09 January 2024 , 18:39
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Dartsmania has taken over the town where Luke Littler honed his darts skills, as children flocked to the local shop for all the gear in a bid to become the next darts sensation.
Karl Holden, 54, owner of St Helens Darts Shop once helped Luke, 16, refine his throwing technique and supplied his equipment free of charge. Now he says 'The Nuke' has indirectly paid him back by prompting scores of kids to buy a dartboard, with his shop takings up £50,000 on last year.
Dozens of youngsters were pictured leaving the shop in the Merseyside town, armed with bags and boxes full of new kit on Tuesday. Karl, who is also secretary at the St Helens Dart Academy where Luke once trained, said: "Luke Littler has captured a generation of new dart players. Kids are thinking ‘he's only 16, I could be like that’.
"Nine out of 10 people who come in mention him. Parents are asking us, 'Can you help my son with darts?'. He's a bit of a freak Luke Littler, we taught him a little bit and there was just no holding him back then. Once he had everything in place he just found everything mightily easily."
Since Luke's appearance at the World Darts Championship, Karl estimates he has sold 125 "full house" boards and darts kits to youngsters. He added that the local academy has had to knock back nearly 40 budding dart players as their books are too full.
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St Helens Darts Shop is doing a roaring trade (SplashNews.com)
The shop had a 'one in, one out' policy on Sunday (SplashNews.com)He says interest in the sport locally has more than tripled thanks to Luke. "We've done double what we took two years ago and we're probably £40-50,000 up in terms of what we took last year,” he said. "He's probably repaid us without doing anything."
Littler has returned home following his whirlwind success at Ally Pally, which saw him take home a £200,000 runner-up cheque after losing to world No1 Luke Humphries in the final. The tournament propelled him to stardom and saw him included in the Premier League.
“It will be right up my street and I can't wait,” he said of the decision. “Obviously Manchester and Liverpool are very close to my home town (Warrington) and I'm looking forward to the magnificent Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Cardiff, Brighton... it's going to be an amazing experience.
Dartsmania has swept the nation after Luke Littler's inspiring performances (SplashNews.com)“Playing darts week in, week out, in front of tens of thousands of fans, against the world's best players, is a dream come true. I'm looking forward to the Mercedes-Benz arena – it's massive and they have a nice crowd over there in Germany.
“It might be lively in Cardiff if I end up playing Gezzy there on the opening night when he gets the crowd on his side but it will be an amazing experience and a good test for myself. But that's the nature of the Premier League – I've just got to do what I do and show why I'm there every week.”
Sales have been up £50,000 on the previous year (SplashNews.com)
Customers of all ages were seen arriving (SplashNews.com)His inclusion means he will have little time to play for The Bogey Flickers’, his amateur team based at Runcorn Golf Club. Team captain Nathan Wheatley, 26, fears the Nuke’s new found fame means he will not be able to pull on their black and green shirt again this season.
“I think after this tournament his appearances are going to be very limited,” he joked before the final. “He has played a lot of youth tournaments around the world this year, so he has been very busy, but every two or three weeks he plays with us. We have not really lost a game in the last 18 months.”
He added: “We got to know him from playing in local tournaments. He gets on with us because we are a young team, the youngest team in Runcorn. He is an unbelievable player. We knew how good he was but I think he has now shown the world how good he is. I think in the next two or three years he will be the world number one, no doubt, he is that good.”
St Helens has produced a number of other darts legends including Michael Smith, 33, who won the PDA last year and Dave Chisnall, 43, who was ranked fifth in the world in 2023. Carl said some 30-50 kids had shown an interest in the sport following Smith's win last January but the numbers had been tripled bu Littler just by reaching the final. Luke was pipped at the last hurdle by Luke Humphries, 28, who holds the current World number 1 ranking.