“Even Stevie Wonder can see he’s a bit overweight” – Luke Littler receives support after call for healthier food at darts tournaments

Luke Littler’s push for better food options at professional darts tournaments has sparked a lively debate in the sport — with former pro Vincent van der Voort coming to the world champion’s defence, even as he fired off a pointed remark about the 19-year-old’s own physique in the same breath.

The row began after Barry Hearn, the influential Matchroom founder who has done more than anyone to grow prize money in darts over the past three decades, dismissed Littler’s complaint with characteristic bluntness. Speaking in Sheffield earlier this week, Hearn revealed that the current world champion had criticised the food on offer at Premier League venues and that Littler’s manager had gone as far as asking whether a chef could be brought in. “I went, ‘For f***’s sake, it’s a darts tournament. What are you talking about? Shut up and drink your lager,'” Hearn said.

The remark caused widespread surprise in darts circles. On the Darts Draait Door podcast, Van der Voort struggled to hide his astonishment. “The biggest man in the PDC just says: ‘He should shut up and drink his beer.’ That’s really quite remarkable, isn’t it?” he said.

Van der Voort didn’t spare Littler entirely, however, landing a gentle dig in the same sentence as his support. “I mean, even Stevie Wonder can see he’s a bit overweight,” he said with a wink. At the same time, he underlined the bigger point behind the discussion. “We all talk about the fact that darts players should start living a bit healthier and do more for the sport, because they are also ambassadors for sponsors and the public. And for his own health it would be better too.”

The former pro was backed up by Jaco van Bodegom, previously Raymond van Barneveld’s manager, who painted a vivid picture of what players actually face at floor events. “What I found most bizarre: you arrive at a Pro Tour at 9.15 in the morning, still half waking up, and you can already smell the nuggets and the chips,” he said. According to Van Bodegom, the level of catering simply doesn’t match the professional image the sport now projects. “At the Premier League you’d expect a certain standard.” But the reality, he said, is: “Cold chips and those pies.”

Podcast host Damian Vlottes summed up the contradiction at the heart of the debate. “How can the world number one, the face of darts, want change and the big boss talks about him like that? That’s really bizarre, isn’t it?” he said.

Van der Voort agreed that Hearn’s response said something revealing about the culture within darts. “That sort of thing can only happen in darts,” he said. He also placed Hearn’s role in historical context: “Hearn has of course been incredibly important for darts and he’s made the prize money so good, but he doesn’t care about the players. Not one bit. It’s simply about him making a lot of money.”

The argument sits within a broader question about where the sport now sees itself. Darts has transformed into a multi-million pound industry, with Littler alone expected to earn around £6 million this year according to Hearn’s own estimates. Yet the infrastructure around player welfare at events hasn’t kept pace. Hearn himself acknowledged the sport had changed enormously, pointing to major TV contracts coming up for renewal at the same time as Littler burst onto the scene as the spark that created a “quantum moment” for darts commercially. Players wanting nutritious food rather than cold chips and pies, it seems, is the logical next step of that evolution — even if the sport’s most powerful figure isn’t ready to hear it just yet.