Chatting Bull with Dan Dawson - Issue #008
Back in December, Gary Anderson, along with other darts players and a large following on social media, urged us to "Just let him play". Anything else might “ruin” Luke Littler - one of the most exciting talents this sport has ever seen. It no doubt came from good intentions - concern for a teenager thrust so quickly into limelight that darts has rarely, if ever, seen before. But there was no other option. If you play with the big boys, you have to deal with everything that comes with it - the attention, the scrutiny, the pressure. You can only be protected from it so much.
Luke Littler has had more of all that than arguably any player in history - the talk show appearances, celebrity fans, an endless stream of clickbait articles poring over every minute detail of his fledgling career. And do you know what? - he has dealt with all of it. He has even embraced it.
The Nuke” shrugged off the disappointment of losing the World Championship final on debut and immediately set about demonstrating that nothing could hold him back. On his debut in the World Series, he won the title with a nine-darter along the way. He did exactly the same in his first Pro Tour event, and then repeated the trick in his first ever Euro Tour. And now he has just done it in the Premier League.
This is not normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a 17 year old. This is no normal 17 year old though. While all around him have been losing their minds, either thrilled by his immense talent or concerned that it could all be too much for one so young, he has remained more level-headed. He has done what he has spent years training and planning to do - playing darts. It just so happens that he is better at it than almost everyone on the planet.
There have still been intriguing incidents in the emergence of “The Nuke”: He fired a feisty message to those who questioned his inclusion in the Premier League immediately upon being handed the trophy. There has been the odd fiery reaction to some of his defeats. He is still working out what kind of player he is going to be, what kind of a man he is going to be. However, this unparalleled recent success must have proven not just to the doubters, but also to himself, that he is quite capable of maintaining his place amongst the very elite ranks of the sport.
Littler has already equalled the record for nine-darters in a calendar year. He has won more titles than anyone else this year. His prize money in the last six months is approaching £700,000 - and there is more to come. “Just let him play darts” is the problem for all the other players… that is exactly what he has been allowed to do, and he is doing it in devastating fashion.
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Issue #008 Quiz Answers
1) 4
2) Luke Humphries
3) The O2 London
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