Barry Hearn reveals moment he told Luke Littler’s manager to ‘shut up’ after being left gobsmacked by special request

BARRY HEARN has revealed that Luke Littler’s manager once complained about the food being served at Premier League Darts events.

The Matchroom Sport chief said he was approached with a surprising request — whether the reigning world champion could bring his own chef along to competitions.

However, Hearn made it clear the idea was never going to be approved.

Speaking to SportsBoom, he said: “Even the darts players — even they moan.

“Someone said to me the other day, I won’t tell you who he was because he’s quite well known.

“But bear in mind, he’s the current world champion. He was talking about the food at the Premier League venues and criticising it.

“You know, ‘Can we have a chef in?’ His manager was saying, ‘Can we have his chef in?’

“I went, ‘For f*** sake, it’s a darts tournament. What are you talking about? Shut up and drink your lager.’”

Littler heads into Night Eight in Berlin sitting second in the Premier League Darts table, currently three points behind Jonny Clayton.

The teenage sensation has been one of the standout performers in this year’s competition and continues to push hard at the top of the standings.

Away from the oche, the 19-year-old recently paid a visit to the England football squad on Tuesday, where he took part in a light-hearted darts session with the players and got a behind-the-scenes look at the camp.

Reflecting on the experience, Littler said: “It was a dream as a football fan to come here, see the facilities, meet all the players, and sit down and have dinner and have a laugh with them.

“We played a bit of darts — as they were warming up, Thomas Tuchel told me to teach these boys a lesson.

“There’s some good potential there in Phil Foden and Aaron Ramsdale. James Trafford had a little bit as well. The others not so much.

“I wished the boys luck this summer — let’s hope they can bring it home.”