Luke Littler Faces Backlash After Claiming Phil Taylor Would ‘Struggle’ in Modern Darts
Luke Littler has sparked controversy after suggesting that darts legend Phil Taylor would “struggle” if he were competing in the current era. The 18-year-old, who recently made history by becoming the youngest ever World Darts Champion, believes the level of competition in today’s darts scene would be too much for Taylor.
Taylor, a legend of the sport, dominated for decades, securing an impressive 16 World Championships and numerous major titles. However, Littler, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, suggested that Taylor’s achievements would be difficult to replicate in the modern game, given the rise of new stars like himself.
When discussing the possibility of surpassing Taylor’s record, Littler said, “There’s a record there to be broken, but it’s going to take some doing. He also won the World Matchplay 16 times, so he’s won two of the big majors 16 times. It’s going to be tough.” He then added, “The competition now is much better. You still had Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow… it was a strong field, but nowadays, I think Phil would struggle.”
Littler, who made waves in January by defeating Michael van Gerwen to claim his first world title, also made a bold statement about possibly surpassing Taylor’s 16 World Championships. “Phil Taylor was my idol,” Littler explained. “If I stay in darts long enough, I might break his record.”
Littler even joked that his motivation to keep playing could come down to the financial rewards, as the PDC recently increased the prize money for the World Championship to £1 million. “If I want to keep playing, then I will. But the money definitely helps!”
The young darts sensation also recently addressed comments from Bobby George, who suggested that Littler is already ahead of Taylor in terms of skill. George claimed that despite Taylor’s legendary status, the 64-year-old would struggle to compete against Littler in the current era. “If he played Littler now, he’d get slaughtered. It’d be embarrassing,” George said. “He’s too good, the young boy. He’s too good.”
As Littler’s career continues to soar, it’s clear that the young champion isn’t afraid of stirring the pot. However, his comments about Taylor have certainly raised some eyebrows, especially from fans of the darts icon, who might not take kindly to the notion that their hero would falter in today’s more competitive environment.
