Luke Littler’s former darts coach has previously revealed why he had to “get rid of” the defending world champion from his academy — simply because the youngster became too good.
With the World Darts Championship now just days away, tournament favourite Littler prepares to begin his title defence against 2020 quarter-finalist Darius Labanauskas. It caps off a sensational year in which the teenager surged to world number one in November, defeating Luke Humphries at the Grand Slam of Darts — only 22 months after turning professional.
Littler is aiming to retain the world crown he famously won last year, when he beat Michael van Gerwen to become the youngest PDC world champion in history.
Ahead of that memorable final, Karl Holden, co-founder of the St Helens Darts Academy and Littler’s former coach from the age of nine, spoke about recognising his prodigious ability almost immediately.
“He was different to all the other kids,” Holden told Merseyside Live in January.
“He was too good for the beginners group, so we moved him up. Then he was too good for that group too, so we promoted him to the under-21s — even though he’d only just turned 10.”
Holden explained that Littler adapted — and dominated — with astonishing ease:
“After a couple of months, he was winning the under-21s at age 10. It was remarkable. By the time he was 13 or 14, we just couldn’t help him anymore because he was simply too good.”
In a separate interview with the BBC, the coach elaborated on the moment the academy realised Littler needed to move on.
“It might sound bad, but we basically had to get rid of him,” he said.
“He knows we didn’t mean it in a nasty way, but it was more like: ‘Don’t come here anymore — you’re just too good.’ At 13, he was already outplaying the under-21s. He wasn’t going to achieve anything by staying, so we told him, ‘Go and beat the men of the world.’ And that’s exactly what he’s doing.”
When asked what sets Littler apart, Holden pointed to his character and relentless work ethic.
“You need bottle and composure. And you’ve got to put the hours in. He spent thousands of hours losing to seasoned players — that’s how you learn. To win, you’ve got to learn to lose.”
Littler now begins the next chapter of his remarkable journey on Thursday night, when he launches his PDC World Championship title defence against Labanauskas.
