join. With Luke Littler they’ve seen what he can do and obviously they want to do the same.
“It’s not just about being competitive. I get them all to mark the games as well, so even the younger ones, they’ll stand on the stool and mark the games. Then the maths side improves massively. A lot of parents make a comment saying that it’s helped them at school.”
Rylie, 15, who plays for the club’s senior team, said Luke had ‘grown the game’ and ‘gives me the belief that he did it at such a young age so can I’, adding: “I’m in here most of the time. My long-term aim is to develop as a player and hopefully be as big as Luke Littler.”
Harry, 11, and his brother Charlie, nine, said the excitement surrounding Luke inspired them to play.
“Everybody was talking about Luke Littler,” said Harry.
“I practise about an hour a day and I’ve done that for a year. I did have an obsession with throwing stuff when I was little. I used to make and throw paper aeroplanes every single day – our house used to be like Humberside Airport.”
Darts chiefs reckon Luke’s antics have led to double the number of young players joining clubs and a 50% increase in equipment sales.