25 March 2024 , 19:47
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Luke Littler has "two different personas" according to the darts sensation's manager Martin Foulds.
Littler has enjoyed a sensational rise to fame after becoming the youngest ever PDC World Championship finalist at the start of the year. He couldn't quite get over the line against Luke Humphries, but his stock has been on the increase ever since.
The teenager has already become a household name across the country and some have concerns over what the sudden spotlight could do to someone so young, but Foulds has explained he has little worry that Littler can take it all in his stride, explaining that the 17-year-old has a very different attitude away from the oche.
"You've got the off-screen, off-stage one - he's quite shy and humble, just wants to talk with his mates, play a game, spends a lot of time on his phone like most teenagers," Foulds said.
"But when he gets on the stage it's like something switches - he's in his element. He loves the arenas, the more fans the better. He seems to thrive with bigger crowds."
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Littler's schedule is so hectic at the moment that he recently had to withdraw from a tournament in Germany, sparking some fears that he is being worked too hard, when factoring in all of his media responsibilities, and could suffer a burnout as a result.
Foulds addressed those worries, insisting that it is simply unrealistic to expect Littler to feature at every event due to the travel demands. "There's no off-season in darts. You've got to travel to these events - you don't just time-warp and you're in Belfast, Graz, Munich, Rotterdam," he added.
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Luke Littler has enjoyed an extraordinary start to the year"It's unsustainable for any player to travel and play all of those events. When you're playing in the Premier League especially, travelling can take its toll on anybody.
"He's still a teenager, still 17 - if he wasn't playing darts, he's be doing an apprenticeship or still be in school. So there are duties of care we have to follow to look after Luke as best as we can."
Littler has quickly become the poster boy for the current darts scene and is expected to hit astonishing heights. To do so, he'll have to continue to produce the goods at a number of different events for weeks, months and indeed years to come.